There seems to be no beating Rafael Nadal on Clay. Winning 46 consecutive sets and 19 consecutive matches, he is in a form which can only by bettered by himself later in the future. Winning the Monte Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open in a comfortable style, he’s yet to face an opponent who’s challenged him. So much is his domination over clay this season, that he’s lost more than 4 games in a set only once.
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While we’re yet to be able to identify a potential opponent for Nadal, his former coach for nearly 27 years, Toni Nadal lists down his probables.
He’s called Dominic Thiem as the main rival for Nadal this clay season followed by some other names: David Goffin, Juan Martin del Porto, Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic.
He was very appreciative of Alexander Zverev, labeling him a better player than Rafa on hard court.
‘Zverev is a very good player, he is the World No.3′, he said.
‘His best surface is, in my eyes, the hard court, because he moves better than he does on clay, even if he won big titles like Rome. Rafa is definitely better (than Zverev) on clay, but Zverev is already a little bit more dangerous on hard.‘
When asked about Rafael Nadal’s main rival Roger Federer, Toni said that even if he would have been there, Rafa would have dominated.
‘I don’t know if Rafa misses Roger for clashes on clay. But it’s clear: Rafa would definitely be the favourite on clay.’ he said.
Federer wants to save his energy for the grass-court season, which worked well last year and made him stay injury-free.’ he added.
He finally spoke of the man he’s coached for 27 years, saying, he hopes Rafa gets to enjoy winning tournaments for much more years to come.
‘In 2006 and 2007, many older players said that Rafa’s career would last for a very short time. And now he has been in the world class for 13 or 14 years. I hope he can celebrate other wins‘
