‘I’m Sorry I Won’ – A Humble Rafael Nadal’s Words to Coach Carlos Moya After Their First-Ever Encounter

Carlos Moya took over as the coach of Rafael Nadal in 2017. Under his guidance, Nadal has won 22 titles(including Grand Slams) to date. Moya’s constant support also helped Nadal in regaining the top spot in the ATP rankings. Apart from being a coach to Nadal, Carlos is also the tennis director at Nadal’s academy in Spain.

The two Spaniards share a warm bond of friendship between them. However, the root of their friendship dates back to 2003 when a 16-year-old Nadal outplayed Moya in their first-ever meeting. Recently, Moya recalled the moments of the match that kicked off the famous Moya-Nadal partnership.

The day Rafael Nadal outplayed Carlos Moya

Turning pro in 1995, Carlos Moya reached his peak at the start of the 2000s. Being one of the most promising players of that phase, Moya was in the Top 5 for the majority of the 2003 season. On the other hand, just two years into the tour, Nadal was slowly but steadily trying to make his mark on the professional circuit.

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With both players playing tournament after tournament, they finally faced each other in the Round of 32 of the ATP Masters 1000 Hamburg. Going down the memory lane, the Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy recently took to their Twitter handle, posting a video featuring Moya recalling some of the moments of his first meeting with Nadal.

In the video, Moya talked about a hilarious incident that took place prior to the match. He said, “The game did not start off too good for me because I remember at those times, they put player’s name on the bench. He entered first and went to sit on my bench. It was a nice anecdote.”

Taking a hilarious dig, Moya further added, “It was not the only thing he took away from me that day. He also took away my victory as well.”

As mentioned earlier, Carlos was at his peak and Nadal at his build-up stage when the two first met. However, as per Carlos, even at that time, Nadal had the game of a top player. “I was amongst the Top 5 in the World and he, I don’t remember very well. It should have been 50, 60, 70, something like that. But his level was not there,” he said.

Nadal was 16 and Carlos was 26 by the time the match took place. In addition to the age, Carlos was one of the top players of that time. Going by human psychology, it is quite natural that a youngster develops a sense of pride and arrogance when he outplays a senior player. However, that wasn’t the case with 16-year-old Nadal.

Going ahead in the video, Carlos elaborated an incident depicting the ever-humble nature of Nadal. An incident that took everyone’s hearts away.

“I was the favorite, was among the Top 5 and was up against a kid 10 years younger than me. He respected me and when he beat me, he was very shy, nervous and said, “I’m Sorry” “I won” and I said “No Worries,” Moya explained.

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Having a rivalry of over 5 years, the two last played in 2008 again in Hamburg, with Nadal winning it in straight sets. The two might have ended their on-court rivalry that day. However, the two remain to be close to each other as Moya has been playing a major role in Nadal’s success.

Under Carlos’s guidance, Nadal will next compete at the 2022 French Open.