Toni Nadal, the uncle and longtime coach of Rafael Nadal, is known for speaking his mind, and in his latest appearance on ESPN’s Spanish-language platform, he stirred up the tennis world with his comments.
After comparing Juan Martín del Potro to Andy Murray, the experienced Spanish coach turned his attention to Novak Djokovic’s future and offered a prediction on when the 38-year-old Serbian superstar might decide to call it a career.
Nadal admitted that even before Roland Garros he did not see Djokovic as a favorite to win the tournament, citing one unavoidable opponent above all others — time itself.
“Before Roland Garros, I was asked whether I saw Djokovic winning the tournament, and I said directly: no. That doesn’t mean I don’t respect him, quite the opposite. The reality is that time passes relentlessly.
When you reach this age and have to play five-set matches every two days, your body no longer recovers the same way. Traveling is also harder on the body. You arrive a little later, and in the end all of that affects your performance on the court,” Nadal said, expressing a rather pessimistic outlook regarding the 24-time Grand Slam champion.
According to Toni Nadal, the greatest tennis player of all time now has only one sporting motivation left — history itself and the pursuit of one more record-breaking major title.
“Novak is still competing because he wants to win that one more Grand Slam and reach 25. Otherwise, what would be the point of continuing to push himself after achieving absolutely everything there is to achieve in this sport? That is precisely why I believe we are currently witnessing the final season of his professional career,” Nadal stated.
Toward the end of the interview, however, Toni softened his tone and paid tribute to two of the greatest rivals in tennis history, drawing a parallel between his nephew Rafael and Novak Djokovic.
“Both Rafael and Djokovic have managed to remain relevant and at the very top for so long for one simple reason — they genuinely love what they do. They love tennis, and both possess an incredible inner drive to give their very best at every moment,” Toni Nadal concluded.
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Source: Nova.rs Foto: AP