Australian Open: Rafael Nadal - Do good and don't talk about it
Rafael Nadal could not resist a swipe at Novak Djokovic in his first public report from the quarantine in Adelaide.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Jan 26, 2021, 03:32 pm
There are still a few days left, then Rafael Nadal will contest an exhibition match in Adelaide together with his colleagues Novak Djokovic, Dominic Thiem and Jannik Sinner , then it's off to Melbourne, where the Spaniards on the first day of the ATP Cup on February 2nd in the Night session to meet the hosts from Australia. Sinner is also Nadal's permanent training partner in Adelaide, otherwise not much has been heard or seen from the 20-time major winner in the past few days.
Very different from Novak Djokovic, who publicly stood up for those colleagues who did not have the opportunity to leave their hotel for training purposes for at least five hours a day right at the beginning of the quarantine. Which was benevolently registered by Belinda Bencic or Guido Pella, for example. But Pella also asked the question of why there was nothing from Nadal or Dominic Thiem to support the more than 70 people affected. This announcement was apparently not well received by Rafael Nadal.
Nadal with greetings towards Djokovic
"Everyone supports everyone," said the Spaniard in an interview with ESPN. "Some have to make their help for others public, others help privately and do not go public with every phone call or use it for propaganda." The Australian public, plagued by strict measures, has received little understanding for months.
Regarding the allegedly better conditions that the players (in addition to the top three men, Ashleigh Barty , Naomi Osaka , Simona Halep and the Williams sisters in Adelaide are also preparing for the first major in 2021), Nadal said: " Where do you draw the line? Conditions for us in Adelaide were better than most of the players in Melbourne. But even there, some players have larger rooms in which they can perform athletic activities. Others have smaller rooms in which they cannot get together with their coach or physio. Where do you draw the line? "
In any case, he, Nadal, has never heard of a player who would have thought that due to the slightly better conditions in Adelaide, everyone should now get by without training.