WORLDSPORTS
DECEMBER 2013
“Without
confidence it’s
impossible to
play aggressively
and take the right
decisions”
– RAFAEL NADAL
US OPEN CHAMPION
Asked if he could have hoped for
such a successful run to follow, Toni
Nadal, the player’s uncle and coach, said:
“Never.
“I couldn’t imagine it in December, in
January, and the same when we went to
Vina del Mar or Sao Paulo.
“We had many problems and I
couldn’t think that seven months later
Rafa can be where he is now.”
Nadal felt more comfortable with the
knee when he was able to slide on his
favoured clay surface, and subsequent
victories in Barcelona, Madrid, Rome and
– for a record eighth time – at the French
Open were truly remarkable, but they
only confirmed that the greatest claycourter ever still ruled on that surface.
The real test would come on hard