Toni Nadal praises nephew Rafael's comeback: 'He has looked younger'
Toni Nadal is not surprised by his nephew Rafael's recovery from foot surgery. The Spanish player was dominated by Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final, but he still delivered a great level of tennis in the six previous matches. "Rafael always overcame the difficulties with a restart, whether it's starting a season or coming back from an injury absence", said Toni in an interview to L'Equipe. "In 2006, when he came back after a foot injury, after four months of no tennis, he wasn't immediately bad, in Marseille [semi-finals] and especially in the tournament that followed in Dubai, he managed to beat Federer in the final, at a time when Federer was almost unbeatable on that surface [hard]. Rafael has always had the ability to immediately reset. But it's even more noticeable now with his advancing age and observers of his matches in Melbourne have the impression that he's looked younger, that his appetite for winning is that of a junior, that his inner fire has increased. I don't think that's unique to my nephew; it's something that we see more and more recently, this improving form of the 'veterans'. Take Kevin Anderson: he's experiencing the best moments of his career at 32, like Rafa. Do I have to remind people of Roger Federer's level in 2017, when he was perhaps playing the best tennis of his career at almost 36?'
How does he explain that? 'Those players have a sincere and profound passion for tennis, and it's this total engagement to their sport that gives back. Almost all the best players improve when they arrive at a certain age, no?'
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2tLINQf
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