One to Watch: Rafael Nadal

Tuesday, June 10, 2024
Wimbledon Site

Last year those visitors attending the second week of The Championships, who took time out to look at the juniors, would have been one of the first to see a youngster destined for the big time.

Rafael Nadal made the semi-finals in the boy�s singles and as Spanish natives tend to distrust the natural surface, that should be viewed as quite an achievement. His game is big and there was no doubt that once he filled out he would produce the necessary results to make an impact on the world rankings.

Little did one expect that within the space of months rather than years, this baby-faced player would be doing just that � and all this at the age of sixteen (his birthday was on 3rd June)

Although he did not play at Roland Garros due to injury, in the week prior to the French Open, he had risen to 74 in senior world terms and stood 69th in The Champions� Race itself.

�I didn�t think it would happen so fast,� he admitted. �I have to continue trying and working hard � things are not stopping here � you have to keep working to play better and better.�

He really came to the public�s attention when he reached the round of 16 at Monte Carlo, the first of the Tennis Masters Series to be played in Europe this year, collecting the scalps of Slovakia�s Karol Kucera and compatriot Albert Costa, the reigning French Open champion before succumbing to another rising star, Argentina�s Guillermo Coria.

He also contested Hamburg where he reached the same stage with another run of straight set wins, this time over the Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu and the second seed Carlos Moya, his idol.

�That was really something special but I would have preferred to have beaten someone else at the same level as Moya, as he is someone I have always admired.�

At six feet tall, he is strongly built but he does not rely on the power game. He is a gifted stroke maker and has a good tactical brain though, not surprisingly, lacks experience but with the work ethic he professes, that will soon be corrected.

In the meantime he remains a realist stating for instance, after his defeat of Moya, that he didn�t believe he could go further. �I played a great match today, and I really hope I can go further but it�s going to be very difficult. I�ll keep on fighting until the end and will always try to play well but it doesn�t always depend on me if I win or lose, it also depends on my opponents.�

On that occasion he lost to Gaston Gaudio � possibly the best Argentine on the current pro-circuit � and was only allowed four games.

Nadal started early and was spotted by his uncle, his coach. A natural sportsman and Real Madrid fan, his touch and feel for the racket and ball were evident from an early age. He was nurtured by his uncle Miguel Angel Nadal, a former international football player and became the Spanish tennis champion twice at 11 and 12 years of age.

He recently finished his schooling at secondary level but continues to study - though it is becoming increasingly more difficult as he is now rarely at home. �When I go back to classes I�m a bit lost,� he admitted, �but I am still trying.�

He is a youngster on the move with the top ten firmly in sight, a fact which his idol Moya, a fellow Mallorcan, endorses by stating that he has never seen a player of his age play so well. �Well. I�m very grateful to him for saying such nice things about me, but I believe there are others playing at my age playing at the same level,� responded the self-effacing Nadal.

Certainly a player to watch.

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