Rafael Nadal: 'People think when you are good at one thing, you can...'

Rafael Nadal managed to amaze the world again in 2020, which will be remembered as one of the strangest and most troubled seasons of any era. After the very long suspension caused by the Coronavirus emergency, the Spanish phenomenon had decided not to go to the United States to defend his title at the US Open, preferring to concentrate all his energies on Roland Garros. A pinch of rust had proved fatal at the BNL Internationals of Italy, where a wild Diego Schwartzman had already blocked his way in the quarter-finals. The unprecedented conditions and the change of balls seemed to put an end to his domination at Roland Garros too, but the former world number 1 reminded us that he is the greatest ever on clay. Not only did the Majorcan win Paris for the 13th time in his career, but he didn't leave a single set on the road. Rafa has many other talents besides tennis, having demonstrated not indifferent qualities in golf and football. The 34-year-old from Manacor has participated in several golf events in the past and last month took part in the Balearic Golf Championships delivering a very good performance and finishing sixth. In a recent interview with the ATP website, Nadal, however, ruled out that he could fully dedicate himself to golf in the future.

Nadal is good enough to play golf at a local level

"I like to play golf and I have been normally (playing) in amateur competitions which is of course great. There was the professional Balearic tournament. It was three rounds. I had fun playing... focused for those days," Rafael Nadal said. The Balearic tournament featured 60 players - which included a mix of professionals and amateurs. Nadal ended the three-day tournament in joint-sixth, with a score of nine over par after 54 holes. But during the video interview, Rafael Nadal shot down the expectations of those who assume he will be proficient at 'everything' just because he is a successful tennis player. The 34-year-old added that he is unlikely to ever become a 'good' golfer. "People think when you are good at one thing, you can be good in everything. I think I can reach a level of competitiveness to enjoy and to compete at a local level but that's it. I can't become, not even close to, a good golfer," Nadal went on. With the coronavirus outbreak, Rafael Nadal had to wait for five and a half months to earn the ultimate ranking record. On Monday, the 20-time Major champion joined Jimmy Connors on 789 consecutive weeks in the top-10, ready to move ahead of the American and steal the record in seven days.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3mZAiL7