Roger Federer's ability to play at the net is extreme - Toni Nadal
In an interview with La Tercera, Rafael Nadal's uncle Toni was asked what is needed to make a champion. The 58-year-old said: "The first thing is to have uncommon physical conditions. For me the greatest players are the ones that adapt themselves to the conditions. The way they win points is one of the toughest. They cover the court very well and they do not give a point for lost. They do not give you anything and they have a big ambition. The other one is that they are able to win lost points. When you have this combination, you have a great champion behind. Everyone has his own characters. For example Rafael had a mental strength that makes him very strong. Fernando Gonzalez had a very powerful forehand. Marcelo Rios visualized his shots very well. Roger Federer has an extreme ability in playing at the net. Each of them have something special to be there at the top."
On the future of tennis, Toni added: "Injuries are the product of the age, not the tiredness on tour and that the top players drop their level. It's something normal. Staying there for a lot of years is tiring. In the future, there will be great players like Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem. I think they will lead the future."
On the Chilean tennis, the 58-year-old concluded: "For me, Fernando Gonzalez and Nicolas Massu marked an era of the Chilean tennis. With Massu, I had a great relationship and he was also a great player. He had his career highlight with his Olympic medals. González was a bit more complete, he was among the best players for years. In the end, injuries influenced him."
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2ZmO8Mq
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