Boris Becker’s former coach Ion Tiriac believes Rafael Nadal is going to be number one in the world forever and he can not be compared to any other player. The Spaniard recently won his 14th Roland Garros title by beating Norway’s Casper Ruud in the final of the French Open 2022. This was Nadal’s 22nd Grand slam title as he continued his love affair with Phillippe-Chartier.
Meanwhile, there were doubts about whether Nadal will be able to go all the way in the French Open as he didn’t have ideal practice and he was struggling with his foot injury in Rome. However, the veteran was able to turn the tables and brought his best to the court.
Nadal is known to give his best and he once again gave his 120% on the court despite injury troubles.
In a recent interview, Ion Tiriac said, “Nadal is much smarter than me, he knows his physique much better than I do. At Roland Garros, he had no major problem until he had the Canadian (Felix Auger-Aliassime), who is a good tennis player. In the match against Djokovic, Nadal played very, very well. Beating Djokovic, number one in the world, in that way… No, Nadal is going to be number one in the world forever. He cannot be compared. Nor with Federer, for me.”
Meanwhile, Nadal is often compared with the other two members of Big Three – Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. Tiriac revealed what set Nadal apart from his rivals.
“For me he’s a guy, as a person… I can’t just consider the Grand Slams, how this blow hits, how the other one hits… The human being that nadal is… And besides, you’re never going to see, either in your life or in your children’s lives, someone winning a Grand Slam tournament 14 times. Or 15. Because I’m sure he’s going to try next year,” Tiriac continued.
On the other hand, Nadal’s foot injury has been troubling him for ages now. Tiriac added Nadal must heal to compete at the top level.
“He has no other option, he cannot choose. He must heal, he must heal not only his foot, but everything that was broken, his entire physique. In 15 years he spent two or three times more energy than Federer. When he was 16 I said he would be as good as his physique would allow,” Tiriac said.
Tiriac added Nadal’s never-die attitude on the court sets him apart from the other players.
“I don’t think he needs to play until he’s 40. I see him die on a tennis court. He is down 6-2 in a tie break and won’t let you beat him. I have been at Roland Garros for 60 years or more. I played the Davis Cup here in 1959. I never saw a set like Nadal and Zverev’s first in the semifinals, a set in which 11 games are played and in nine the serve is broken. Nine breaks. How is it possible? I do not know,” Tiriac concluded.
Nadal was seen practicing on grass courts and he is expected to take part in Wimbledon 2022, which will begin on June 27.
