Interview with Toni Nadal

[fed_the_savior]

Federer needs to start tugging his undies.

 

[Tennis_Monk]

Uncle Toni still has magic. He can make Federer cry.

Not any more. federer got used to the losses. federer realized he is human.

 

[veroniquem]

But what is that, technique? Is it hitting the ball very hard and with a beautiful movement but once out of every two hits, it lands outside the court? Is it to have a very good forehand, a very good serve but no backhand?


Perfect description of Fed's game!
Vamos Toni! He is so intelligent and maybe he got tired of Fed constantly badmouthing Rafa, so he retaliated... Finally... Well done

 

[TheTruth]

But what is that, technique? Is it hitting the ball very hard and with a beautiful movement but once out of every two hits, it lands outside the court? Is it to have a very good forehand, a very good serve but no backhand?


Perfect description of Fed's game!
Vamos Toni! He is so intelligent and maybe he got tired of Fed constantly badmouthing Rafa, so he retaliated... Finally... Well done

Toni is hilarious. He knows exactly what's going on.

 

[TennisandMusic]

hmm yep. especially well he has taught him how to fist pump unforced errors of opponents, pick his rear end, ask for help via on court coaching, and strategically delaying play for up to 15 seconds.

Lol come on, Federer utters his annoying guttural "Come On!" when players hit UFE's all the time.

 

[veroniquem]

Yes, I've noticed that for a while, not that I care personally but every time I can't help thinking about the furious debate over Rafa fistpumping UEs.
Players fistpump when they were afraid of losing an important point, it expresses their relief and their desire to keep the adrenaline going. Nothing more, nothing less and it has nothing to do with what the opponent does.
But regardless, Fed does it ALL THE TIME.

 

[OddJack]

* Uncle toni has to bring up Federer and compare even though TM never mentions him. It's reveals what's in his minds and what drives him.

* Toni made him believe he has magical powers which explains Nadal's superstitiousness. It also explains why he has to look at his uncle after each point and beg for magic.

* He says Nadal's physical game is a myth. He runs less than Sod and Murray now which is baloney. Nadal runs around his BH more aften which makes him cover more court. Also his top spin FH is quite physical, he also makes shots at full stretch and extreme angles far behind baseline which are quite physical.
If he is right then we should not see more injuries, right? I dont buy it.

* He says what people think about Nadal not having much talent does not bother him, but then it eats him that they "whistled" Nadal at FO.

 

[abraxas21]

I thought that was a great and insightful interview.

Still, uncle Toni is all fun and charming when things go well but when things aren't, he can make pretty stupid statements. Calling the Parisians stupid after Nadal got creamed was a pretty stupid statement, no?

 

[nadal_slam_king]

Rafa is very rarely injured. 90% of his so-called injuries weren't injuries at all, they were tendonitis. That only occurs because Rafa is playing a full schedule, while the other sufferers of tendonitis such as Venus and Serena play only a light schedule (and an easy brand of tennis, since they smash everyone off the court), so it rarely becomes a major problem. Same with Roddick.

Rafa's only real injuries in recent years in recent years are the abdominal tear at 2009 Montreal (and it tore worse with each week, until 5cms after the US Open) and the injury at 2010 Australian Open. Aside from that you got to go back a long way to find a real injury.

 

[World Beater]

LOL.

uncle toni defines what technique in his mind is

...but then concedes that federer has better technique at the end of his answer.

the *******s are trying to twist this as some personal diss of federer, when it is not.

great interview from toni.

btw...i never understood why gasquet's game was termed beautiful. To me it is not beautiful - his technique is quite clumsy on the fh, his footwork is not as good as the elite players. Yeah, he has a very good one handed bh that is similar in swing to kuerten, but i still dont find his technique aesthetically pleasing.

Nadal on the other hand has excellent technique. His technique on the bh is fantastic and the kinetic chain on his fh is only second to federer.

 

[nadal_slam_king]

I thought that was a great and insightful interview.

