Nadal was yesterday afternoon everywhere and on everyone’s lips. And more among Asturian tennis practitioners. “Can there be a bigger man in the world than Nadal? I think not”, was the greeting of Jorge Zapatero upon reaching court number six of the Real Club de Tenis de Gijón. There his partner was waiting for him -also a rival, although only when the network is involved-Jaime Arias. Zapatero acknowledges that Manacor is “a benchmark.” “But it can’t be just for sport, but also for life.” Why? “Because there is no other person as humble as him, who knows how to lose as well as win.” In Melbourne he had to win. And breaking records, with 21 Grand Slams: “He already has everything, but the best thing about him is not the titles, or the medals, or the trophies. I already tell you that the best thing about Nadal is the person”, he pointed out.
“What I had in front of me yesterday was not easy at all, eh?”, third, on the other side of the network, Arias. the russian Daniil Medvedev, who “was playing very well and, furthermore, he is much younger than Nadal”. As much as ten years less. It is impressive, according to Jaime Arias, “to see Rafa Nadal’s ability to suffer on the court.” To move forward when things go wrong: “I have never seen anyone with that ability to recover before, it will be difficult to see something better than what we have seen today. And if we see him, it will surely be with Nadal”.
On the next track, where Begoña Mora e Elizabeth of the Rose they had just shaken hands over the net, the conversation was the same. “What Nadal has is a prodigious head, because everyone has it at that level in tennis,” said De la Rosa. And his partner added: “You have to highlight his ability to resist, always, that mental strength he has. Together, of course, with an impeccable technique”.
The two women, who play interclub championships, recognized that, when you face a strong rival, “your arm bends”. That doesn’t happen to Nadal: “His arm doesn’t shrink, it’s impressive.” De la Rosa acknowledges that yesterday, when he saw the comeback, “my heart raced and I even had a few tears. There is only one Nadal.”
They are four friends united by school, but also by their passion for tennis. They have been playing since they were 6 years old at the Oviedo Tennis Club and none of them missed yesterday’s match in which Reef Nadal It showed “that you never have to give up no matter how black you see it,” say the young women. “I realized that I was still fighting despite losing and that motivates me when I play,” he says. Eugenia Menendez, who also knows him in person, since he gave him the 2021 Nadal Award. He coincides with her Mary Jordan: “She always leaves her skin on the court”, something that for her serves as an example both in training and in matches. For Miriam Trobajo, the teaching that Nadal has learned since childhood is that “he never gets angry, he does not make insulting gestures or throw the racket”. “He is polite and a great competitor,” he adds. Covadonga Garcia. If they all agree on one thing, it’s that their reference is a sign that you never have to lose your attitude… and a very handsome boy, they say between laughs.
The Avilés Royal Tennis Club also surrendered yesterday to Rafa Nadal’s incredible comeback in the Australian Open final. “It has been something inspiring, an example”, commented the young Victor Lasheras his friends on one of the venue’s courts. “An epic comeback falls short,” he replied. Sergio Hidalgo. An opinion that was also shared by the rest of the members of the gathering, Andres Rodriguez Y Juan Solla: “He has shown that you should never give up a game; It’s living history.”
For its part, Jose Ramon Rodriguez, president of the club, acknowledges that he did not see the match. “I knew I was going to get too nervous and I preferred to follow him on my mobile from football”. Another who confesses is Juan Carlos Fernandez, member of the board of directors. “I turned off the TV in the third set, but then I put the game back on”, comments Fernández, who lacks qualifications to define Nadal: “He is an example, in every way”.
It would be an almost impossible mission to praise Rafa Nadal’s tenacity, perseverance, consistency and tennis ambition. The younger ones don’t try either, they just follow his lead as the biggest of references. “When I saw that I was down two, I thought I was going to lose,” says eleven-year-old tennis player Paola Piñera, noting that “she always smiles, win or lose; It’s all an example.” Another young woman who dreams of following her same path is Ashley Rubio: “It is the history of Spain; He has a mentality like few others.”
