Rafael Nadal is going to be No. 1 in the world forever and he cannot be compared: Ion Tiriac
Tennis superstar Rafael Nadal is currently gearing up for Wimbledon as he looks to win his third title at the event. Nadal won his 22nd Grand Slam at Roland Garros earlier this month despite battling a foot injury and taking multiple injections to numb the pain.
Ion Tiriac, businessman and former coach of Boris Becker, recently spoke about the physical struggles that Rafael Nadal had to endure to capture his 14th French Open title. Tiriac also commended Nadal for beating World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the tournament.
"Nadal is much smarter than me, he knows his physique much better than I do," Tiriac said. "At Roland Garros he had no major problem until he had the Canadian (Felix Auger-Aliassime), who is a good tennis player. In the match against Djokovic, Nadal played very, very well. Beating Djokovic, No. 1 in the world, in that way… No, Nadal is going to be number one in the world forever. He cannot be compared. Nor with Federer, for me."
Ion Tiriac also spoke about the constant comparisons between the Spaniard and his eternal rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. Tiriac explained that Nadal's qualities as a person and his dominance at Roland Garros set him apart from the other two.
"For me he's a guy, as a person... I can't just consider the Grand Slams, how this blow hits, how the other one hits... The human being that Nadal is... And besides, you're never going to see, either in your life or in your children's lives, someone winning a Grand Slam tournament 14 times. Or 15. Because I'm sure he's going to try next year," Tiriac continued.
1) Hay algo en el tenis que, para un periodista, debería ser obligatorio hacer cada tanto: entrevistar a Ion Tiriac. Lo hicimos en @_claymagazine, y el resultado nos asombró incluso a nosotros. Algunas frases destacadas en este hilo👇
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"He has no other option; he must heal" - Ion Tiriac on Rafael Nadal's injury
Ion Tiriac went on to speak about Rafael Nadal's foot injury, asserting that the Spaniard must recover completely from the injury to play at the highest level. He also reflected on how the 22-time Grand Slam champion expends more energy on the court than his peers.
"He has no other option, he cannot choose," Tiriac said. "He must heal, he must heal not only his foot, but everything that was broken, his entire physique. In 15 years he spent two or three times more energy than Federer. When he was 16 I said he would be as good as his physique would allow."
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Tiriac further lavished praise on Rafael Nadal's longevity and stated that while the Spaniard doesn't need to play until he is 40, he can play tennis until he dies. The Romanian referenced Nadal's first-set tiebreak comeback against Zverev in the semifinals at Roland Garros as an example of how relentless the 36-year-old is.
"I don't think he needs to play until he's 40," Tiriac said. "I see him die on a tennis court. He is down 6-2 in a tie break and won't let you beat him. I have been at Roland Garros for 60 years or more. I played the Davis Cup here in 1959. I never saw a set like Nadal and Zverev's second in the semifinals, a set in which 11 games are played and in nine the serve is broken. Nine breaks. How is it possible? I do not know."