Toni Nadal, The Man Behind Rafa They say home is where the heart is, and the heart of the Nadal family is rooted in the small coastal town of Manacor on the island of Mallorca. Lost in the dazzling azure waters of the Mediterranean, the island is a hub of tranquillity, a world away from the cavernous arenas, where the family name has become synonymous with sporting domination. Toni Nadal, The Man Behind Rafa This is where Toni Nadal slowly molded his nephew into one of the greatest champions of all time, where they retreat to escape the trappings of fame, for neither man is at ease with the celebrity status Rafa’s success has bought them. In comparison to many coaches who are only too eager to share their wisdom with the media, Toni is not a comfortable interviewee. His eyes constantly dart around the room as if seeking an escape route, but he settles when the conversation turns to his village tennis school back in Manacor, where Rafa first learned the game. He’s happiest training the stars of tomorrow, a pursuit he finds far more rewarding than working with players at the highest level; when Rafa hangs up his racquet for good, Toni sees no appeal in continuing to travel the tour. “For me, it is good when I can work with young people,” he explains. “Working with professionals, I don’t know if I like that. I think it is so much more important to do good work when a guy is young then when he’s say, at the French Open.” Toni, who successfully coached a number of junior players before Rafa, believes that the most important groundwork, especially in technique, is laid in the early years. “Even though it is just a small village, it is a good school,” he says. “Before Rafael, I had one player who was No. 2 in Spain until he was 12 and another one – a girl – who was No. 6. And some more guys who were very good in Spain until they were 14. When Rafael played, he was No. 1 in Spain, and I had another one who was No. 8, so it was good for them because they could push each other.” Even with the best coach, however, there is only so much that nurture can do. Toni has three children himself, but despite his efforts, he admits that tennis was not for them. “I teach them the game, and I like to play with them, but they are not too good!” he smiles. It would be intriguing to know when the Nadal family first realized that Rafa was a special talent, but one suspects that they never indulged in such hyperbole. Besides, Toni prefers to reflect on his nephew’s early aptitude for the game in more analytical terms. “When he was young, when he began to play, he always had a good touch and feel for the ball,” he says. “Whether that was ‘special’ I don’t know. But there was an under-12 regional tournament in Spain, which he won when he was 8 years old, maybe this was the moment we realized he could do well.” As strange as it may sound now, it was not always a foregone conclusion that Rafa would become a professional tennis player. His uncle Miguel was a soccer legend in his day, competing in the 1994 World Cup for Spain and prowling the back line for Barcelona for many years. Friends and family have since commented that the young Rafa once showed early promise himself as a soccer player. “Yes, he was very good,” Toni agrees. “I thought Rafael could make it, but I think we made the right choice as he’s better at tennis. At the time, it was not a hard decision. He played both sports until he was 13 when he began to win many tennis tournaments.” When the time came to choose between soccer and tennis, those tournament victories tipped the scales in favor of tennis. At 16, Rafa played Wimbledon for the first time. He reached the third round, an achievement that showed his potential. Toni had never coached at the professional level, and his own achievements as a player were modest, reaching the top 40 in Spain in the early ‘80s. Yet he had an unerring belief in his ability to take his protégé to the very top, and Rafa’s faith in him has always remained implicit. Toni Nadal, The Man Behind RafaMany would have questioned their own capabilities, but self-doubt appears to be something of an alien concept to the Nadal family. “There are many things in life which are very, very difficult, but coaching good players is not one of these things,” he says dismissively. “I know this sport and understand that for coaching a good player, you need a normal head. And I think my head is enough good for that! To be a good coach for a good player, you need a good personality, an understanding of good technique and most importantly, to keep things normal.” Toni is a meticulous planner, a studious individual who has often grown frustrated with the media and their desire for superficial explanations without, as he says, delving deeper and searching for a full understanding. When Rafa won his first French Open title, many journalists claimed he would be nothing more than a clay-court specialist. Toni says they simply didn’t understand that he was still developing physically and his game style would mature as he grew into his body. Rafa has continued to evolve throughout his career, as Toni constantly monitors his biggest rivals for ways in which he can improve. “When you’re on the circuit, you look and you always watch the other guys, and you learn some things about what they do well,” he says. “You look at Federer, at Djokovic, at Murray and you can learn. I don’t talk with the coaches, but we just watch and then we prepare as well as we can.” Intriguingly, in recent years, Toni has admitted that he’s a little perplexed as to why Rafa’s enjoyed so much success, revealing that he believes contemporaries Andy Murray, Richard Gasquet and Gael Monfils to be more naturally talented. But while Rafa’s game may appear to be more artificially manufactured than those three with their touch, imagination and flair, tennis is largely a mental game, especially at the highest level, and Rafa is arguably the toughest competitor in the history of the sport. Toni believes that mental strength all stems from the values he instilled in him when he was very young, sometimes making him hit with old balls on poor-quality courts just to make him realize that the essence of tennis is about more than just the conditions and equipment. “Rafael always had a good talent as far as the mentality goes,” he says. “But I think he has prepared for that, and we have prepared him to be tough mentally. In life, you know what you are preparing for, and when you want to prepare to be tough, it’s not too difficult. You should prepare to be tough if you want to be a tennis player.” Could that toughness eventually see his nephew go down as the greatest player of all time? If he can remain injury free, it’s not inconceivable that he could overtake Roger Federer’s Grand Slam tally. That would provide a compelling argument in his favor, but Toni insists he’s still a long way off. “At the moment, Federer is the best,” he says. “Federer and Rod Laver. Right now, Rafael has won 13, and that’s where we are. Will he win another one? We don’t know.” Not everyone would rate Laver alongside Federer, but Toni believes we are too quick to forget the players of yesteryear. “Rod Laver won the calendar Grand Slam twice,” he explains. “He should be regarded as the best, or one of the best, but people have short memories. They forget the older players, and one day, they will forget Federer too and the same with Djokovic or Nadal. Right now, when you look back through history, Rod Laver is right at the top and Bjorn Borg too I think.” It seems almost impertinent to question Tonis wisdom on anything regarding tennis, but one suspects that people will not easily forget Nadal. Such is the impact that Mallorcas favorite son has made on the sport; his achievements will surely resonate through the annals of the game for decades to come. And through all those records and titles, the name of the man who masterminded such astonishing success, Toni Nadal, will also live long in the memory. 4 Rafa Myths Debunked 1. RAFA IS NATURALLY RIGHT HANDED “When he started, at first he used two hands for both his forehand and backhand,” Toni says. “Then I thought that he maybe had more power on his left side so I encouraged him to play left-handed. It’s true that he does some things with his right hand but I think he’s more naturally left-handed.” 2. RAFA IS EXTREMELY MUSCULAR “He’s never been particularly muscular,” Toni laughs, shaking his head. “People think this because of the sleeveless tops he used to wear. Television also makes you look bigger than you are. He’s never been as big and strong as people imagine. On the circuit, there are many players who are much stronger than Rafa, just look at Tsonga and Monfils.” 3. BACK IN THE DAY, IT WAS RAFAS CHOICE TO WEAR SLEEVELESS TOPS AND PIRATAS “It was all Nike’s idea,” Toni says. “They proposed the outfit and Rafa was happy to wear it.” 4. RAFA WILL PLAY FEWER HARD COURT TOURNAMENTS “He will continue to play on hard courts,” Toni says. “With the calendar as it is, if you don’t want to play on hard courts you cannot play tennis! I think they’re bad for the knees and the general health of the players but the ATP don’t want to change their calendar.”
Posted on: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 20:08:01 +0000
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