Toni Nadal: "Rafael is an injured person who plays tennis"
In an interview with El Pais , Toni Nadal talks about the health of his longtime protege and nephew Rafael Nadal. The 58-year-old strikes quite alarming tones.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Apr 04, 2019, 06:47 am
Rafael Nadal has been plagued by injuries many times in his career. Among other things, the Spaniard was out for more than half a year in 2012 and 2013 due to chronic knee pain, and in the past seasons the world ranking number 2 had to skip one or the other tournament due to physical problems.
Rafael is not a tennis player. He is an injured person who plays tennis.
Toni Nadal about his nephew
In 2019 the injury devil struck the 32-year-old: In Indian Wells, Nadal had to cancel the semi-final against Roger Federer, and the Spaniard also missed the subsequent event in Miami due to knee problems. In an interview with El Pais , his uncle Toni Nadal revealed how bad the health of the 17-time Grand Slam winner is.
Rafael Nadal still has enough passion
"Rafael is not a tennis player. He is an injured person who plays tennis. It is very difficult," Nadal told the Spanish newspaper. Despite the ongoing physical difficulties, the eleven-time French Open winner wanted to continue his career: "Rafael wants to continue despite his physical problems. Who knows until when? Maybe two or three years."
Rafael Nadal himself only emphasized at the tournament in Indian Wells that he still had enough energy and will to continue his career: "I will just continue and continue to do the things that are good for me. I also have to accept that there are things that I can't control. The next goal is to be 100 percent in Monte Carlo. "
At the moment the Mallorcan seems to be on the right track. Nadal has been training for ashes for more than a week and is preparing in Mallorca for the clay court season he loves so much. The 32-year-old will once again be the big favorite at all clay court tournaments this season - provided that his body doesn’t interfere with Nadal.