Uncle Toni’s role in success of Rafael Nadal
Toni Nadal is a professional tennis coach from Spain who has played a significant role in making Rafael Nadal a nine-time Grand Slam champion. Toni shares an apartment with his brothers and a sister in Manacor Mallorca in Spain. One of his brothers, Miguel Angel Nadal, also known as the ‘Beast of Barcelona’, was a professional football player who represented FC Barcelona and Spain’s national side in 1994, 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cup campaigns.
Respect is accorded to what Toni has done for his nephew who is ranked world number one. Toni started to train Rafael when he was only four years old. Rafael was a natural right-handed player but Uncle Toni taught him to play left-handed as well in order to strengthen his double-handed backhand shot. Rafael also used to play football and could have become a professional footballer, but it was Toni who advised him that he would achieve more in tennis. Rafael has since been trained under Toni's supervision, mostly on poor courts with low-grade balls to learn that it is not about roughness of the court or the quality of the ball. It is about mental strength and the desire to learn and achieve.
Besides coaching abilities, Toni Nadal is a modest man and has invoked this trait for great results and respect. He taught his nephew only hard work can bring success and that there is always room for improvement. Toni’s coaching abilities had a profound impact on the excellence achieved by the Spanish champion. Rafael shares a strong bond with his uncle. In 2007, Rafael directed rare anger at Cedric Mourier, the chair umpire, for warning him and his uncle against alleged illegal coaching during the match. Notwithstanding the one-off bout of anger, all of Rafael’s successes could be attributed to his mental toughness, unquestionable confidence in himself and the ability to put up a hard battle for every point as his uncle taught him.
At the start of his career, Rafael had a very weak serve that didn’t help him on the faster surfaces against the other big names. Toni assisted him with the serve technique so that he could win more free points with higher speeds. In 2008, he was seen with quicker forehand to react to fast balls. At the 2010 US Open, critics were amazed how productive and powerful his serve had become. The Majorcan player runs in the court like a hare, rarely losing his balance on any kind of surface, thanks to the training by his mentor. Early in his career, Rafael was recognised as a clay-court specialist, hence the title ‘The King of Clay’, but his victories at the Wimbledon in 2006 and 2010, the Australian Open 2009 and the US Open 2010 have silenced his critics considerably. As for mastering all courts, it is believed his uncle Toni, as ever, played a key role.
Rafael Nadal is a nine-time Grand Slam winner at the age of 24. In view of his performance, one can foresee more triumphs for him in future. And for all the wins, Rafael’s beloved uncle would continue to share the credit.
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