Juniors Wimbledon champion Gianluigi Quinzi, who currently ranks No. 3 in juniors and 404 in ATP singles, was interviewed by John Marino last spring and published in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica recently. The affable 17 year old, when asked about his inspiration, cited Rafael Nadal as his idol.

“Yes, when they ask me who is your idol, or who is your favorite player I have no doubt Rafa. Nadal is a monster, I like his grit, that he never gives up, does not leave behind even the most unnecessary points, running on everything, and has the ability to grow during a game gone bad. Yeah, I like all of Nadal. Certainly, I know that Roger Federer is considered the greatest, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are great, but I think there is no one like Rafa.”*

Quinzi went on to state that he admired Rafa for working hard to get where he is and continuing to do so, which has taught him that even if you are no. 1, you must train like you are no. 1000 in order to achieve and sustain your goals. He hopes to emulate his idol and has a question for Rafa. He would like to ask Rafa in person someday how Rafa stays positive on court even when things are not going his way, and has such a strong mind.  Quinzi jokes that he would go into Rafa’s mind and steal some secrets to his strong mentality.

A delightful young man, Quinzi certainly has the right idol to look up to. We wish him luck, and we’re sure that we will be seeing a lot more of him in the near future!

*Translated from Italian. Please refer to the original text for full quote.