“When Rafa was vulnerable, he didn’t sink the ball”
Recently, Annacone appeared on the Tennis Channel’s Inside In podcast and spoke about Nadal’s humility and how it affected his career: “Rafa’s only disadvantage was also his greatest advantage. His only disadvantage was his modesty, and that is also his greatest advantage,” said Annacone.
“There were times when I looked at him and wondered why he didn’t have a bigger ego,” Annacone added. “He was always so gracious and humble about what he did that sometimes it hindered his ability to go up the court and just shoot the ball.”
“When Rafa was vulnerable he didn’t crush the ball and we did [in seinem Match gegen van de Zandschulp] because he hadn’t played yet and it was on his worst surface – his ball gets very spiny and lands differently,” explained the former Federer coach. “But because of this modesty, he didn’t just run onto the court and start “To fire the balls everywhere.”
“He felt like he had to give his best in every game. He was vulnerable and that’s why sometimes he played a little hesitantly until he had the match practice and then when he had it he played more aggressively,” he added added. “But his greatest weakness – if he had one at all – was his modesty. And when you trade that for his grace and his virtues, that’s what I take.”
Annacone, who also coached 14-time Grand Slam champion Pete Sampras, spoke about the challenge of helping Federer prepare for his matches against Nadal: “There is no greater challenge and I was lucky enough to work with Roger too “It was always fun to try to solve problems and figure out what Roger could do to make Rafa uncomfortable,” added Annacone added.
