Corentin Moutet he will have the meeting and the photograph he wanted since he was a child, which he did not want to force because he is one of those who prefers that things “happen naturally, and until now it had not happened”. Roland Garros 2022 has made it possible. The Frenchman, 23 years old and number 139 in the world, will not only pose with his idol Rafael Nadal, but he will also compete against him on his favorite terrain, in a tournament that he has dominated thirteen times.
“I’m not afraid of anything. Rafa is a great player, everyone knows it. But fear, no. I’m not afraid of anything,” explains Moutet, who had not even asked to train with the king of clay in previous dates.
“I am not one to bother my idols, nor to ask them for a photograph or hit some balls. I prefer to see them, leave them alone and keep that image of childhood with them,” says the Parisian.
Being left-handed like Nadal helped reflect on him. So much so that “I don’t know whether to say it because he will create big headlines. He even slept in his tank top Roland of Rafa”.
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He did it as a kid who “imitated him in everything. As children we need idols, to identify with others. He was left-handed like me, he was my inspiration. I imitated his serve, his drive shot, I imitated everything until I decided to do what I wanted better to me. And that certainly happened for not imitating him”, he confesses.
There are thirteen years of age difference, but Nadal with 18 already raised great trophies, and close to turning 36 (June 3) continues to aspire to a fourteenth Roland Garros. For now, a win over Moutet would mean reaching at 300 in Grand Slam.
The Frenchman insists that “I have no fear even though he has won so much at Roland Garros. I will concentrate on myself, try to enjoy myself and do my best trying to win. Then we’ll see what happens.”
