"I need someone strong mentally, I would say, Rafa! Why? Because he is capable to adapt to any situation" - Daniil Medvedev chooses Rafael Nadal as the player he'd like to be stranded on an island with
Rafael Nadal won his second Australian Open title last week in epic fashion, coming from two-sets-to-love down to defeat Daniil Medvedev in the championship match. The Spaniard's status as arguably the greatest fighter in tennis history was vindicated by the outcome of the match, which lasted well over five hours.
In that context, several top players naming Nadal as the one player they could rely on most in dire circumstances came as little to no surprise.
In a fun video uploaded by TennisTV on Sunday, 13 ATP players were asked which player they would bring with them if they were stranded on a desert island. Daniil Medvedev, Jannik Sinner and Kei Nishikori replied that they would like to take Nadal with them.
Medvedev explained his choice by arguing that Nadal's brute force would come in handy if he was stuck on a desert island. He also cited Nadal's ability to adapt to new challenges as one of the reasons behind his selection.
"I need to take somebody who's going to help me survive, to maybe cooking food, to maybe... get food," Daniil Medvedev said. "So I need someone strong mentally, I would say, Rafa! Why? Because he is capable to adapt to any situation. I'm not sure if he would be happy to have me there, but I would be happy to have him there."
Sinner, on his part, had initially picked David Goffin but changed his mind a few moments later. The Italian subsequently went with Nadal, asserting that he would be able to learn from one of the best players in the sport.
"I would say one of the best... now it's tough to say but I would say one more time Rafa," Sinner said. "He is the best or one of the best in this sport. So, you know, I can only just learn."
Nishikori also went with the 21-time Major winner as his companion in the hypothetical situation.
"I would say Rafa, because he's strong," Nishikori said. "Mentally, he's the strongest on the tour so he can be pretty tough."
You're stranded on a desert island. You're allowed to bring:
- 1 ATP player
- 1 item of food
- 1 luxury item
Who and what would you choose? 🌴 https://t.co/63irqjtc9D
Stefanos Tsitsipas picks Rafael Nadal's rival Roger Federer as his plus-one
Stefanos Tsitsipas, meanwhile, picked Nadal's arch-rival Roger Federer as the player he wanted to depend on for his survival. Alex de Minaur and Sebastian Korda, on the other hand, went with Frances Tiafoe who they consider to be very entertaining.
Dominic Thiem and Grigor Dimitrov chose their good friends Dennis Novak and David Goffin to join them on their adventure.
Andrey Rublev, on his part, didn't pick anyone, claiming tongue-in-cheek that he was growing tired of being in his colleagues' company on the ATP tour.
Hubert Hurkacz, Diego Schwartzman, Roberto Bautista Agut and Alexander Bublik rounded out the picks by naming Gael Monfils, Federico Coria, David Ferrer and Reilly Opelka respectively.
The players were also asked what food and luxury items they would like to carry with them. Most players said pasta while Tsitsipas chose chocolate rice cakes to bring with him on a desert island.
Towards the end of the video, Medvedev and Dimitrov both picked a boat as their go-to luxury item for their stay on the island, as it would eventually be of great help in allowing them to escape. Rublev and Schwartzman insisted that a WiFi connection is what they wanted the most.