For the last 15 years, he has seen the 20-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal trudge past his moments of struggle and skip to his historic triumphs.

Having seen the Spaniard from close quarters since 2005, there’s no better person than Francis Roig to offer some insight into Nadal’s mind.

Rafael Nadal has never been one to chase records, says coach

In a frank assessment of the great man, Nadal’s long-time coach admitted that he isn’t one to chase records. In a chat with Spanish Lavanguardia, Roig delved into the lesser known side of the man he has coached over the course of all these years.

He said Nadal hardly ever sat down to take stock of what he has achieved and how far he needs to go to set the new benchmark. Certainly a telling statement of a man who has 20 Grand Slam titles, including an unprecedented 13 French Open trophies, to his name.

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Asked if his discussions with Nadal ever veered to the race for being the greatest, Roig said, “Everyone wants it (to be the best). But we don’t talk about it much.”

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“Look, we found out the statistics (Nadal’s record-setting numbers) from the press. For instance, we did not know that Rafa had a hundred victories in Paris. And it’s a nice number, huh,” the former doubles player quipped.

“When you go to play the Roland-Garros final, you don’t think that you can reach the grand twenty. You think that you are in the Roland-Garros final. And, that’s it,” the Spaniard said.

He also declared that although Nadal is in the race with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic for most Grand Slam titles, the implications of him falling behind would not be too big. 

“After all, what are you going to do if Federer or Djokovic end up bigger? Are you going to get frustrated? When would you be happy?” the coach said.

“He said he didn’t see himself playing beyond 28”: Coach on Nadal

“(Imagine) how many big titles would he have if the other two didn’t exist?” the coach said, adding, “Rafa is happy even when he wins a 250 tournament. And that’s what keeps him that way.”

He shared an interesting anecdote as a way of explaining how Nadal’s champion mind ticks. “When Rafa was 21-years-old and had already added three Grand Slam titles, I asked him: ‘How many greats do you think you will reach?’

“He said, ‘I hope it’s eight or nine.’ Then he said he did not see himself playing beyond the age of 28,” Roig said.

Although Nadal skipped this year’s US Open citing Covid concerns, he clinched his 20th Grand Slam title at Roland-Garros, equalling Roger Federer’s tally. And as far as his subtle desire for titles is concerned, he’s not done by a long shot.