The Spanish tennis icon Rafael Nadal is constantly keeping in touch with his fans during the quarantine. As his country slips into the terrible territory of the pandemic, Rafa looked to instill some hope amongst his followers.
Notably, Spain is now closing in on Italy and America in terms of the most affected areas. Stars like Rafael Nadal are also doing the best they can by contributing towards relief. In fact, he teamed up with basketball star Pau Gasol to raise a sum of 11 million Euros through athlete contribution.
Not just that, Rafa is also uploading videos through his social media to keep fans hopeful. The latest saw him working out and giving a short and powerful message for his legion of fans.
What did Rafael Nadal say?
Nadal decided to talk to his fans during the painful quarantine through a Twitter video. This is what he had to say while he shed some sweat-
“Hello everybody. Here we are guys, tough times but we’re getting closer. From today I’ve tried to make a change and stay positive counting the days that go by because less is left. Greetings everyone and cheer up. VAMOS!”
Players working out at home is not a rare occurrence these days. With Wimbledon also facing the axe, there will be no tennis for a prolonged period of time. There’s a huge risk of the players becoming rusty during this period.
This is the reason why stars like Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka have been seen doing some hard work at the gym while also hitting some shots with the tennis racquet.
Obviously, nothing can take the place of real match practice. However, ensuring that your body doesn’t forget what hard labor feels like is also an important thing. It will not be surprising if this becomes a major factor when the season eventually resumes. Most players will be suffering from the lack of practice and might take a tournament or two to get their eyes in.
Rafael Nadal will certainly not be one of them.
In Rafael Nadal’s words: ‘Victory over Roland Garros champion means a lot to me’
Playing in his first Masters 1000 tournament at the age of 16 in Monte Carlo 2003, Rafael Nadal qualified for the main draw and scored two wins to cement his place in the top-100 for the first time. In the second round, the youngster took down the reigning Roland Garros champion Albert Costa 7-5, 6-3 in two hours, earning the first top-10 triumph and catching the attention of the entire tennis world.
The less experienced Spaniard fended off 14 out of 17 break points, fighting for every point and emerging at the top after a grueling battle, earning five breaks to book the place in the last 16. Rafa won the first set with a late break in the 12th game when Costa sprayed a forehand error, moving in front at 4-3 in set number two and sealing the deal with a hold at love in the next game for one of his most notable wins before 2005.
“It was another excellent match for me. In the beginning, it was a bit average, showing too much respect as I was afraid of the rival on the other side of the net. Later, I started to play better and better, using the fact he didn’t play on his usual level but giving my best to claim the victory.
I was very eager to play while maybe he was scared a little bit after facing a younger opponent. To tell the truth, I wasn’t very confident that I was going to win but it all came out nicely. It’s a significant victory for me over the top-10 rival and reigning Roland Garros champion and I’m happy with the level of tennis I produced.
I feel good physically, I think I can keep this pace tomorrow as well. At the beginning of the season, I didn’t think I would reach the top-100 this quickly. The thing is, you have to continue to try and keep working. Realistically speaking, I don’t think I’m going far in this tournament; I will try to keep this level but that will not be easy, as things don’t depend only on me.”