Still, uncle Toni is all fun and charming when things go well but when things aren't, he can make pretty stupid statements. Calling the Parisians stupid after Nadal got creamed was a pretty stupid statement, no?

He mentioned that in this interview too, and he's right, they were wrong for celebrating someone's loss. He's correct, you shouldn't vocally celebrate the losing of others (especially a defending champion). You should just cheer for the winner.

Toni: I’m not saying that I don’t attach a lot of importance to it, I’m saying that people are entitled to think whatever they want. I think that the Roland Garros public was very incorrect that day. In sports, it’s good to cheer for somebody’s victory but it’s not normal to wish defeat on somebody else. I’ve often repeated it to my nephew, who is a keen supporter of Real Madrid as you know, that I understand that he wants Real to win but I always told him that he should not wish defeat on Barcelona. I know that a lot of fans are like that but I think it’s a rather dumb way of going about it. Anyway, we’re not brought up like that in our family, that’s not what we’ve been taught. It’s for that reason that I was shocked by the way the Parisian public acted and even more so for three reasons: Firstly because Rafa has always been a very correct player, secondly because he was the defending Roland Garros champion and thirdly, because he’s given a lot to that public by giving many autographs and such. So, to support Söderling, yes. No problem. But to whistle at Rafa, no.

 

[meg0529]

loved this. Thanks cmm!

 

[sunny_cali]

But what is that, technique? Is it hitting the ball very hard and with a beautiful movement but once out of every two hits, it lands outside the court? Is it to have a very good forehand, a very good serve but no backhand?


Perfect description of Fed's game!
Vamos Toni! He is so intelligent and maybe he got tired of Fed constantly badmouthing Rafa, so he retaliated... Finally... Well done

And you think this is a perfect description of Fed's game ? It's amazing what the ****s want to see.

 

[abmk]

Lol come on, Federer utters his annoying guttural "Come On!" when players hit UFE's all the time.

no, he doesn't do it all the time, he does it mostly on the important moments of a match ...

 

[abmk]

But what is that, technique? Is it hitting the ball very hard and with a beautiful movement but once out of every two hits, it lands outside the court? Is it to have a very good forehand, a very good serve but no backhand?


Perfect description of Fed's game!
Vamos Toni! He is so intelligent and maybe he got tired of Fed constantly badmouthing Rafa, so he retaliated... Finally... Well done

you are dumber than what I thought ( and that's saying something ! ) if you think that toni was referring to fed or that fed has no backhand

 

[meg0529]

* He says what people think about Nadal not having much talent does not bother him, but then it eats him that they "whistled" Nadal at FO.

I think it's very different when people express their views in interviews or off court. But the fact that an audience showed bad manners while Rafa was playing, was wrong. Considering so much was going wrong for him, and how much of an emotional time it was, of course he'll feel more strongly about their behavior. If the crowd at the USO treated Fed that way during the semis, it would have been considered very rude. The audience is a big part of the sport, so their behavior obviously affects the players a lot. Especially when they are losing.

 

[namelessone]

* Uncle toni has to bring up Federer and compare even though TM never mentions him. It's reveals what's in his minds and what drives him.

Actually it only reveals your paranoia. He was explaining technique and was refering to the go-to guy in tennis when you think technique, Federer, in order to compare it to Rafa's technique. He even says Rafa is not as tehnically proficient but also that Rafa has great technique and it's true, he has a deadly forehand, good BH, improved volleys, improved serve. If you are using a technique(whatever technique) and it makes you win games, it means it works. And also, even with this "bad" technique(according to the TW experts), Rafa has not had a major upper body injury so far. Imagine that.

* Toni made him believe he has magical powers which explains Nadal's superstitiousness. It also explains why he has to look at his uncle after each point and beg for magic.

Bulls**t. They(watter bottles,picking shorts) are little rituals to keep Rafa's mind from drifting, to keep focused. Most athletes have certain steps they take to keep concentration during important matches.

* He says Nadal's physical game is a myth. He runs less than Sod and Murray now which is baloney. Nadal runs around his BH more aften which makes him cover more court. Also his top spin FH is quite physical, he also makes shots at full stretch and extreme angles far behind baseline which are quite physical.
If he is right then we should not see more injuries, right? I dont buy it.

