Juli�n Casanova, candidly met Rafa Nadal in the plaza of bulls in Alicante
The people closest to Rafa Nadal put his civic upbringing before his strict sports training.
Rafa Nadal is special, even down to the details. He is left-handed for tennis and when he used to strike the ball in order to score in soccer before he decided on the racquet. For the remainder of things he uses his right hand. Once hyperactive, and a devourer of chocolate, he�s suddenly calmed down with a fishing rod.
Entering into the public eye has not changed him much, although from young he has generated more stares than the rest. �Perhaps by having an uncle (Miguel Angel) who was internationally known and who played on FC Barcelona, during childhood and youth tournaments, many people gathered to watch when he played, in spite of the fact that there were other children that were better than him. Therefore maybe he�s accustomed to the attention and doesn�t change now because of it,� explains his other uncle, Toni, who is in charge of his tennis training, putting emphasis on the civic one.
The young tennis player uses and is thankful for the upbringing that he received. �My family has taught me how to get along well; they have given me the humility that is needed�.
He had to stop celebrating for a few minutes after qualifying for the final. Toni advised him that �by being raised properly, he should go to the French bench and show courtesy towards them.� The people closest to the tennis player make sure that he keeps both feet on the ground and that he doesn�t let it all rise to his head. �Everyone likes when people pay attention to them. For the time being, at the level Rafa is at, they are doing him a favor�, says Toni. And Rafa responds, not having become egotistical after winning such an important match, �I hoped that Carlos (Moy�) could have been able to keep up his level and play all the eliminatory matches. If all is normal, it should be he and Ferrero who they�ll play in the final. They have shown over time that they are the best.�
Another person in his place may have used the circumstance to claim a spot in �singles.� He did not do that, even though he says that �I am not a doubles player, my objective is to get better in singles. But for now, for me to have a position on the Davis team it is to play doubles.�
Toni Nadal doesn�t take away credit from his pupil, but he consciously avoids glorifying his accomplishments. �Rafel is lucky�, he says using the experience in Brno as an example. �It so happens that he loses his first singles match and then doubles, but leaves like a hero because he won the last and deciding point.�
During the last Australian Open he preferred that Rafa did not stay in the hotel where the big players were. �Carlos Costa (the manager of the player) told me that Moy� and Ferrero were in that hotel. I told Rafa that in staying there he�d be with the 'bad guys'�. He does not want Rafa�s character to get away from him before time. The uncle notes that �nobody should act overconfidently because he can hit a ball over a net well. I believe that it there are more important things in this world�.
The family likes to relish the successes of the young guy, but they take care of keeping the personal aspects in the forefront. Many people compare Rafa to the Australian Lleyton Hewitt because of their expressiveness on the court. The Manacor� responds to that with �I hope that they could compare me with someone that has been number one�, although he qualifies that, without a glimpse of critical toward the 'Aussie', that �I get animated for my own benefit�.
Toni points out that �he always does it with propriety (appropriateness). Surely at some point his rival has felt annoyed or uncomfortable, but it was never directed at him personally. At times he began a match with a double fault and had already begun to say �vamos! He is very enthusiastic in the things he likes to do.�
And as an example of his sportsmanship he says that �I have never seen him throw a racquet on the court. It�s only an insult; it should not be done in respect for the people who can�t afford to buy one.�
Rafa Nadal had a difficult time when he was injured in April. A stress fracture in the scaphoid of his left foot caused him to be out of play for three months. He missed the better part of the clay court season and Wimbledon. �We had to resign ourselves to that fact�, indicates Toni. And Rafa, the outstanding student, comments that �it was difficult because I was playing so well. I was 18th in the Champions Race, with my objective to finish the year in the 20s, and after, I dropped to the 70s. But it helped me to learn to appreciate the things that happen to me as they happen.�
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