Rafael Nadal – “I Am a Little Bit More Than Ashleigh Barty”

Published 07/08/2019, 12:21 PM EDT

Follow Us

via Imago

World Number two, Rafael Nadal was in a hurry to finish his fourth-round match at Centre Court today. He defeated the Portuguese tennis player, Joao Sousa 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 and advanced into the quarterfinals of Wimbledon Championships 2019.

While Rafa was in action, the French Open champion, Ashleigh Barty had occupied the Court Number two for her fourth-round match. She happened to be the major upset of the day. Rafael Nadal was questioned, was it a wise move placing him on the Center Court today rather than World Number one, Ashleigh Barty.

The two-time Wimbledon champion, Rafael Nadal replied, “I am the World Number two and I won 18 Grand Slams.” Continuing the answer to the question, Rafa feels he deserves the elite court more than Ashleigh Barty.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

via Imago

“My answer is no or yes. My answer is they make a decision,” Rafael Nadal elaborated. “You are putting Ashleigh Barty in front of me. For me, both decisions are good. In the world of tennis today, honestly, my feeling is today I am a little bit more than Ashleigh Barty, even if Ashleigh Barty is the first player of the world and she already won in the French Open and she is playing unbelievable good.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Rafael Nadal mentioned about his fellow colleagues, and he stated that Novak Djokovic is put on Court Number one today, while Britain’s Johanna Konta will be playing Petra Kvitova on the Centre Court.

During the tournament, the Brit, Kyle Edmund was scheduled on Center Court while the reigning Wimbledon finalist and World Number eight, Kevin Anderson simultaneously played on an inferior court. World Number one Barty played on an inferior court earlier in the tournament, while 19th seed Konta played on Centre Court on the same day.

“A day like today, everybody is playing, of course, (Novak)Djokovic is not playing in the Centre Court. For me the first day I have been playing on Court 1,” Nadal added. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

via Imago

The 12-time Roland Garros champion, Rafael Nadal alluded to him been placed on Court Suzzane-Lenglen last month in Paris, and there is no point in ranting over the place of the scheduling of the matches. For Barty, he feels, that it’s up to the tournament organizers to place her on Court Number two.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Mahalakshmi Murali

1,909Articles

One take at a time

Mahalakshmi Murali joined EssentiallySports in 2018 as a tennis author and has gone on to pen more than 1800 engaging articles, probing into various aspects of the sport and its illustrious players. With her expertise on the sport, Mahalakshmi has interviewed stalwarts from the sport such as Serena WIlliams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou and Kevin Anderson’s physio, Carlos Costa. Equipped with her vast experience and a keen understanding of the sport, Mahalakshmi now co-heads the tennis department.
Show More>