Boris Becker exclusively on Rafael Nadal: “We were all wrong” – Podcast Das Gelbe vom Ball

But even if Nadal hits the classic in Paris, he faces a big problem.

“Like any top player, Rafa needs match practice that you don’t get in training,” explained Eurosport expert Boris Becker in the podcast Das Gelbe vom Ball.

You can “train for four or five hours, but the tension, dealing with spectators and referees or the question of how to play four or five matches in a row – you only get all of that in tournament mode,” said the six-time Grand Slam -Tournament winner next. He “really hopes that Nadal can at least compete in Paris”.

• The entire podcast with Boris Becker:

If that doesn’t happen or if Nadal ends his career after the upcoming French Open, world sport would lose one of its greatest, says Becker. “He is an absolute icon of the sport. Rafa is one of the fairest players in the world, one of the greatest fighters we have ever seen,” praises Germany’s tennis legend.

Becker on the Nadal phenomenon: “We were all wrong”

Nobody “ever played tennis like Rafael Nadal,” said Becker. “I can still remember how he won the first time in Paris with his very exhausting style of play. It was said that this style of play was far too strenuous and he would never be able to do it in the long run. We were all wrong, he got us taught otherwise.”

I suppose. There is arguably no bigger mistake to make than to write off Nadal prematurely – no matter how adverse the circumstances.