Canadian tennis coach, Rob Steckley recently went on a podcast and talked about Rafael Nadal. Talking about Rafa, Rob applauded the Spaniard’s never say die attitude.
All of the wins in 2022 comes off the back of 18 months of injury woes for the Spaniard who ended his 2021 season in August after the Washington Open, having already missed Wimbledon and the Olympics.
Speaking in the pre-match press conference before the 2022 Indian Wells, Rafa opened about his season and injuries. Nadal talked about the foot injury which forced him to miss the second half of the 2021 season.
Rafa had to deal with chest pains in the Indian Wells finals after he got injured during the semi-finals of the same tournament. He suffered a stress fracture to his ribs.
Rob Steckley in awe of Rafael Nadal’s grit and determination
Taylor Fritz stopped Rafael Nadal’s 20-0 match winning streak as he claimed his first ATP Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells. He claimed victory to finish 6-3 7-6 (7-5) over Nadal while becoming the first American to win the tournament since Andre Agassi in 2001.
Rafael Nadal dealt with a chest issue he picked up during the semi-final battle with fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz. He twice received treatment during his match against Taylor.
He said, “I had pain, honestly. I have problem to breathe. I don’t know if it’s something on the rib, I don’t know yet. When I’m breathing, when I’m moving it’s like a needle all the time inside here (indicating his chest.)”
Rafa could not hide his disappointment and the worry about what it might mean for the clay court season and his chances of a 14th French Open title.
However, Rob Steckley has different point of view of the Spaniard. He believes that Rafa can play on forever and he could play with one leg of necessary.
He said, “Nadal, that guy’s he seems like he’s falling apart but he just never leaves us. When I was coaching Denis (Shapovalov), we’d always talk about when that guy was ever gonna leave tennis.”
He added, “And he’s that guy that literally – there is nothing else for that guy you know. He’s got the most money in the world, he’s got everything. Still, that guy will, even with one leg, he’s still gonna try to compete and do what he does, so that’s also admirable and courageous.”
