by Mark Fuller
The Age
January 23, 2025

At just 17, Rafael Nadal prefers to stick to his native Spanish when speaking publicly. No matter. He has a forehand that will never get lost in the translation.

Taking the time to become more at ease with English will have to wait while Nadal works towards fulfilling the many prophecies his prodigious talent has encouraged.

Like his forehand, the buzz about the left-hander from the island of Majorca is huge.

Most commonly, he is "the teen sensation", "the next big thing". More specifically, he is variously "the best teenager ever", a "prodigy" and a future world No. 1 or "Superboy".

"If he were a stock, I would definitely buy," said American Brad Gilbert, the former player, coach of Andy Roddick and former coach of Andre Agassi.

Former world No. 1 Carlos Moya, a fellow Mallorcan and a childhood idol of Nadal, says his young practice partner will be in the top 10 within two years, and will rule the game before long.

Having wiped qualifier Michal Tabara 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 on Tuesday and shown patience and courage to dismiss Frenchman Thierry Ascione 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 yesterday, Nadal meets Lleyton Hewitt tomorrow.

In 2001, Hewitt became the youngest player, at 20 years eight months, to hold the ATP's No. 1 ranking. It is a landmark some consider to be well within Nadal's sights, although it is not one that occupies the young man's mind. Not right now.

As he observed with the refreshing candour of youth yesterday, getting his head around how he might beat Hewitt in front of a rampant home crowd is ordeal enough.

Speaking through an interpreter, Nadal said he expected it to be "a very hard match. Almost impossible".

Almost impossible? Nadal corrected either himself or his interpreter, suggesting that if they both played well, Hewitt had "many chances"; if they both played "normal" then maybe it would be Hewitt, too; if Hewitt didn't play so well and Nadal did, then "maybe I can do something".

Hewitt will be wary. After dispensing with Karol Kucera yesterday, Hewitt joined those who have tipped Nadal as a future top-10 player, agreeing that he is the best 17-year-old in the world.

"I'm sure he is. There's not too many 17-year-olds in this draw," he said.

As heavy as his brow looked at times against Ascione yesterday, Nadal appears to carry such endorsements with the lightness of someone born to the task.

Certaintly there is no indication that expectation has been a handbrake on his rise since he turned professional in 2001. After climbing from a rankings high of 818 in his debut year, Nadal broke through in 2003. Among his victims were former top-10 players Kucera and fellow Spaniard Albert Costa, highly rated Younes El Aynaoui and - almost apologetically - his hero, Moya.

When he won his way to the third round at Wimbledon last year, he became the youngest man to do so since a 16-year-old Boris Becker in 1984. With wins on the Challenger circuit, he became the first 17-year-old to break into the ATP top 50 since Michael Chang did so in 1989.

There may well be identifiable genetics at work here. His uncle is Miguel Angel, the Spanish international soccer player who has graced FC Barcelona. Another uncle, Toni Nadal, is his coach.

As with so many sporting prodigies, the signs were there in infancy.

Nadal was four when he first swung a racquet, playing against his uncle Toni. The difference with little Rafael - or Rafa, as he is known in Spain - is that he was swinging it with either hand.

Despite being a natural right-hander, Nadal eventually found he was more at ease hitting with his left.

Yesterday, Nadal's double-handed backhand was sound enough, but it was his booming forehand that landed the telling blows. As was the case for Hewitt in his youth, Nadal's serve is his weak point. His 150 km/h first service would cause him trouble in the women's draw. Still, like every ground stroke, it is accompanied by a groan that could haunt houses.

Not that that lost him any friends at Margaret Court Arena yesterday. After his win, he signed the autograph books and giant tennis balls of a handful of fans barely younger than himself, but as he walked from the court with a generous wave to the crowd, he left many more holding limply dangling black felt pens, unfulfilled.

They ought not fret. The kid looks likes being around for a while yet.