"Winning against yourself : that's the sport"

 As promised, here is the english version of my interview with Rafael Nadal published in french in Society Magazine. I included some bonus questions as well ;)

 

Rafael Nadal à l'entraînement sur le court Suzanne Lenglen (Crédit : C.B., 2016)

Last season was pretty rough for you, and recently your coach Toni told me you both had to talk a lot to find a way out of this...

It’s true that last year has been a tough year in terms of being anxious practicing and competiting : I didn’t enjoy a lot. I was playing with too much nerves in important moment, I was not able to relax myself, calm myself. I wasn't feeling that I had this self‑confidence that when I hit the ball I'm gonna hit it where I want to or that my position will be the right one. It was just a question of time and a question of work. It’s obvious that having the support of the team around you is so important to change dynamics, so important to feel yourself safe and good. It’s been a great work and now we’re happy to compete at a very high level again.

You’ve always been very open about doubts : it’s rare at this level of the game to admit weaknesses… Is it helping you ?

No… It doesn’t help me, but that doesn’t go against me either. I’ve always tried to be honest with the rest of the people, I don’t need to lie. if it’s what’s happening to me and people are asking, it’s normal that I say it. That’s it. What I say in the press conference isn’t affecting what I do on the court. And I didn’t talk that much about doubts... Also in daily life, I’m not talking about doubts or this kind of things, just about what I need to do to change this. You can not change things if you don’t know what kind of problems you have. I think I am a positive guy, with good self control in good and bad moments. Off court, I think it’s the same. I’m someone who likes to do things, not to wake up in the morning and not having a plan to do.

"I have my character : some things help, some probably not"

Players like Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic have a big confidence in themselves, and one may be surprised that with all you’ve won we don't feel the same convictions with you...

Everybody has his own personality, nobody is the same. I have my character : some things help, some probably not. The most important thing is to win, but for me winning doesn't always mean getting the trophy : it means getting better every day. Winning against yourself, that's the sport. And sometimes it's even better than winning trophies.

But you agree that despite your amazing career, you've never thought you were the best ?

Yes, but it’s something that is normal. It’s not a question of confidence, it’s a question of not being arrogant. And it’s a question of respecting everybody. Also, the more you win, the most confident you are, but when you lose, the confidence goes down and it's the same for everybody. Those who say the opposite are probably lying to you. I'm not here to lie (smiles). The only thing that I can say is : after the career that I am having, we can not say that my character has been an issue... It’s just that I always work a lot to improve, because I have the motivation for it, not because I’m not confident with myself. I think I’ve been confident when competing. And it’s when I’ve been in this confident state, that’s when I had a very positive run of victories in a row. You can’t win the things that I’ve won if you don’t have confidence in yourself.

You’ll also probably stay famous for all your on court habits (bottles, lines and other rituals) : has it evolved at all through the years ? Is it all tennis, stress and pressure related ?

I don’t think much about it actually. At the beginning of my career ok I think it was less, then for a moment it was more, so it's changing all the time. It’s something that if it doesn’t bother me or goes against me, it's not that serious… It’s not necessary for me, but if I feel more comfortable like this… I don’t think it’s related to stressful situation or important situation, because I do the same in the first point of the match point to the last one (smiles). But off court I don’t have that kind of routines that I have to stick to, it’s only tennis related (laughs.

Are your fears of storms / lightnings, dogs or darkness gone any better ?

No… I know that when you get older it’s supposed to get better but no…(laugh). I still don’t like darkness, nor the storms.

"You need to be well educated to become a real champion"

Last year you told me something like when you win, people put you very high, and when you lose they put you to the ground : despite knowing it, was it still painful last season ?

I know how the business works, there’s nothing new. It’s happening with the rest of the people. It’s not my job : my job is trying to work hard everyday, trying to be better and better. People always talk and I respect opinions, sometimes they’re not respectful but I really don’t care much. I know what I’m doing, I know what I did and I know how hard I’m working to compete well. My personal satisfaction doesn’t come from what some people can say.

Anything new you learnt about yourself through last year’s issues ?

It’s much funnier to learn from positive things than negative things. Lots of people say that when you spend some bad moments, you learn about that : no, you learn every day. Experience is in life, in my tennis career. Not because I had a tough time last year I learn more than other years. You have to think about what you can get positive out of every moment, and what you can do to improve things.

