Rafael Nadal has achieved extraordinary results from a very young age, although many believed that he would never become a competitive player off the clay. The former world No. 1, who this year equaled long-time rival Roger Federer’s record of 20 slams, has taken away the satisfaction of winning two Wimbledons, one Australian Open and four US Open.
The 34-year-old from Manacor hasn’t made it past the semi-finals at Paris-Bercy, but is delivering excellent tennis at the ATP Finals this week. Thanks to the success in three sets of Stefanos Tsitsipas, the Iberian phenomenon broke the semifinal pass redeeming the disappointment of last year.
It could be a good year to see Nadal’s first win in the Masters Tournament. In a recent interview, Australian legend Pat Cash recalled an unprecedented match with the King of Earth when Rafa was just 14 years old.
Pat Cash on Rafael Nadal
In Mallorca, the Australian took his place against the always energetic Spaniard. In his first thoughts as the game started, Pat recalled Nadal’s determination. Cash said. “Obviously, then he didn’t hit the ball that hard, but he played with the same intensity, with topspin.
I was a little surprised by everything [smiles]”. In his 20 Grand Slams run, Rafael Nadal has always been in the shadow of Roger Federer. But, the determination of the Spaniard is out of the world as he continues at the top of his game.
Cash didn’t know it then. “When I was a kid his age, it wasn’t like it was something I couldn’t handle, but the crowd had a lot of fun when he won the first set against me. I was being nice to him … ‘Okay, no more Mr.
Nice guy because this guy is really good. He’ll beat me if he can, ‘”Australian Pat Cash said. “He won the first set and the crowd thought he was very funny. They were roaring for us. So we were on the court together, and I started to load chips, serve and volley, that kind of thing, and I won the second set quite comfortably, 6-2 I think.
The story then went on to a 10-point tiebreaker that separated the winner from the loser. “99 percent of the children would have drowned and broke down. He was just breaking it everywhere, all over the court, and he hit some incredible winners.
At the time, he was 38 years old and still hit the ball pretty well, “Cash explained. Cash confessed: “I lost that game. I don’t remember what the score was, but it was close. He didn’t get nervous or anything.
Obviously, he had nothing to lose. But I walked into the locker room afterwards, the guys looked at me, just to see my reaction. And my reaction was to lose to a 14-year-old and I just looked at them and said, ‘Wow, this kid is something else!’
Nadal is currently campaigning to win the ATP Finals title, one he has never won before. He is in the semifinals after defeating Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas.
