Toni Nadal - "Félix Auger-Aliassime can become number one"
Toni Nadal also gave information about the development of his protégé Félix Auger-Aliassime at a press conference at the ATP Tour 250 tournament in Stuttgart.
by Jens Huiber
last edit:
Jun 11, 2022, 09:05 pm
Of course: First and foremost, Toni Nadal had to provide information about the sensitivities of his nephew Rafael at his press conference on Saturday as part of the Boss Open 2022. The fact that he was planning to play in Wimbledon came as a surprise in this clarity. But if the new therapy works well, then Rafael (Uncle Toni obviously doesn't think of using the short form "Rafa" in public) would open up on Church Road this year. After a short training phase, which Nadal intends to do in Santa Ponsa at the Mallorca Country Club from Monday.
The sporting support of Rafael Nadal has not been in the hands of Toni for a long time, Carlos Moya is known to lead the training sessions. Uncle Toni meanwhile takes care of the Rafa (ha!) Nadal Academy in Mallorca. And also about the Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime. What a few days ago in Roland Garros brought with it the strange constellation that Toni Nadal should have coached in the camp of an opponent of his nephew. The uncle gracefully pulled out of the affair, watching the five-set match from a neutral seat.
Demand from the press round: "How satisfied are you with the development of Félix, Mr. Nadal?" The short answer: very. The somewhat more detailed: For Félix Auger-Aliassime there are no upper limits in the tennis world. "I think he can become number one," said Toni Nadal. "FAA" has already made it into the top ten players in the world.
Auger-Aliassime breaks the spell in Rotterdam
And finally being able to write as a tournament winner for the first time: in Rotterdam Auger-Aliassime defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final after he had previously failed nine times in final matches. The second title won't happen this week - parallel to Coach Nadal's press conference, Auger-Aliassime loses in the semifinals in 's-Hertogenbosch against the Dutch surprise man Tim van Rijthoven.
Of course, the big tournaments are more important. And Auger-Aliassime has already set a few highlights. In Wimbledon last year, the 21-year-old reached the quarter-finals after beating Alexander Zverev, and at the US Open he even made it to the semi-finals. In New York and earlier this year in the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, Auger-Aliassime was over against Daniil Medvedev.
When he started training at the academy in Manacor, Félix Auger-Aliassime made too many mistakes, Toni Nadal continued. The leap from 22nd place back then to 9th in the ATP world rankings does not have to be the end of the road, as mentioned.