Physically Strong Nadal Wins US Open

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 10th September 2013

Physically Strong Nadal Wins US Open |

Nobody knows the physical agonies and mental torment suffered by Rafael Nadal more than his coach and uncle Toni. And the man who has masterminded arguably the most dramatic and sensational tennis career of all time maintains his US Open winning nephew is still playing through pain.

To outsiders looking on, it appeared that the long-term issues with Nadal’s left knee had been cured. Throughout the North American hard court season, in which he’s won the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 series hard court titles in Montreal and Cincinnati as a prelude to his second US Open triumph, he didn’t even wear the supportive bandage just under his left knee cap.

But speaking to Spanish radio station Cadena Ser before Monday’s final, Toni Nadal revealed: “The knee is what it is and I think Rafael has grown used to playing in pain.

“I think he deserves all that he has for what it costs him to achieve what he has achieved. We couldn’t have imagined six months ago when we started again, that we would be where we are now today.

“Things have gone much better than expected and all we can do is be happy and thank God or Mother Nature or whoever for all that has happened.”

It was Uncle Toni who decided Rafa should adopt the more attacking tactics that have seen him unbeatable on North American hard courts this year.

“We talked about this some months before when we prepared the season,” he said. “We know that he should be more aggressive for the knees, but when you think about playing aggressively, what makes you play like this is the confidence.

“Without confidence it’s impossible to play aggressively and take the right decisions.”

And ever the philosopher, Toni Nadal concluded with his views on why his nephew has been so successful this year. “Sport is very simple, always,” he said. “Journalists, the media, the public think he should do this or this. For me, it’s so much easier.

“You should play good, nothing else. You should play very well. And when you want to beat Novak Djokovic, you should do all the things very well – a good serve, a good return, a good forehand. This is so simple. Sport is not for making philosophy or science. It’s easy – play very well.”

But there is no time for the US Open champion to either celebrate or relax. On Friday he will return to the Davis Cup fold for Spain after not playing since the 2011 final win over Argentina. With Madrid still smarting after being beaten by Tokyo in the competition to stage the 2020 Olympic Games, Nadal will play on the Spanish capital’s Caja Magica clay in the World Cup play-off tie against Ukraine.

Topics: 10sballs, Atp World Tour, Davis Cup, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Sports, Tennis, US Open