If you don't see that Nadal is running less than in the past then your observation skills must be as good as your predictions. Take a look at a Nadal match from 05-06' then skip forward to 2010 to see how much he has cut on running. Not every Nadal sprint or lunge means that he is pushing himself. And it doesn't take a physical game to have injuries. DelPo is always dictating but he messed up his wrist. Gonzalez is one of the most offensive minded guys on tour and he is out until RG. Injuries happen, obviously the ones with a more physical game have a better "chance" of hurting themselves but that's not always the case.

Nadal had a minor ab injury in late summer 09'. But he did not have a lower body injury(that's where Rafa's troubles lie) until AO. He went from August to mid January with no knee troubles. That's almost 6 months in a relatively healthy state and he lost a lot of matches then(but no retirement cause he was fine physically). His last problem was in Miami but he has enjoyed 6 months now with no big physical problems. His tendinitis flares up when he plays too much in short period or when he overstays his welcome on hardcourts.

* He says what people think about Nadal not having much talent does not bother him, but then it eats him that they "whistled" Nadal at FO.

Are you really so desperate to diss Nadal that you are putting these two very separate things together?

1) He says he doesn't mind what people say about Nadal's technique cause it blows up in the critics face when he wins so it's no biggie. I've seen articles all the way from 2006 explaining Nadal's bad technique and he now has a freaking career slam and 9 GS's. We should all have bad technique like this.

2)It did bother him that he got whistled and almost no support in RG because, as Tony said, the frenchies didn't develop a soderling crush(notice how he got ignored afterwards) but they wanted Nadal to lose. While I do think that they don't particularly like Nadal, I think Tony's issue was with the way the treated a four time champ there, not that the frenchies didn't like Rafa's technique or something. The crowd simply wanted Nadal out because of polidour syndrome. They just wanted Nadal to lose. You don't see this anywhere else, rooting for a multiple champ to lose.
They didn't whistle Nadal cause he has "no talent"(though this may be true for some in the stands), they whistled because they wanted him out so that Fed could win.

I hope you noticed how their attitude improved this year. I don't think they like Nadal but they do respect him now that he has exited the tourney once and given crowd fav Fed a chance to win RG. Now they don't have any reason to hate on him.

 

[0d1n]

Great interview.
Some posters on this board should be fiction writers. The interpretation of some of the stuff Toni said in the interview is really "out there", and it just shows lack of analytical thinking and a sh1tload of personal bias. What else is new...eh ?

 

[ashitaka2010]

^^ My thought exactly.

In RG 2009, he wasn't booed during the match but after, when the crowd thought he didn't want to sign the camera lens. Although I'm sure they wanted to see him lose last year, they also like him more than people think. French paradox.

 

[Dilettante]

2)It did bother him that he got whistled and almost no support in RG because, as Tony said, the frenchies didn't develop a soderling crush(notice how he got ignored afterwards) but they wanted Nadal to lose. While I do think that they don't particularly like Nadal, I think Tony's issue was with the way the treated a four time champ there, not that the frenchies didn't like Rafa's technique or something. The crowd simply wanted Nadal out because of polidour syndrome. They just wanted Nadal to lose. You don't see this anywhere else, rooting for a multiple champ to lose.
They didn't whistle Nadal cause he has "no talent"(though this may be true for some in the stands), they whistled because they wanted him out so that Fed could win.

I hope you noticed how their attitude improved this year. I don't think they like Nadal but they do respect him now that he has exited the tourney once and given crowd fav Fed a chance to win RG. Now they don't have any reason to hate on him.

I always say this for people to remember: Nadal had some trouble with French crowd right at his 1st FO participation, mainly during the Grosjean match. French crowds don't use to like much seeing Spaniards winning on their soil (FO, Tour de France; you know that neighbour countries stuff) but Nadal got a "special" treatment from the beginning for no aparent reason. I even recall the Spanish commentators being surprised about that, because even other Spanish winners like Ferrero, Moya, Costa, etc weren't treated that way.

