'How many titles would Nadal have without Federer and Djokovic?', says top coach

This year Rafael Nadal crowned his longest pursuit of Roger Federer's all-time record, equaling it to 20 Grand Slams thanks to yet another triumph at Roland Garros. For the fourth time in his extraordinary career, the Spanish phenom won the Parisian Grand Slam without losing a single set, as well as demolishing world number 1 Novak Djokovic in a one-way final. The 34-year-old from Manacor has gone through so many tough times in recent years and few would have imagined that he would remain at the top for more than 15 years. The current world number 2 will try to win the ATP Finals for the first time in his career, but he will have to be very careful already in the Round Robin to avoid last year’s fate. In a recent interview with Lavanguardia, his historic coach Francisco Roig delved into the lesser known sides of the 20-time Grand Slam champion.

Roig on Rafael Nadal's career

Asked if his discussions with Rafael Nadal ever veered to the race for being the greatest, Francisco Roig said, “Everyone wants it (to be the best). But we don’t talk about it much. Look, we found out the statistics (Nadal’s record-setting numbers) from the press. For instance, we did not know that Rafa had a hundred victories in Paris. And it’s a nice number, huh,” the former doubles player quipped. “When you go to play the Roland-Garros final, you don’t think that you can reach the grand twenty. You think that you are in the Roland-Garros final. And, that’s it,” the Spaniard said. “(Imagine) how many big titles would he have if the other two didn’t exist?” the coach said, adding, “Rafa is happy even when he wins a 250 tournament. And that’s what keeps him that way.” He shared an interesting anecdote as a way of explaining how Nadal’s champion mind ticks. “When Rafa was 21-years-old and had already added three Grand Slam titles, I asked him: ‘How many greats do you think you will reach?’ He said, ‘I hope it’s eight or nine.’ Then he said he did not see himself playing beyond the age of 28,” Roig finished. The format of the ATP Finals is a different one. Unlike the normal knockout tournament, here the eight players are drawn into two groups of four each. Each player will play three round-robin matches. The respective group standings are determined by the number of matches won. The top two players in each group advance to the semifinal. From the semifinal stage, it is a knockout tournament. Winners of the semifinal play the finals to determine the champion of the ATP Finals.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3eXiqgQ