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He handles the pressure well

Carlos Moya
elmundo-eldia.com
February 12, 2025

Versi�n Espa�ol

I've known Rafa since he was very small and I know where he has come from. His best quality, besides his indisputable skill as a tennis player, is how well he bears pressure. Since he was a child he has been a champion in all categories, he's accustomed to playing in finals and winning them, and this is an incredible advantage in the professional circuit. They didn't surprise me at all with the declarations that they did on Saturday in which they asked him to play the 5th match. The easiest was to hide and to give the responsibility to someone else, but Rafa is made of another kind. He is a natural winner.

It's difficult to predict what his peak is, but I'm sure it is very high. He has gone burning through the ranks quickly and is a great champion. In the professional circuit, he is going to take many joys and he's going to get many breaks of serve besides one, because every day that passes he is more stable and a better player.

Rafa doesn't only have one good thing, he has many. He has claws, courage, and an impressive shot. Additionally, like I said before, he knows how to play very well with pressure, which is where almost all fall. Then, when he is high up, he will play to support another type of pressure, which is the pressure from being one of the best, because then all want to beat you and when they play you, they are super-motivated. Establishing an analogy with soccer, it's like if you're going against Real Madrid or Barcelona. They always go for you. But I don't lack any doubt that when this also happens to Rafa, he will know how to overcome it and will continue to be high up, because quality and spirit are not lacking in him.

I also want to stop in the detail that he is a left-handed player, and you should know that they are rare on the circuit. A lefty always creates many problems, above all with the serve, because they get an effect which a right-hander isn't accustomed too. It's another advantage that he has, because 90 of 100 players are right-handed, not left. He's only 17 years-old, and because of this, to try to compare him to someone else on the circuit is risky. In any case, having in account that his system is aggressive from the back of the court and the rest is excellent, I would dare to establish a certain analogy with Juan Carlos Ferrero, except the distances, of course.

I have cheered a lot for his triumph in the Czech Republic, and for me would be a dream if the next Davis Cup elimination against Holland could be disputed in Mallorca and that the two of us would be on the team.