Tony Nadal He stated this Monday regarding his nephew and former pupil Rafael Nadal that “I would never say of a family member that he is a genius“, despite the fact that many consider the Mallorcan, winner of 21 Grand Slams, the best tennis player in history.
“There are different measures to determine who is number one (of all time)“, pointed out Toni Nadal at a press conference after presenting, together with tennis player Feliciano López and promoter Edwin Weindorfer, the ATP 250 grass tennis tournaments and the Mallorca Golf Open.
“The one who has played the best in some tournaments, or the one who has played the best for the longest time; the one with the most wins. That goes to taste of each one; Depending on what you look at, they could be (Roger) Federer, (Novak) Djokovic or Rafel, who is the one who has won the most Grand Slam titles with less participation. In any case, my opinion is not valid because he is my nephew, and if I considered that someone else is the best, I would not say so.“, matiz.
I would never say of a family member that he is a genius
Toni Nadal was reminded that years ago he defined Federer, who has 20 “greats” like Djokovic, as a tennis genius, and replied that the Swiss “is a guy who has managed to transcend his sport.”
“But apart from that (Federer) has achieved maximum efficiency with super elegance, you can’t ask for more; as for Rafael, obviously, he has also had to modify things, but I think that’s what everyone who does they stay up for a long time. It’s impossible to stay up if you don’t constantly reconfigure yourself”, value.
In this context, he also gave his opinion on the changes that his nephew’s game has undergone since he directed it.
“He has changed, the same as Federer. If you run a little less you know you have to shorten the points. The level of Rafael’s game between 2008 and 2010 was very high. Today he has a little less physical, of course , but his game is more complete, he now serves much better”, he remarked.
Regarding the chronic injury (Müller-Weiss syndrome), suffered by his nephew in his left foot, Toni Nadal recalls that it was detected in a tournament in Estoril (Portugal) in 2004, and that a year later they learned that it was “a complicated subject”.
“The specialist who saw him told us that it was very difficult for him to play sports at the highest level, but (Rafael) has been cheating in the best way possible, because in bad weather he put on a good face. It seemed that he was going to have a short career, but everything has turned out much better than we expected. He will have a solution when he finishes his career, but not while he plays. Depending on the operation that is done, he will not be able to play at a high level anymore, that is why it cannot be done now, “he said.
Finally, Toni Nadal gave his opinion on his nephew’s 21 Grand Slams and if they were enough to go down in history as the male tennis player with the most “big” titles in history.
“I have no idea, I wish it were. Djokovic, a priori, is the top favorite to win (this year) at Wimbledon, at Roland Garros I hope it will be Rafael and at the US Open I don’t know; it may be enough or not. The reality is that it is increasingly difficult to win a Grand Slam because of the age that the three of them are getting (Federer, Djokovic and Nadal) and because of the people who come from below”, concluded Toni Nadal.
