16-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal has praised coach Carlos Moya for bringing in fresh ideas that have helped in reviving the Majorcan’s career.
Nadal was on the brink of extinction at the end of 2016, when he failed to progress beyond the quarterfinals of any of the four Grand Slams. With injuries mounting, his problems looked irreparable. In fact, many pundits claimed he was well past his prime and suggested it was time he should retire from the game.
However, Nadal responded in the best possible fashion, working on his game and his fitness during the last three months of 2016 and when he came back, he was a different beast altogether. Not only did he overcome the wrist injury, which had bothered him all through 2016, but went on to win a 10th French Open title and a third US Open crown, taking his Grand Slam tally to 16 in 2017.
The only thing which did not go according to the script as far as Nadal is concerned was his performance against his main rival Roger Federer last year. The Spanish Bulldozer, who had never lost to the Swiss on five consecutive occasions in the past, achieved the feat in 2017 as the 36-year-old from Basel was successful in beating Nadal all four times the celebrated duo met on the ATP tour.
In spite of a few hiccups, Nadal was indeed thrilled with his success in 2017 and gave the credit of his success to his countryman and current coach, Carlos Moya. Rafa said: “It’s good, we’ve had a fantastic year (2017) and we’ve worked really well together and formed a good team with Toni and Francis (Francisco Roig). We’ve worked in every sense of the word. Now there is no transition; now the season starts with Carlos, who will work out the calendar and the training plan. It’s a new era, another day-to-day routine to adapt to. We’ll try to do everything as well as we can. Moya has come in with ideas that have worked well and slightly new methods of working that have fitted everyone well. In general, we’re excited.”
