I didn't expect Rafael Nadal to win so much, says former player
The former world No. 14 singles player Martin Verkerk praised Rafael Nadal's ability to win 11 French Opens despite this is, for many experts, the toughest Grand Slam in tennis. 'The French Open matches are long and tiring, because of clay, because you have to move differently', said Verkerk. 'You also have to be well prepared for it physically. During a Grand Slam, it's difficult to recover, because you only have one day off between matches. So it's mainly a matter of getting treatment, eating well, sleeping a lot and saving energy.'
You also need to relax: 'For example in Paris in 2003 I ate with my family and friends every day, so you are out of the routine, I liked it, but it's different for everyone.'
Verkerk also admitted he was surprised by seeing Nadal winning 17 Majors in career: 'I did not expect Nadal to be so strong. He wins all so easily, ridiculously well, and I always thought Federer would win a Grand Slam, but not Nadal.'
Shingo Kunieda currently holds 22 Grand Slam singles titles and 20 doubles in tennis. Attendo 34 years of age, and after three Olympic gold medals, the Japanese dreams to close the chapter in his country. At 9 years of age, he figured out he was dealing with cancer on his back. After several surgeries, he could not move his legs anymore. But he was a sports lover, played a lot of games and eventually fell in love with tennis. He won titles in 2018 and ended the season as a world No. 1. His favourite tournament is the Australian Open, where he won nine times. In the Olympics, he won two singles golds in the Paralympian Games in Beijing 2008 and London 2012 and also won 2004 Athens doubles. Now, after going through some physical issues, he aims to win the last medal in Tokyo in less than a couple of years.
Story by Punto de Break.
ALSO READ: Rafael Nadal: Worse players than David Ferrer won a Grand Slam title
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2L7Ggrk
No comments