"The Calendar Slam is a realistic goal but at the moment, it doesn't keep him up at night" - Carlos Moya on Rafael Nadal's mindset ahead of Wimbledon

Rafael Nadal has a shot at winning the elusive Calendar Slam this year

Rafael Nadal will come into the Wimbledon Championships having won the first two Grand Slams of the year for the first time. While the idea of a Calendar Slam is impossible to keep out of his mind, the Spaniard's coach Carlos Moya doesn't reckon he is losing sleep over the possible achievement.

The Mallorcan won his record-breaking 21st and 22nd Grand Slams this season, defeating Daniil Medvedev and Casper Ruud in the finals at the Australian Open and the French Open respectively. With Wimbledon imminent, the 22-time Grand Slam champion has a shot at becoming the first man to win all four Majors in a calendar year since Rod Laver did so in 1969.

Rafael Nadal's pursuit of the calendar Grand Slam will continue 🌱 https://t.co/bSzqk4GMZs

Speaking in an interview with Eurosport, Carlos Moya revealed that discussions about the same have inevitably come up during their team meetings. But in the same breath, the former World No. 1 made it clear that other issues - Nadal's recovery from his foot treatment, for instance - are the top priority.

Nadal wouldn’t be here unless he thought he had a serious shot at Wimbledon. On the albeit limited evidence of that 6-2 set against Wawrinka he certainly has. https://t.co/vXSTKCPh6S

While a Calendar Slam is still a distant goal, the Spaniard is of the opinion that they are going to take things "little by little" and focus on immediate goals like the World No. 4's chances at SW19.

"[The Calendar Slam] is a realistic goal. It is the first time in his career that he is in a position to achieve it, but we see it as something far away, it is halfway. At the moment, it doesn't keep him up at night. As a team, few things keep us up at night and this isn't one of them," Moya said. "We have to go little by little, it is not a primary objective, although we are not going to give up on it."

Although the former World No. 1 has won Wimbledon only twice in his career, Moya declared that he is perfectly suited to playing on grass and that this year, he will try his best to improve on his record in the tournament.

"Rafael Nadal wants to do well always, wherever, his motivation is above any tournament. It is clear that Wimbledon is a fetish tournament for him, he has won it twice and made five finals in a row," Moya said. "The last two times he competed there, he made the semifinals. He is perfectly suited to grass. I know that he can play very well, for me he aspires to the best."

Ahead of the grasscourt Major, Rafael Nadal is playing at the Hurlingham Classic, an exhibition event with some of the biggest names in men's tennis. The 36-year-old has already won his first match against Stan Wawrinka and is scheduled to take on Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second on Friday.

Rafael Nadal / Wimbledon, 22 June 2022 (EFE) https://t.co/BAFl897KNQ

The 45-year-old was happy that the southpaw got the opportunity to fine tune his skills ahead of Wimbledon, stating that he had the highest confidence that his protege would do well at the tournament.

"At Wimbledon there can always be more surprises: regardless of the player you get in those first rounds, what is dangerous is the type of opponent you get, you have to be careful with the sluggers," Moya said. "Now Nadal has two important exhibition matches, my confidence in him for Wimbledon remains the highest."

"I don't think fatherhood will be the one that takes him away; on the contrary, it will be an extra motivation" - Carlos Moya on Rafael Nadal becoming a father

Rafael Nadal and his wife Maria Francisca Perello are expecting their first child soon

During the interview, Carlos Moya also touched on the news of Rafael Nadal becoming a father soon. The Spaniard recently confirmed that his wife Maria Francisca Perello is pregnant with their first child together.

Somebody as modest and unpretentious as Rafa Nadal probably felt extremely awkward announcing so publicly that he and his wife are about to have a baby, but he let that smile loose at the end because 1) that’s what Rafa’s face was made to do; and 2) he must be so excited 💕💖✨ twitter.com/mallorcachamps… https://t.co/P29CLkUo5v

The former French Open winner is of the opinion that fatherhood will be a motivating factor for the 22-time Grand Slam champion to do even better, instead of edging him closer to retirement, as many fans on social media have speculated.

"I don't think [fatherhood] will be the one that takes him away," Moya said. "On the contrary, it will be an extra motivation. Nadal is very familiar, he loves children, although I am sure that at first he will miss his family a lot when he has to go on a trip."