I am always touched by Rafael Nadal's attitude, says Babolat CEO
Eric Babolat is proud of the close relationship between the French racket producer brand and Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard has been playing holding a Babolat racket since ever and in an interview to Le Journal Dimanche, Eric said: "Many times, surrounded by a lot of people, he came to me to say hi. I spoke about it with Toni, who told me: 'Well, it's normal, he is well educated'. He always hugs me. I am always touched, and after every French Open title, we are invited to his dinner with friends, usually. There are his parents, his girlfriend, his uncles... It seems we are part of his family."
Eric also revealed an interesting thing: "In 2007, all the brands wanted to sign him and they increased the price, some of them were putting millions on the tablet. Rafa told them: 'I like you but I have other proposals...'. So, rather than a new classic three-year contract, that would have been less worth than the other offers, we proposed a ten-year agreement. We never spoke of money, we focused on game and technique. The contract ended in 2017 but it has no deadline, you can renew it until he competes, but we are also a partner of his Academy, his Foundation."
The fellow expert Greg Rusedski spoke about Novak Djokovic's attitude during the loss to Daniil Medvedev: “It is interesting because Marian Vajda said love and peace, you can have it off the court but not in and around it. All of a sudden he showed up again. That love and peace don’t really work for Novak Djokovic. He needs that fire and steam to get out his frustrations. It doesn’t work for him - that’s not him. It’s like saying to Rafael Nadal ‘Don’t fist pump. Don’t get emotional with the crowd’. He wouldn’t be the same player. Djokovic’s formula, which has taken him to world No 1, is to have that passion and that emotion on the court.”
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2Gr83kB
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