That's this mindset that made the player you are : is that the one you're gonna teach in your academy in Manacor ?
Yes, because it’s all about the people you have around you, it’s all about education. Values of the sport are clear : spirit of work, respect for the coach, for the opponent, for the game, for the fans. And at the same time you need to be well educated to become a real champion. You can be a big star, you can win a lot of matches but if you are not doing the things the right way, in my opinion the value is less. We are in front of the cameras, we are in front of the kids and a lot of people, but especially the kids who take us as examples. In my opinion we should be the right examples for them. If not, for sure we are not doing the good thing.

 "Nobody in my team is scared to tell me the truth"

Is it getting tougher nowadays with all the money young players can make ?

It’s not about the money or anything else : it’s about the education. If you have the right people around you, it won’t be a problem. You need people around you who are talking to you the right way and telling you the truth. If you are doing stupid things, people should be free to say it. I feel so happy that during my career I was smart enough to have people around me feeling totally free to tell me when I’m doing the right thing and when I don’t. Nobody in my team is scared to tell me the truth. And in my academy for sure we’re focused on doing well on the court but also in the values and the education. We understand that with a good education, the rest of the things are easier.

Is it still as easy for you to follow what your uncle Toni tells you now, than it was at the start ?

I always listened a lot. But for sure the relationship has to change when you are 15 and then 29, like with your father or mother. But always with respect. And I always had respect for older people who are more experienced than me. Even at home, when my mom tells me I’m not doing something well, I’m not helping enough working at the house, I respect her for sure (smiles).

Not everybody on the Tour is like this : do you sometimes feel different ?

It’s difficult because for me that’s the normal thing. I try to do things the best way possible, and I always believe that people are good people.

 "The sport should be clean, and should look clean."

You reach Roland-Garros this year while playing your best tennis : that has to feel much different than last year no ?

I don’t know… I feel better on court this year, but I don’t know if it’s good enough to be ready for trying to have a big Roland-Garros. The level of tennis has been high, I’m practicing well so let’s see. But it’s always a big motivation and a special tournament. I hope I can play well there again. We’ll go for dinner as the usual places we always do, and that’s good that we are in a small hotel, and I’m able to enjoy it with the family and the team. I played so well on all the surfaces when I was playing well, but it’s obvious that clay is a very important part of my season, and that when I play good on clay the rest of the things are less difficult.

Have you missed those great battles against world number 1 Novak Djokovic ?
He's the best player of the world and is proving it weeks after weeks. Everybody would want to be at his place right now. In 2011, yes he was my problem because he was beating me in the finals, but since 2015 I have many more problems to solve before thinking about him. Truth is I'd love for Novak to be my problem again : that would be a good sign for me. That is the real thing. Today, I'm following my own path, he's following his own. So when I have to play against him, it's a good news : it means I'm far in the tournament. More than those rivalries and big battles, what I want is to be able to fight at the highest level, to be happy and to feel free on the court so I can play the tennis that I want to. That is all.

Since what happened in cycling in recent years, suspicion of doping has come on many champions in different sports. You said in Indian Wells that you heard it a couple of times about you. Recently, Andy Murray said tennis had a doping issue. What are your thoughts about all of this ?

I believe my sport, it’s the first thing. In my opinion tennis is clean because we have a good anti doping system. Nobody is covering anyone, and those who are doing wrong things are out of the tennis courts. I have to believe that and I really believe that. Personally, it’s tough when you see some people attacking our sport. Even sometimes it’s not good to listen to players saying this stuff, because at the end of the day tennis is what gives you the possibility to have the good life we have. We need to say thanks to tennis, not to go against tennis. Especially in things that for sure nobody knows. I believe everybody in my rivals, 100%. Best thing that can happen is : every time you pass an anti doping control, it has to be public. The sport should be clean, and should look clean. I talked to Andy about his comments, and he said he didn’t want to say it that way. He told me he was misquoted and words were taken out of context.

Was it especially disappointing to see Roselyne Bachelot's accusations against you, because it's coming from France where you've won the French Open nine times ?

But it’s not from France ! In my opinion, there are some people in France who have said some things, but it’s not from France. Only a few people. I don’t put everything in the same way. I love France. I feel the love of the people in France, I feel very comfortable there. It’s possibly the most important country of my career. So it’s not because some people say some stupid things that I won’t feel the same about a country I really love so much. I spent a l lot of time in Paris in my life, I know the city very well and I feel a little bit like home there. What Bachelot said : now we have to wait about the process, how it goes. I’m 100% confident in justice in France.