lundi 27 mai 2013

He's afraid of motorbikes and scared of the dark and dogs - but Nadal is not frightened of Djokovic as he begins his fight to be crowned the champion of Paris





For a man who has lost just once in eight years playing the clay courts here at Roland Garros, Rafael Nadal surprisingly admits to feeling moments of great vulnerability.
Unfortunately for Novak Djokovic, who has made winning the 2013 French Open Championship his No1 priority of the year, he does not reveal any weakness that might be exploited if, as expected, they meet in the semi-final.
Nadal is afraid of the dark, he explains. He has a motorbike he is too scared to ride and drives his car at home in Porto Cristo, on the island of Majorca, with great caution. He distrusts all but the smallest dogs.
'I am not the most courageous guy in the world outside of the court,’ said Nadal here on Friday evening. ‘Being alone in the dark is something I don’t like.’
Friends will tell you he can sleep all night on his couch with the television on.
'I am improving as a driver,’ he said. ‘During the first two years, I was so-so; but now I am not dangerous! But it’s true, I go slow most of the time.

'I'm not the most courageous guy in the world outside of the court'

 
‘I won’t go on the motorbike, though. I appreciate a lot in this life; the things you cannot buy. Life is only once. I am happy being here and all the things that are a risk I normally avoid.’
Yet, paradoxically, on a  tennis court Nadal is the ultimate risk taker.
Seven months might have been stolen from his career after he left Wimbledon last summer, as a man mugged by his own troublesome knees, but Nadal has returned to wreak havoc.
Eight tournaments played, eight finals contested; six titles captured is a resume plucked from the wildest of dreams. Even Nadal is overwhelmed by his accomplishments, yet justifiably proud that Djokovic and Andy Murray’s ownership of the game in his absence has not yet proved to be absolute.
'I cannot be arrogant, but I cannot be stupidly humble,' said Nadal, as impeccably mannered and modest a sporting superstar you will encounter. 'To play eight finals in a row and win six is something very difficult to make happen in normal circumstances, but to make this happen after seven months without playing any tennis is unforgettable, just a dream. It is something very special and means a lot to me.'
Regardless of his No3 seeding, Nadal is once more the man to beat at the French Open, which Murray is missing to give himself the chance to be fit for Wimbledon after experiencing a recurrence of pain in his lower back 11 days ago at the Italian Open.
'It's normal that when I was out, when Andy and Novak are doing well, that people write about them and talk of a new rivalry,' said Nadal. 'You cannot write about how I am playing poker, or playing golf, or fishing.'
Instead, there was only speculation that Djokovic and Murray would now take over the game that had, for years, been the private fiefdom of Roger Federer and Nadal. The illusion was enhanced by Murray’s Olympic gold at Wimbledon and his historic triumph at the US Open, where he defeated Djokovic before the Serb exacted vengeance in the Australian Open final four months ago.
'The thing that surprises me is that, sometimes, it seems people think I have four or five years more than Andy and Novak,' said Nadal. 'But in one week I am 27 — only one year older than them. Probably, it is because I have had a lot of important matches against Roger that you put me in that generation. But he’s five years older than me; my generation is Andy and Novak, that is the reality.'
In Monaco last month, Djokovic inflicted only the second defeat of the year on Nadal, after Horacio Zeballos had beaten the Spaniard in the final of his comeback tournament in Chile in February.
And on Friday, Djokovic, while refusing to discuss anyone other than his first-round opponent David Goffin, said: 'This is the tournament that is the No1 priority of my year.'
Nadal does not compartmentalise his ambitions with such clarity. Nor does he comprehend how Djokovic, beaten in Rome by Grigor Dimitrov, who is Maria Sharapova’s new beau, can stack his season on the cards being dealt here over the next two weeks.

NADAL BY NUMBERS

68 Number of 'best-of five set' matches he has played on clay. He has lost only one
56 The number of titles that Nadal has so far won in his career
47 The number of clay court finals played by Nadal. He has won 41 of them
16 The number of Grand Slam finals he's played in. He's won 11 of them

