Rafael Nadal
24 quotes
Biography
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera, 1st Marquess of Llevant de Mallorca is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 209 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 five times.
"My motivation and aspiration is the same, being number one or being number five. So that's the truth. And my goal is the same - it's to always be happy playing, it's to enjoy the game and improve always."
"If you are playing bad you are going to lose here, on clay, on ice, or on the beach."
"To be honest, I haven't felt at my best since this tournament began. I didn't feel good with the court or the balls. But those are excuses. You have to accept when you don't play well and somebody else does."
"I just wanted to see how the shorts felt again."
"I'm Rafa's number one fan."
"He's a fantastic player and he's going to be around so much longer so I'm happy with every one I get before he takes them all"
"I felt like what I saw was the old classic Rafa on clay hardly losing sets and matches. That's what we got from him. That's why it's going to be incredibly hard to beat him here at Wimbledon."
"Everybody likes to say that Roger Federer is the Greatest Player of all time because its so nice to watch him play...but you have got to throw in Nadal's Mind as well...and That's the GREATEST OF ALL TIME!!!"
"He has never broken a racket in anger. It would be showing a lack of respect to people who actually have to buy the equipment to play the sport."
"He is like a beast, an animal, on the court. He's very strong and he's very well prepared."
"Almagro … is a guy that's won like 11, 12, clay court titles, won them all on clay. The guy's very, very good clay-court player.I don't think he's ever played better than he played - and he still can't win a set. Like how discouraging it is to play Nadal on this surface.Ah, God, I have seen him a thousand times. I just watch this guy and it's hard to even know where to begin to pick one thing.The way he's improved his game, like his serve, the parts of his game where he can move forward, his volley, the defensive ability he's got to track down balls and just make you play extra shots.And the way he sort of slides into balls and puts away a shot - shots that seem like impossible when I was playing - it was unheard of."
"I always wanted to be honest with myself and to those who have had faith in me."
"I love the beach. I love the sea. All my life I live within - in front of the sea."
"I like a lot of sports. Especially football - it's my favourite sport. My uncle played football in Barcelona for nine years and played for Spain in three World Cups."
"The family is very important. They make me feel good always because if I won, when I started to be famous, the relationship never changed with my friends and family."
"Why would I want a place of my own? Then I would have to things worry about, like doing laundry and having food in the fridge."
"You fight, you try your best, but if you lose, you don't have to break five racquets and smash up the locker room. You can do those things, but when you've finished, nothing's changed. You've still lost. If something positive came from that, I probably would do it. But I see only negativity."
"I like fishing. Not actual fishing - I like the peace and quiet of being at sea. It's different."
"Enduring means accepting. Accepting things as they are and not as you would wish them to be, and then looking ahead, not behind."
"The glory is being happy. The glory is not winning here or winning there. The glory is enjoying practicing, enjoy every day, enjoying to work hard, trying to be a better player than before."
"Even if I have already peaked, I have to believe I can improve. I wake up every morning, and go to practice, with the illusion that I'm going to get better that day."
"I was passionate about soccer. I still am. Odd, though - playing soccer always made me much more anxious than playing tennis. On soccer days, I'd be out of bed by 6 in the morning, all nervous. But I was always calm when it was time for a tennis match. I still don't know why."
"I started to travel like this at the age of 15 so for me, it's normal. Some days you get tired and you feel, 'I want to stay at home a little bit more,' but it's only the moment."
"I am not the most courageous guy in the world outside of the court. Being alone in the dark is something I don't like."