If I was Toni Nadal I'd be more visibly angry than him, I have to admit. Nadal never did anything remarkably unsportive or had any bad attitude at 2005 FO, but French crowd acted like if they didn't want Nadal to be there and their attitude lasted to the present day (2010 was slighty better though).

I think that for example individual haters like Abraxas or Vive Le Beau Jeu are driven by irrational or childish likes and dislikes, but French crowd was more rational on this: they simply saw a 18 yo guy who could dominate clay for years (it became obvious even while he was playing early rounds) and being that guy a Spaniard... well, they didn't like the idea much.

 

[namelessone]

I always say this for people to remember: Nadal had some trouble with French crowd right at his 1st FO participation, mainly during the Grosjean match. French crowds don't use to like much seeing Spaniards winning on their soil (FO, Tour de France; you know that neighbour countries stuff) but Nadal got a "special" treatment from the beginning for no aparent reason. I even recall the Spanish commentators being surprised about that, because even other Spanish winners like Ferrero, Moya, Costa, etc weren't treated that way.

If I was Toni Nadal I'd be more visibly angry than him, I have to admit. Nadal never did anything remarkably unsportive or had any bad attitude at 2005 FO, but French crowd acted like if they didn't want Nadal to be there and their attitude lasted to the present day (2010 was slighty better though).

I think that for example individual haters like Abraxas or Vive Le Beau Jeu are driven by irrational or childish likes and dislikes, but French crowd was more rational on this: they simply saw a 18 yo guy who could dominate clay for years (it became obvious even while he was playing early rounds) and being that guy a Spaniard... well, they didn't like the idea much.

Nice post.

The funniest frenchie of them all was Guy Forget, who said in 2005 that they don't need construction workers on the RG court when referring to Nadal(guess he missed Monfils from his own camp) but in the last clay seasons he was praising Nadal's clay game even though the bicep hadn't gone down, it was just covered up by a shirt. God, some people are inconsistent, not to mention hypocritical.

 

[Omega_7000]

It amazes me how many people think Federer was born with this natural ability to hit the ball with amazing technique & touch. TBH I don't believe in ANYBODY being naturally talented. Federer had to work hard to perfect his technique, touch, serve & even physical condition.

His effortless game is the result of countless hours of practice on the court. He isn't as open about his training regiment but you would be a fool to believe that Federer did not work as hard as Nadal if not harder to be where he is today!

He might be slipping now as a result of age, lack of motivation or whatever the reason be. But at his peak I am sure he worked very very hard off court.

 

[bolo]

Folks, Toni is probably not talking about federer, in some matches these days Federer probably doesn't even get 2/3 balls in! J/K.

 

[Bhagi Katbamna]

LMFAO! Personal diss towards federer.

No. He is actually saying that Federer has great technique and that Rafael is not as technically sound as Federer.

 

[5th Element]

It amazes me how many people think Federer was born with this natural ability to hit the ball with amazing technique & touch. TBH I don't believe in ANYBODY being naturally talented. Federer had to work hard to perfect his technique, touch, serve & even physical condition.

His effortless game is the result of countless hours of practice on the court. He isn't as open about his training regiment but you would be a fool to believe that Federer did not work as hard as Nadal if not harder to be where he is today!

He might be slipping now as a result of age, lack of motivation or whatever the reason be. But at his peak I am sure he worked very very hard off court.

A friend was coaching in Dubai 4-5 years ago. As she arrived on the court at 8am Federer was leaving after a 2 hour hit the day before a big match. He woke up at something like 5am so that the extreme heat/humidity doesn't get to him.

 

[abraxas21]

He mentioned that in this interview too, and he's right, they were wrong for celebrating someone's loss. He's correct, you shouldn't vocally celebrate the losing of others (especially a defending champion). You should just cheer for the winner.

i read it too but he still shouldnt have called a whole people stupid just because part of the stadium doesn't like to see a player who picks his butt on court.