No Bad Gesture, No Complaint, No Disapproving Look – Toni on Rafa Nadal

Toni Nadal has made a startling admission about what nephew Rafael could have done to stop Novak Djokovic clinching a record seventh Australian Open title.

The 17-time Grand Slam winner from Spain was swept away by Djokovic in just over two hours as he suffered a 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 loss at Rod Laver Arena on Sunday night.

As Nadal’s former coach and someone who knows the Spaniard’s game perhaps better than anyone, uncle Toni has shared some eye-opening post-match analysis on the final.

He was quick to credit the Serb for his near-flawless performance and admits that when he is playing in the form that saw him sweep Nadal aside in Sunday night’s decider, there is essentially nothing his rivals can do to stop it.

“From the beginning we saw an opponent ready to attack and play at a high speed, Toni Nadal wrote on his website.

“On many occasions, a good attack from my nephew served as food for a winning return of the Serbian.”

“I do not know if there is a possible tactic against such an inspired opponent.”

“Maybe I would have agreed to play more for the centre and try longer exchanges,” uncle Toni added.

“I think the result of the final gave the feeling of a wider distance than, in fact, there is,” Nadal wrote on his website.

“Djokovic touched perfection and Rafael was less successful than in the rest of the tournament.”

Toni Nadal had watched the match along with the children in the Academy and said to them, “I know it’s not in good taste to pour praises on a family member, but I would like to explain what I emphasized to them yesterday Sunday afternoon, a few hours after finishing the game, to the boys I trained in the Rafa Nadal Academy. Not even when the third set progressed and everything went very uphill, we saw signs of frustration or abandonment in my nephew. No bad gesture, no complaint, no disapproving look at his box. He fought until the last point as it is appropriate to make a person grateful to life and his luck. He gave his hand and congratulations to his rival, and accepted his defeat with resignation.”

Rafael Nadal made it as far as the final before being soundly beaten by Djokovic at the 2019 Australian Open. The final score read 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 in the Serbian’s favour. With this victory, Djokovic consolidated his lead as World Number 1.

Personally speaking, Nadal had some fairly easy opponents who he defeated in straight sets. If Roger Federer had not been stunned by Stefanos Tsitsipas, he could have been a precursor to what awaited Rafa in the final.