‘The Goal Is to Win’- Rafael Nadal Explains Why Talent Is Nothing if You Cannot Win Matches

Rafael Nadal is amongst the mega players of this generation. In fact, he is one of those athletes that carry the sport with their name. As Nadal is also popular among crowds that don’t even follow tennis. But what makes him so special?

Apart from his magnificent records, the 22 times Grand Slam champion’s mindset draws people’s attention. Nadal has a unique take on his profession, which inspires many young aspirants and brings respect from fans and his fellow tennis professionals.

What is talent according to Rafael Nadal?

Recently, the two times champion unlike himself walked out of the semifinals of the Wimbledon Championships. As a result of which, his ideologies started resonating in the entire tennis fraternity. One of those is his take on talent. “Talent? For me, it’s not having a beautiful game or hitting the ball very hard. You can have the talent to hit hard to make a nice slice, to not miss anything. But the goal is to win.”

“The one who has the most talent is the one who wins.” Nadal concluded. He was forced to withdraw from the Grand Slam of grass because of a gruesome injury. The 36-year-old incurred an abdominal injury while in the quarterfinals match against the American tennis ace Taylor Fritz. Although Nadal successfully pushed through the pain and avenged his 2022 Indian Wells defeat, his body later demanded medical help and rest.

Read more: ‘I Incessantly Cried’ – Rafael Nadal After Roger Federer ‘Utterly Destroyed’ Him at Wimbledon

Further, the Spaniard was supposed to lock horns with Nick Kyrgios in the semifinals of Wimbledon. Though the much anticipated match ended up with the Aussie getting a free pass to the finals.

Only thing that obstructs Nadal

The former world no.1’s caliber can only be matched by his fellow big three players. That is the 20 times Grand Slam champion Roger Federer and 21 times Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic. But in the absence of these players, what hurdles his runs is his own body.

While Nadal suffers from foot condition which has troubled him almost throughout his career, additional in-match injuries increase his problems many folds. For example, last year he had to miss out on defending the US Open trophy because his foot injury resurfaced. And this year the same made him pack his bags early in the Italian Open.

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Speaking of other injuries, the 14 times French Open champion incurred a rib injury during the semifinals of this season’s Indian Wells, which in turn costed him some initial events of clay. Following that, the Wimbledon injury happened. However, like other times, Nadal has bounced back again and will compete in the coming hard court tournaments.