In an interview with Babolat, Rafael Nadal spoke about his racket and relationship with the France based sports equipment company.
Relationship with Babolat has been great during all those years. I started playing with Babolat at the age of 11 or 12 years of age.
I have worked with different people but the relationship with all of them has been fantastic. I really believe we worked in a good mood together and I am happy with everything.
At the age of 15-16 years, I started playing with AeroPro and since the beginning, I have liked it, the feeling has been great and I knew that I would play with the racket because I like it.
I can create the spin that I need and at the same time, I can feel the control of the ball. In general terms, that’s what I need. I need to feel the racket a little bit like an extension of my arm and with this racket, I always had that positive feeling.
It’s a good racket for the start, for the kids because it’s not a very difficult racket. It’s a racket that you can have a good feeling from the beginning and the suited spot is big.
So I feel like everybody can play with this racket. For players who like to play topspin with great power, I think that’s the good racket.
Source: Babolat
Looking 4rward to Rafa playing in 2weeks in Roger’s cup..No. 1 & No. 3 not taking part..No.1 guy saying he needs to recover from Wimbledon. Vamos Rafa..
Best wishes to Rafa for a fantastic tournament defending his title🍀💪❤️
BTW everyone: Couperogers twitter has the most up to date info. It is bilingual so no worries for those who don’t read French.
Margo-the Coupe Rogers draw is next Friday at 4:30pm EDT. Rafa was in attendance last year in Toronto. As defending champ it’s virtually certain that he will be at this as well although that has not yet been confirmed. So eager for the tourney to begin.
RR thanks, it’s just Rafa’s lack of confirmation that’s got me a little anxious.
RAFAMAZING ROCKS
RR, when is the draw for Montreal, I can’t find? Thanks
Djokovic and DelPotro have withdrawn from Montreal. Rafa becomes top seed and is expected to start practicing on site Aug. 2.
Thanks for the info RR…
Delpo was a given…. but it’s interesting about Novak… He’s scheduled with Roger and Rafa for Cincinnati…
This sounds good to me… Rafa does so well at the Rogers Cup and it’s perfect timing before the OPEN and I don’t think he needs to meet up wth Novak across the net …..just yet….
Thanks RR.
It makes sense for Djoker to skip Rogers Cup as he is the defending champion at Cincinnati. I bet he likes to cut down his schedule too.
Makes sense for Djoko. Imo Djoko didn’t look that great at Wimbledon but was helped by his relatively easy draw. He could’ve lost to Fed in the final if Fed had played better in all those important points (esp championship points in the fifth set).
Fed and Djoko will be playing at Cincy I suppose, but I have doubts that either could win at Cincy, after their Wimbledon duel. If Rafa wins at Montreal he may skip Cincy most likely. We may see a new Champion at Cincy.
I hope Rafa is ready for the USO, esp for the humidity there.
Wouldn’t Cincy be sufficient time for both Fed and Nole to bounce back from Wimby? Neither had a grueling tournament IMO.
Nole…think his elbow is acting up again?
RAFAMAZING IS AMAZING
So true about the conditions last year at the Open…it was brutally hot, beyond anything I had ever experienced there before…Players were dropping like flies, retiring right and left from heat exhaustion…
They had ice packs for the players courtside as they came back to their chairs….
And then…after day 1 or 2 of this oppressive heat, they instituted the ” 10 min rule” . which on the mens side meant the players were allowed to leave the court after the 3 and 4th set .. go to the locker room and shower, eat, or take ice baths that were set up for them to help restore their body to a normal temperature…. They then returned to the court to resume play… For women the rule took effect after the second set… I honestly remember thinking to myself while I sat in the stands, sweating, how are these players doing this? This is brutal for them and for the spectators, as the EMT stations were packed helping people who were feeling sick and dehydrated.
Rafa powered through it as we know he likes the heat but it wasn’t easy…as he changed his shirt at least 3 or 4 times a match to the delight of the fans. … Novak would just sit out there in between games …no shirt on… with an ice pack around his neck… It was crazy….
Roger, after his loss, did mention in his interview that he felt the heat effected his game… how could it not?
I, along with everyone else attending this year can only hope for better weather….. To the weathergods… how about 80’s, sunny with some passing clouds and low humidity…
Now that would be greatly appreciated …
RR thanks for the update.
Both Fed and Djoko are not that young anymore; their 5 hours final at Wimbledon I think will take a lot out of them.
Both have played > 40 matches so far but Djoko had played two long and mentally gruelling matches – FO SF and Wimbledon final. I think they had taken a lot out of him – physically and mentally. He didn’t look well during Wimbledon imo; it’s just that his fighting quality had allowed him to snatch victory from the jaw of defeat.
