Rafael Nadal plays golf for relaxing – Tennis News
Former world number one, Rafael Nadal of Spain, is fond of playing golf to get relaxed from the intense tennis competitions. The ‘King of Clay’ is often found delivering two-handed forehand strokes to whack the white dimpled ball
on golf courses in his layoff time from the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) tennis circuit.
Nadal is currently engaged in playing the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Florida and is striving extremely hard to get back his vintage form. He is still running a championship title drought in the current year but the 25-year-old
tennis icon hasn’t quit his favourite hobby of watching and playing golf even in his busy ATP schedule.
“I love the game of golf in general, no?” Nadal said this past Sunday, “I was watching all the afternoon the last round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational [which Tiger Woods won]. I am a big fan of sport in general, and golf is
one of my favourites. Golf is great, because you are always in beautiful places when you are playing,”
The splendour of the elite sport, golf, makes it fascinating for the tennis king. Nadal believes playing golf relaxes his body and mind, improving his abilities to focus more in the tennis combats. The Spaniard stated that the
risk of getting injured in golf is extremely marginal as compared to tennis. He needs to grind his body to its limits in tennis encounters against the top class opponents and has been injured a number of times in the process.
“Most important,” he said, “is you can spend three, four, 4½ hours with good company, with friends, with family. Spending time with friends, family, that’s great. That makes the round good.”
Although the two sports are significantly contrasting to one another, the Spaniard enjoys playing golf as much as he does on the tennis courts. It is rarely seen that a golfer looking for a tennis court for relaxation while he
is on a professional tour but Nadal certainly goes for playing golf for leisure purposes during ATP tournaments.
No doubt golf is a game of extreme focus and concentration, making it even interesting for the Spanish tennis ace. He is closer to win his first ATP title of the current season and will be playing the semi-final match against the
world number four, Andy Murray. The Spaniard dumped Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in a stiff quarter-final battle to move a step closer to the Miami Masters trophy. May be he find some time to play his other favourite sport after bagging the Sony Ericsson Open title.
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