Rafael Nadal consider that the King Juan Carlos has been “wrong” in some of his actions, but that “You always have to remember what he has done for Spain” . He also recognizes that the ‘tics’ he has during matches help him to “order” his head and silence “internal voices”, and he appealed to “resist and fight for things more important than tennis” during coronavirus pandemic.
“He may have been wrong, but we must always remember what he has done for Spain”, Rafa declared in a interview to the Italian newspaper ‘Il Corriere della Sera’, in which he does not want to reveal whether he considers himself more to the left or to the right. “Don’t make me talk about politics”, jokes.
In an extensive talk, the Balearic also explains why are you still living in Spain, when you could reside in another country and pay less taxes. “I am Spanish, and I am happy to be so. Of course, when the tax bill arrives, I am a little less happy. But I was lucky to be born in a country with many virtues, which gave me a good life. I feel deeply Manacorí, Mallorcan, Spanish and European. And I feel lucky four times. “
Nor does he evade the question of whether he believes in the existence of God. “I do not know, and I do not wonder. For me the important thing is to behave well, to help those who need it. I believe in good people. And if God exists, it will be wonderful,” he says.
In another vein, Nadal is still surprised to have won his thirteenth Roland Garros title this year. “I don’t know either. If it happened to me, it could happen to someone else. I am a normal person, with my uncertainties and my fears. Fear of losing, never. But I always think that I can lose. I think about it every day, against any rival, and this helps me a lot, “he says.
It is also clear to him that he will never look for enemies on the track. “Cultivating enemies tires me. I have never allowed myself to intimidate a rival, “he warns, and explains why he’s never smashed a racket. “As a child they taught me that you don’t do that. I’m the one who’s wrong, not the racket, “he recalled.
In addition, the Balearic tennis player reveals the importance of their ‘tics’ during matches. “I am not superstitious, otherwise I would change the ritual with each defeat. I am not even a slave to routine: my life is constantly changing, and competing is very different from training. What people call ‘tics’ are a way of putting my head in order, I am very disorderly. They are the way to concentrate and silence the internal voices, so as not to hear the voice that tells me that I am going to lose, or that, even more dangerous, tells me that I am going to win. “
Nadal clarifies that he will know how to listen to his body when the retreat approaches. “Tennis is a sport of the mind, it is not mathematics. When the time comes, I will know it,” he says. “I will dedicate myself to children. Our Foundation helps children at risk of social exclusion: it provides food, education, sports … Then we have the ‘More than tennis’ project, twenty schools in Spain for children with disabilities. And we work in India to teach English and computers to children, “he says.
Nadal also has words of praise for one of his great adversaries, the Swiss Roger Federer. “He is one of the great men in the history of sport. He was my great rival, and this has benefited both of us, and also a little tennis. In some things we are alike: we care about tranquility, about family. others, we are different: he is Swiss, I am Latin, we have different characters, cultures and ways of life “, he declares, assured that “No” he is offended by the imitations of the Serbian Novak Djokovic.
On the other hand, the manacorí confesses that the crisis suffered in 2009 It coincided with the separation of his parents, and he remembered another hard time in his early days. “At 19, I had just won the first Roland Garros and they told me that I could no longer play due to a malformation in my left foot,” he reveals. “The pain was so great that I trained by hitting the ball sitting on a chair in the middle of the field. Then I recovered, thanks to a template that changed the position of the foot, but my knees became swollen.”
However, he was able to overcome it “with a positive mindset, transforming the fragility of the body into mental strength.” “Sooner or later, things will fit together. We must prepare to resist, because there is no other solution than to resist,” he says.
He also confesses that he cried “desperately for an hour and a half” after the defeat in the 2007 Wimbledon final against Roger Federer. “Sometimes the disappointment is terrible, even if it’s just a tennis match. I cried in pain when, in the Australian Open final with Wawrinka in 2014, I injured my back after winning the first set. I lost but completed the match. , because you don’t withdraw from a ‘Grand Slam’ final. “
On the coronavirus pandemic, Nadal admit to being especially concerned for his family. “I’m still quite young, the physicist continues to respond to me. However, if I get infected, I can infect people at risk. I am worried about my parents, my family, my community. It is the most difficult moment of our life. That is why It is time to fight for things much more important than a tennis match. We must cultivate confidence. “
Therefore, it encourages overcoming the crisis “with respect towards ourselves, towards our loved ones, towards others. And with responsibility and logic. People die from the virus, but you can also starve. The blow to the economy was very severe. We need to find the balance between health and work, between health and social protection. Security is paramount, but so are freedom and dignity “, he points out, before acknowledging that tennis without an audience is “sad” because “the colors, the screams, the passion are missing”, he concludes.