Not every player has the same priorities,' said Nadal, who has won this title seven times, racking up 52 victories since 2005 with one solitary loss, against Sweden’s Robin Soderling in the fourth round four years ago.
'My biggest goal since I came back is to be fit and competitive in every tournament I play. If you play 100 per cent every week, your chances of having success are bigger every week.
'For me Roland Garros is very special, yes. I love the place, yes. I have every chance to win again, for sure. But what makes me happy is to be competitive every week.'
Djokovic’s motivation is translucent.  Having already won Wimbledon and the United States and Australian Open Championships, he craves to join the illustrious company of men who have triumphed at all four majors: Donald Budge, Fred Perry, Roy Emerson, Rod Laver, Andre Agassi, Federer and Nadal.
Djokovic nudged Nadal awfully close here 12 months ago, winning eight games in a row from the Spaniard in miserable conditions before the final was halted by bad light. Yet the next day belonged to Nadal and so did the title - again.
But Nadal is unhappy that similarly dank, cold weather is forecast this week.
'Some people get very confused about my game,’ he argued. ‘They think it’s better if the court is slow, because  I have a good defence. But the faster it is, the better for me. My spin is more painful for my opponents, my aggressive game works better.'
Yet through rain or shine, Nadal’s routine in this city has a rhythm and familiarity that fits him like a second skin. He stays in the same family-run hotel, in a street off the Champs Elysees.
Each night, he walks to dine at one of the various restaurants he has discovered over the years with the companionship of the small team he trusts like brothers.
His long-time girlfriend, Maria Francisca Perello, is scheduled to arrive in the second week of the tournament.
'I never felt alone when I was unable to play for seven months,’ said Nadal, who lives on a self-contained floor of the home shared with his mother and father, who are now reconciled after a period apart. 'I have a group of people around me all the time and I have a unified family and I had fantastic support.'
He trains and practices still at the little club at Manacor, where he learned the game as a child under the guidance of his uncle Toni, who remains his coach today.

'During the time I worked on my recovery, I found that playing poker distracted and relaxed me. In a way, it also put me in a competitive position that I missed.'
Instead of gambling for money, Nadal and his friends settled debts with forfeits. One losing bet required a swim in a local pool in the depths of winter.
'We play for stupid things,' he laughed. 'You have to play under control, like tennis; and like tennis, poker works your mind.'
On Friday night, Nadal appeared in a light-hearted, on-line poker tournament with a group of players invited by PokerStars, one of Nadal’s benefactors, at a prim tennis club nestling between high-rent apartments and the city’s ring road, La Peripherique.

'Somebody who tells you they don't feel the economic crisis doesn't have any sensibilities. I am not outside this world'

 
It was an opportunity to obtain a rare glimpse of the Spaniard beyond his usual workplace. Around him a group of young Parisians, wrapped in winter coats against the chill, tried to do what only one man ever achieved on a clay court in this city: administer a beating to Nadal.
He participated in good spirit and, clearly, thrives on competition. Customarily, Nadal spends time at tournaments partnered with his physiotherapist, Mahmo, playing football on a PlayStation, against Murray and Juan Monaco.
'I will text Andy a message this weekend and hope he is back soon,' said Nadal. 'Injuries are part of our life when you play under such pressure every week.'
Nadal’s team is always Real Madrid.
Nadal actually has deep friendships with Real players, such as Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas and he shares text conversations with Jose Mourinho, without the different factions having the remotest fear that he would ever betray the truth of the split at the club that has the Special One heading back to Chelsea.
Nadal’s privileged lifestyle and vast wealth - incalculably greater than the £42million he has accumulated in prize money - does not prevent him from feeling sorrowful for the economic pain being felt across Spain.
'Somebody who tells you they don’t feel the economic crisis doesn’t have any sensibilities,' he said. 'You have friends, close people around you, who are suffering a lot. I know I am a lucky person - but I am not outside this world.'
But life has to continue and there is business to be attended here over the next two weeks. Business that is more precious than ever the second time around, when risk-taking is part of his culture; if only on court.

WHAT MAKES HIM 'KING OF CLAY'

1 Ferocious forehand
He has maybe the best forehand of all time. The height he can get on the ball on clay creates a situation where you’re having to hit so many balls shoulder high or above that it’s very hard to return with any length and, if you leave it short, he takes over with the forehand.

2 Quick feet
His feet can get him into the most amazing positions, so he can hit the forehand from three-quarters of the court. He is one of the quickest players ever.

3 Natural-born winner
Nadal would have succeeded in whichever sport. He has that amazing mind. His Uncle Toni was a disciplinarian, but you don’t have to be that tough because he wants it on his own. He never believes he will be beaten.

4 Mental edge
Players look at Nadal’s record on clay and it’s scary. The majority are beaten before the first ball is hit. You start to think that you have to do something out of the ordinary - then you make errors.

5 Stamina
He can stay out there all day. Best of three against him is bad enough, but in best of five the pressure to win the first set is enormous. You know Nadal’s fifth set is stronger than his first.

AND... only Novak Djokovic can live with Nadal on clay. He’s the one guy who can nullify the big forehand weapon to the backhand because he’s so strong from shoulder height and above that he can hurt Nadal when he hits the big forehand.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/tennis/article-2331018/French-Open-2013-Rafael-Nadal-reveals-fears-Novak-Djokovic-isnt-one.html?ico=football^editors_choice

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