"I was among the leaders of people who didn’t think he’d play out of his 20s" - Jim Courier glad to be proven wrong by Rafael Nadal
Former American tennis player Jim Courier recently spoke about Rafael Nadal’s career longevity.
As a guest speaker on the Inside-In podcast, the four-time Grand Slam champion expressed his gratitude at being able to witness the Spanish phenomenon take on the tennis courts over the years. Courier made it known that he wished to see Rafael Nadal compete for many more years to come. The American, however, also admitted that he was one of the critics who had earlier discounted the 22-time Major winner’s longevity, due to his immensely physical style of play.
"We’ve been lucky to have Rafa as long as we’ve had him and I hope we’ll have him for a much longer time, but my feeling generally is just gratitude that he’s been able to endure, because his game is so physical," Jim Courier said, "And I was among the leaders of people who didn’t think he’d play out of his 20s because of the physicality, and I’m so pleased that we’ve been able to witness his greatness for so long."
"Rafael Nadal is just low on confidence" - Jim Courier on Spaniard’s poor run of form in recent months
Rafael Nadal, who was recently eliminated from the competition in the round-robin stage of the ATP Finals, managed to score a win against Casper Ruud during his exit match at the tournament. This was his first win since his fourth-round loss at the 2022 US Open. Nadal, who has conventionally not been as successful on indoor hard courts, earned the win after losses against Tommy Paul at the Paris Masters and Taylor Fritz and Felix Auger-Aliassime at the ATP Finals.
Jim Courier gave an analysis of the southpaw’s poor run of form. He echoed Andy Roddick’s claim that confidence was far superior to experience while claiming that the Spaniard's struggles were a result of a lack of confidence.
"It’s not that surprising that he’s struggling. One other factor is, how quick the court is this year too. It’s quicker than it was last year. Low balancing has always bothered him, but the speed of the surface is also more challenging for him. He’s made some mistakes that we’re not used to seeing, which you can’t attribute to the court. He’s missed some makable volleys, stumbled coming in on a serve and volley the other day," Jim Courier said.
"He’s just a little out of sync and confidence, Andy Roddick has put it better than anyone – Experience is overrated, confidence is underrated. And right now, Rafa is just low on confidence," he added.