Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon: role model in every function!
Rafael Nadal impressed on Thursday with a concentrated performance in the Wimbledon Showtime duel against Nick Kyrgios. What came after that was almost even better. A commentary by Florian Goosmann.
by Florian Goosmann from Wimbledon
last edit: Jul 05, 2019, 06:46 am
What a great guy this Rafael Nadal is! Excuse the unreserved praise, but there is no other way. At least not if you have seen Nadal's press conference that he delivered after the Kyrgios match. Because what Nadal gave in these ten minutes could be nailed to the wall of any young player.
If Kyrgios were only able to play every point with full intensity, what could he possibly achieve, Nadal was asked - and then he started a wonderfully reflected monologue.
"If, if, when," he started - and took an artist break. "It doesn't exist. I have often said that he is a very talented player. But there are so many things you need to become a champion. He has a lot of things that go with it. But something important is missing, and that's love, the passion for this game. If you don't love this game with all your heart, it will be difficult to achieve great things. Of course, with his talent and service he can win Grand Slams. Things could be very different for him run if he played all matches with the same intensity that he tried today.
But if you look at the first round game against Thompson ... yes, he won it. But the intensity, the way he played, his focus was different from today.
He wants to play these matches [like today]. But to win important things, you don't have to win against the top players, you also have to play against others who are good. And win these matches. "
Nadal and the neighboring house
Nadal's press conferences, they're getting better at all. It was only during the French Open that he put the eternal major comparison with Roger Federer in his place. "You can't always be frustrated that the neighbor has a bigger house than yourself," he said. "I don't see life that way."
Nadal on Kyrgios' attempt to shoot: "Can be dangerous"
And then there was the matter of trying to shoot down. Kyrgios had thrown a forehand full on Nadal twice , and while the first attempt hit the back gang, Nadal just brought the racket between him and his body the second time. Kyrgios' comment: Yes, he wanted to hit Nadal's chest - and no, he didn't want to apologize.
And Nadal? Took himself out of it. "This is not about how I feel," he said. "We play a game that has always been about respect. About being fair. I'm not saying that Nick does these things to annoy the opponent. But sometimes it can be dangerous. And if he does it like that strikes, it's dangerous. "
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Nadal just wants to play tennis
And Nadal meant the other participants. "It is not dangerous for me. It is dangerous for the linesman, for the spectators. If you hit the ball the way it did, you don't know where it is going." Kyrgios hadn't hit both foreheads "normally", but flung them out of his forearm - at the expense of control.
"I know he is a very talented player, but I am also a professional. I know if you hit the ball like this he can fly anywhere. This time he went into the field, almost hit me, but that would not be I was a professional player, I know how to react to prevent that, but the other ball went straight into the gang, which was dangerous for the linesman, and if he flies someone in the eye, it's a problem . "
And finally, finally, Nadal summed up the whole vermilion: "I'm not angry with him at all. It's just that I wanted to play a tennis match. It's sometimes difficult."
And that shouldn't be added.
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