It was seven in the morning in New York and Rafa was already on the training field preparing for his afternoon match against Diego 'Peque' Schwartzman in the quarterfinals of the recent US Open. There was no other player on the Flushing Meadows courts at that time. The only witnesses were the ESPN journalistic team, which covers the tournament around the clock, and his coaches Carlos Moyá and Francis Roig, who, clearly sleepy, accompany the player wherever he goes. At ESPN, no one understood why the manacorí had woken up so early to practice if he had finished late the day before and had the entire late morning free to do it. Afterwards, when we consulted his coaches, we understood why.
Nadal felt that he had to reinforce part of his tactics for the match against "Peque" and that he had to take advantage of every second he could before the match. Obviously, it was he who proposed the training session. Moya and Roig are no longer surprised by the displays of professionalism and desire to improve that the winner of 19 Grand Slams continues to have. But we are.
Surely, Roger Federer is a better tennis player than Nadal, he has more talent and all his shots enjoy perfect technique. And yet, the Spaniard, through sacrifice and a lot of mental strength, has equalized forces. It's the fight between the violinist and the worker. Between the impeccable tennis player and the impeccable athlete. Perhaps the greatest sporting dispute in history. For now, the worker is winning with eight more victories in their head-to-head matches. As for Grand Slams, the Swiss has the advantage with 20 titles. Even if Federistas hate me, I believe that it's already a fact that the Spaniard will surpass him.
The story goes that the first time Nadal faced Federer was in March 2004, in the third round of the Miami Masters Series. The kid was 17 years old and the little watch was 22. The Spaniard recounts in his book "Rafa, my story" that on that day, Toni, his uncle and coach, said a phrase to him in the locker room that will always stay in his head: "You won't beat him with talent or with your brilliant shots. He'll always have more abilities than you to make a winning shot out of nowhere. What you have to do is press him all the time, force him to play at the limit of his ability." That day in the United States, Nadal defeated Federer 6/3 and 6/3.
Nadal grew up and built his professional career by listening to the differences in his abilities compared to Roger's. At the same time, injuries threatened his career, and even the most prominent specialists ventured to say that due to his knees, he would not be able to play at a high level beyond the age of 30. But the Spaniard, a natural competitor, overcame it all and reinvented himself. He modified his schedule, attending only thirteen tournaments in the season. He learned to run less but better. He significantly improved his serve, changing the grip to a more continental one that allows him to hit the ball closer to his body. Additionally, he perfected his backhand, making it deeper and faster. In short, he dosed his physical prowess and became more lethal in the game.
Now, at 33 years old, Nadal is going through his best moment. He will regain the number one spot in the ATP rankings from November 4th due to his incredible season. He won Roland Garros and the US Open, reached the final of the Australian Open, and the semifinals at Wimbledon.
It's also worth remembering that Nadal is the all-time winner of the Masters 1000 with 34 titles and that he has won a total of 84 trophies in his career. With professionalism as his middle name, Rafael Nadal doesn't need to be the best tennis player to be the best athlete in the world.
Photo/video: América TV
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