Rafael Nadal would be better than Roger Federer playing right-handed - Toni
'As a kid he was playing two-handed. Backhand and forehand in the same way. The only thing that I knew that he had to play one-handed. As a kid, he was playing really well on the forehand side: he was hitting great shots. But I told him: how many tennis players are top 10 ranked playing two-handed? You will not be the first to change it. That's why we chose to play just with his left hand. At the age of five and six years, we tried serving with one hand and then the other hand but he was not good with none of them. After all, I decided he would play lefty because I thought he was lefty. Now I know he is right-handed, because the only thing he does with left hand is to play tennis. He plays golf right-handed, he eats and washes teeth with right hand. He launches the ball with the left hand. In the end of the match, when he launches something to the crowd, he will do it with the right hand. I think if he started playing with the right hand, he would be better than Federer.'
Is Toni ready to start coaching another player as he did with Rafa? 'No. The situation is very different. He is my nephew and I could tell him everything - for example today we will train not 1 hour but 2 or 3 hours. Today is very difficult to train the young players. You have to say them only good things. In the Academy (RNA), if I tell a player that he is not good and that's why he makes errors - an angry father will come to me and scold me. I could always tell the truth to Rafael. And that's why we were so strong!' Asked if it's true that Rafa was born with a kind of illness, Toni replied: 'That's definitely not true. There is a small bone [sorry don't know the Eng word] in the leg from birth, which is nothing. The only thing that it makes is that it hurts. Nothing else. He is healthy and has always been
'Try to always play at the limit of your abilities and hit the ball as stronger as you can. I always said these words to him many times when he was a kid. The rest was about being consistent, being completely focused and playing high speed. I explained him that if he did it, all what he dreamed of would be possible.'
'When he was three years old, we started training a little bit through games. Thrice a week and then every day. I was very exigent and strict, in order to make his game improve, achieve his goals and win trophies.'
Comparing Dimitrov and Federer's games, Toni said: 'Grigor hesitates to hit, the ball bounces, he stops and then hits. Wirh Federer the ball bounces and he hits is straightaway. Grigor needs to overcome this pause.'
ALSO READ: Rafael Nadal: Worse players than David Ferrer won a Grand Slam title
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2MoVadu
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