A his 60 years is an institution in the world of tennis. Toni Nadal, Rafael Nadal’s mentor and uncle, is also the director of the first edition of the Mallorca Championships and technical advisor to Felix Auger-Aliassime. He sits down with MARCA to review the Open 250 plans and current affairs.
- The Mallorca tournament started as a WTA in 2016 and lasted four years. It is now an ATP. Why this change?
- The option was given for the Mallorca WTA to move to Berlin and buy the week from Turkey.
- Is it lucky that in the first edition Daniil Medvedev, Dominic Thiem, Novak Djokovic are in the doubles …?
- It is a matter of circumstances, due to the issue of the pandemic and also because the weather is good in Mallorca and that makes it easier for people to come to train here. There is also the fact that for Djokovic going to London so early did not make sense.
- Was it you as the director who made the invitation to the world number 1 to come to Mallorca?
- It was he who asked to come because he knows that he would be well treated here, with good weather …
As a tennis fan I would like to see Rafa and Djokovic in Mallorca
- Your idea is that the event grows in terms of category and becomes an Open 500?
- We will see it in time, the claim is that, but I do not think about it beyond. What we want is for the tournament to be better in terms of organization, in terms of public presence and then we’ll see.
- Would you like to see your nephew Rafael Nadal on the grass of the Calvi Country Club before retiring?
- I would like him as a manager and also as a tennis fan. But I also understand that Rafael is not easy because he has to prepare for Wimbledon.
- Was Rafa expected to decide not to be at Wimbledon?
- I know I was surprised. It is true that he had a few problems, but evidently he thought he would play.
Losing at Roland Garros is always painful and even more so if you have won 13 times
- When have you met him afterwards has he been particularly affected?
- A loss at Roland Garros is always painful, especially if you have won 13 times. But it is not Rafael’s first defeat. He has lost more difficult matches in finals. It is normal that he is a little affected. You just need to lose a match like the one in the Paris semi-finals and you are happy.
- See Djokovic winning the big four on the calendar this season?
- It is very difficult, but it is possible because it is number 1.
- Were you surprised by Novak’s level in the Roland Garros semi-final against Nadal?
- I did not find it at a particularly high level. When you watch the last set, yes. It is true that I won very good points, but Rafael failed more than usual. He made 55 unforced errors and that made it easier for Djokovic to start playing better. If you look at Rafael’s numbers from 2020 to 2021 there is a difference. In the end it is a scale, when one goes up the other goes down and vice versa. I did not see an incredibly good game. I was told that the level was very high, with superlative adjectives, and I did not see it that way. My brother Miguel Angel called me to ask how I had seen him and I told him exactly this.
- Do you think Roger Federer has options at Wimbledon?
- I saw him play in Halle with Felix [Aliassime] and the third set cost him. Normally, it is not easy for him to play a series of matches to five sets. Federer has enough quality to beat anyone, what I don’t know is if he can play high intensity matches for two weeks. With Roger you can expect anything.
It’s difficult but possible for Djokovic to win the big four this year
- Is Djokovic the favorite today to win the career of the tennis player with the most ‘Grand Slam’ titles?
- The truth is that before Roland Garros I saw Rafael, now the subject has changed a bit. I wrote that the next Wimbledon and US Open are going to define things a bit because I understand that each year it will be more difficult to win. Tsitsipas was already on the verge of beating Djokovic in Paris; Medvedev and Zverev are already there, Sinner, Musetti are coming …
- How is your relationship with the Canadian Aliassime?
- I do not have a time agreement, the collaboration agreement is verbal. My idea is to collaborate remotely, giving my opinion and trying to see their matches, analyze them and tell them later on what they can improve.
Before Roland Garros I saw Nadal favorite to win more ‘Grand Slam’ titles, now he has changed
- The dream as director of the Mallorca tournament is to one day reunite Nadal and Djokovic in the box?
- Any tennis fan would like to see these two players in the same event, but it is complicated.
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