Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parerais a Spanish professional tennis player currently ranked world No. 4. He is widely regarded as the greatest clay-court player in history, and owing to his dominance and success on the surface, he has been titled "The King of Clay". His evolution into an all-court threat has established him as one of the greatest players in tennis history, with some considering Nadal to be the greatest player of all time...
NationalitySpanish
ProfessionTennis Player
Date of Birth3 June 1986
CityManacor, Spain
CountrySpain
I admire a lot of people, but in terms of sport I've always loved the mentality of Tiger Woods on a golf course. I always love his eyes when he's setting himself and focusing on his decision; he has a really strong, focused face and believes that he can make the shot.
Some people get very confused about my game. They think it's better if the court is slow, because I have a good defence. But the faster it is, the better for me. My spin is more painful for my opponents, my aggressive game works better.
My serve can get better, for sure. It's not just about serving bombs, but positioning, variation in speed, in spin.
My motivation is tomorrow, just one day at a time, right?
Certainly I would like to have some of the qualities of other players and obviously from Roger Federer. But believe me, there are plenty of other abilities that are important, particularly mindset and strength.
If I am not playing at one hundred percent, it is going to be very difficult for me to win.
Tennis is a hard sport. There is a lot of competition all year and you play alone.
Hard courts are very negative for the body. I know the sport is a business and creating these courts is easier than clay or grass, but I am 100 per cent sure it is wrong.
Don't think about being the number one in the world, try instead to get through today's program as well as you can. Then we will see whether one day you'll end up as number one or number 100.
For me, it is important to win titles and for that I need to work hard, stay healthy and be able to compete. The rest, I always say, it comes.
I love the beach. I love the sea. All my life I live within - in front of the sea.
He's a fantastic player and he's going to be around so much longer so I'm happy with every one I get before he takes them all
I do notice that I am tired.
My motivation and aspiration is the same, being number one or being number five. So that's the truth. And my goal is the same - it's to always be happy playing, it's to enjoy the game and improve always.