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
We'll try and be very aggressive, we'll try and speed up and change gears, and we'll see who's going to win.
I just try to win the match by fighting for every point, and running down every ball.
Confidence is the most important thing in this sport, and the confidence from winning Wimbledon would make it easier to win the Olympics, too. Either would be very difficult, both even more-but the player who wins Wimbledon will be the favorite for the Olympics. It can happen.
In tennis, because of the way it's scored, I don't think that scoring one point out of luck is ever decisive in winning. But, of course, it depends on the moment.
I'd rather lose an argument than get into a long discussion in order to win it.
Two weeks ago, I was in a fantastic situation, winning at Roland Garros. Now, losing in the first round, it's tough. The tour continues. Life continues. This is a sport of victories, not a sport of losses. Nobody remembers the losses. I don't want to remember the loss.
Today people hit the ball with much more strength. Almost every player is capable of playing a winning stroke from any position. This means the balls arrive more quickly. If you want to reach them, you have to slow down from a high speed or suddenly change direction. These are moments when you can injure yourself, and that's what wears us out.
I've stayed calm when I'm winning and I've stayed calm when I've lost. Tennis is a sport where we have a lot of tournaments every week, so you can't celebrate a lot when you have big victories, and you cannot get too down when you're losing, as in a few days you'll be in the next tournament and you'll have to be ready with that.
If I am not playing at one hundred percent, it is going to be very difficult for me to win.
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.
As a tennis player you can win and you can lose, and you have to be ready for both. I practised self-control as a kid. But as you get older they both - winning and losing - get easier.
However great your dedication, you never win anything on your own
You have to accept both losing and winning well. I've stayed calm when I'm winning and I've stayed calm when I've lost.
My goal is to improve my game, stay healthy and be competitive. If I have that, I know I can be able to win tournaments, which in the end is what it counts.