It is the image that everyone wants to see in Paris. And, as of this Friday, it is a little closer. In the Mutua Madrid Open podcast (Equals), Rafa Nadal, who this Saturday faces Alex de Miñaur in the tournament, assured that, “if there is nothing strange,” he will play the Olympic doubles with Carlos Alcaraz. “If there is nothing strange, we will play. For me, it is also a great illusion. If I’m not mistaken, I’m told it’s for him too. It would be nice to be able to play a tournament before the Games to prepare and understand you on the court. If we both arrive in good condition, why not, we have the opportunity to make a good couple and aspire to beautiful things,” said the winner of 22 Grand Slams, who had never spoken so clearly on the matter.
Alcaraz, who advanced this Friday in Madrid after beating Alexander Shevchenko, had spoken more about the possibility. And, as Nadal indicated, he had always been very excited about her. “It’s like a dream, I hope to play doubles with him at the Games. There are still four months left and anything can happen. For me, it would be great,” he said, without going any further, this month in Monte Carlo, before announcing his absence from the Monegasque tournament due to his discomfort in his right arm. “I think it would be something good for both of us and something good for the Spanish team. We’ll see how things evolve. I hope I live up to being a good partner for him. He sure will be for me. We will see how far we can go and it would be nice to be able to work a little earlier,” she responded, saying yes, Nadal this Friday.
The ego and the importance of the team
In the podcast, beyond the possible doubles alongside Alcaraz, Nadal also reflected on his career, as legendary as it was close to its end. In the midst of so many successes, he pointed out his “little ego” as one of the keys. “I believe that the ego is one of the greatest scourges of humanity. At a given moment, it can help you succeed, but I don’t think it can help you in many facets of life, at all,” he explained. “I try to treat the people who are with me well enough, both on a human and professional level, so that things go a long way. I have been lucky to work with good people and I think I have been an easy person for everyone. I don’t think any of them can tell you that I have been a person who has caused them problems. There are always tensions at any given moment, but always with respect and affection,” he continued to connect with his team, another of his great pillars.
“The people who are by my side are the ones who practically started with me,” stressed Rafa, who has only worked with his uncle, Toni, and now with Carlos Moyá and Marc López. “I am a person who believes in long-term projects and who does not tend to blame others when things do not go well. I have surrounded myself with good, professionally good people who have felt free to tell me things without fearing for their job. Our sport is a peculiar sport, because it is the player who pays the coach, and there are coaches who do not feel with that freedom,” said Nadal who, in the final stretch of his career, feels “happy” to travel with his family. “Seeing your son makes you happy at all times. It is a love unlike anything else. “I am lucky that he travels with me almost always and that my wife wants to help me,” he dedicated to little Rafa and his wife, Mery Perelló, who are enjoying these days at the Caja Mágica. For the last time, except surprise, with Nadal on clay.
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2024-04-26 18:15:29
#Nadal #Alcaraz #Games #strange