The conditions at New York may be as bad as last year, who knows, so one must be in tip top conditions to prevail there. Even the normally very fit Fed suffered badly there last year.
Looking at Rafa, Rafa didn’t have gruelling matches, whether at FO or Wimbledon, I think he’s physically fit and is ready to defend his Canada Masters title.
Rafa has played 43 matches, same as Fed; Djoko has played 41 matches so far. Rafa should be in better physical conditions than both Fed and Djoko, he just has to keep himself injury free and plays the way he played in that FO final imo, to win at the USO.
Thanks so much for insightful and detailed analysis. Sounds great….for Rafa.
RAFAMAZING ROCKS
👏
🎾 + Rafa
In an interview with LeParisien, Rafa recounted his 2005 FO match, saying he felt bad because the spectators were not in his favor. He felt they wanted him to lose.
But 2005 was a very special year for Rafa. His FO win was the first of 18 Grand Slams and he started dating Mary. Now, as then, it is also very special. Rafa celebrated his 12th FO and will also celebrate his marriage to Mary [Mary Frances].
After his 12th win, he spent the evening with family, in a hotel along the Sein, and enjoyed a huge cake.
On Wimbledon, Rafa explained [again] that he cannot play so many weeks in succession [after clay] and that’s why he won’t play a tournament before Wimbledon. He felt he was sufficiently competitive and sees no reason to change now by playing before Wimbledon.
According to this article, Toni has told Rafa many times to play more on clay because it is less destructive on the body. LeParisien suggests that this is an indication Toni is already looking at the FO 2020 for a 13th title, even more phenomenal.
Whatever you have to do to stay healthy Rafa, just keep doing it.
RAFA ROCKS
Well if Rafa is not going to play any competitive matches on grass before Wimbledon, I doubt he’s going to be ready for players like Fed and Djoko. Of course, we can hope that both Fed and Djoko are beaten by someone else instead.
To me, Rafa perhaps can beat anyone at Wimbledon except those two guys; they’re just that good on grass! Both Fed and Djoko play a game that suits any surface (yes, even on clay) whilst Rafa has to make adjustments to his game (like hitting less topspin and more flatter shots and slices) in order to play well on non clay surfaces. Given that there’s only three weeks between FO and Wimbledon, Rafa will have a hard time adjusting.
He reached five Wimbledon finals, winning two, when there’s only two weeks between FO and Wimbledon back then, and each time Rafa played a warm up event on grass.
Rafa played better at Wimbledon last year than this year imo; that Delpo match had perhaps helped him to be competitive vs Djoko in the SF last year; the QF match vs Querrey this year wasn’t competitive, hence he’s not ready when he faced Fed in the SF.
Unless Rafa could make playing aggressive tennis becomes a natural component of his game, it’s quite difficult to switch from baseline rallying tennis on clay to short point tennis on grass.
I do feel that Rafa has to start being aggressive right from the clay season so that he can carry on with that style and momentum right into the grass season. It’s a pity that in 2017, he was playing aggressive tennis throughout the FO but he wasn’t able to carry on with that onto grass, and had started tentatively against Muller at Wimbledon, losing the first two sets hence had a hard time chasing from behind and finally lost a heart breaking fifth set 15-13.
It seems that Rafa had it tough with the Wimbledon draw all these years – in 2017, he had Muller, even if he got past Muller, he would have Cilic next followed by Querrey in the SF, all big servers. Last year he had Delpo and then Djoko; this year he had Kyrgios, Tsonga, Querrey and then Fed. He can’t get a break it seems!
How nice it would be, if Rafa could play like Djoko when playing against Fed; and plays a combination of a Fedal game when playing against Djoko!
It seems logical but Rafa said some players adapt quicker to grass than others, indicating he was among the latter. He has to protect his body from injury so he’s in a difficult position. Perhaps not playing a pre-Wimbledon tournament, after clay, may keep him healthy.
Makes sense to me… He is in a very difficult position…. If it takes him longer to adapt to grass, then he needs a tournament before Wimbledon to make the necessary adjustments to get his game on so when Wimbledon starts he’s ready… But if he’s not doing that to protect his body, (and I get that) then how is he going to win it all knowing there’s an excellent chance that Roger and Novak will be at the end with him… Ughhh…I don’t want to think about Wimbledon 2020…
So happy to see him start his training for the Hardcourt season… Eventually he will announce his intentions
regarding Cincinatti ( which I think we agree he probably will bow out)
My sights are on NewYork…. 32 days and counting tlll I see our boy at the OPEN….
Can’t wait…..
Can’t wait for the Hardcourts in America. Vamos Rafa <3
So many players have said that about their racquet “like an extension of my arm.” It must be a really comfortable feeling, like a pair of cherished worn-in shoes.