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Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Pages: PlayStation or on-court, Raging Bull wins
By John Pages
Matchpoint
You think Roger Federer is the best tennis player on this planet? Think again. Think Rafael Nadal. The two have met five times and the score stands, 4-1. Of course, in favor of Roger the Great, right? Wrong! Four wins, one loss in favor of Nadal. “I’ve had three losses in a row against him,” Federer said in disbelief.
Well, Roger, believe this: Rafael Nadal just broke the record of 46 straight wins on clay by Bjorn Borg, the owner of five Wimbledon crowns and six French Open trophies. Borg is one of the best. Ever. And Nadal, only 19, broke one of his most elusive records.
Welcome to the record books, Rafa.
I think Nadal will continue to dominate Federer. That one loss Nadal took against the Swiss? He held match point. He was a point away from taking a 5-0 head-to-head record against Roger. Can you imagine 5-0 against Federer?
Rafael Nadal Parera was destined for glory since birth. At the age of four he first held his racket. When he turned eight, he won his first title. After Grade 4, he quit school and moved to another campus – the tennis court – for full-time studies. At the age of 12, listen to this...
“I remember that he came to the academy one day, when he was barely 12-years-old,” says former Spanish star Emilio Sanchez-Vicario. “I rallied with him for a while and we decided to play a set. Each time he won a point, he celebrated as if it was the best one of his life, and when we changed sides, he didn’t look at me at all. He had one desire and that was to beat me.”
RAGING BULL. Spain is known for it. Add one more bull to the fight: Rafa Nadal. Translated to English, it means “I WILL WIN!”
His neighbor from Mallorca, Spain, Carlos Moya (the former French Open champion), shared this experience: “A few years ago I asked him if he would like to have a career like mine. He looked at me with the sincerity that you usually find in small children and said, quite seriously, that he aspired to do more. And I knew that he would be a better player than me.”
‘“To do more.” That’s the Nadal motto.
One of his weapons is being left-handed. “I have to adjust a lot to play against him,” says Federer. “I have to make split-second decisions since the balls are coming from a lefty.”
But did you know that he’s right-handed? He writes, eats, carries stuff using his right hand. Then why is he playing left? When he was younger, Toni, his uncle and coach, decided that his two-handed backhand would benefit from a strong right arm. Imagine that? A right-hander playing left? My gosh, he owns two forehands.
Rafa’s family is a brood of sportsmen. The next-most famous Nadal is his uncle Miguel Angel Nadal, a former professional football player who played for FC Barcelona, Real Mallorca and the Spanish national team. Which explains why Nadal is crazy over football and, if he didn’t turn to tennis, might have been donning the Spanish jersey next month in Germany.
MONEY. Does Rafa love money? Crazy question, you say. Who isn’t? But after earning $5.3 million in prize money, here’s the surprise.
“Do I have any idea of how much money I made?” he said. “Well, yes I do have an idea, but I don’t know exactly because I don’t take care of it myself. And the tax returns and all? Ask my father. For me, the most important thing is to do things in exchange for nothing, because what makes you truly happy is not material.”
His father Sebastián (a glass business/restaurant owner) and mother, Ana María, recall that when Rafa was younger and went out to play events, he brought money with him. He wrote down every single expense in a piece of paper. The rest he returned religiously. Today? Just months back, he asked his parents for permission to buy a laptop computer. “An inexpensive one,” his dad added.
Who is Rafael Nadal?
Several months back, he went to Hard Rock Café with fellow player Feliciano López. They arrived at 8:30 p.m. Quickly, the two caught the attention of the cameras. An hour later, they’re back at the hotel. Why so quick? Nadal was eager to play his PlayStation. Of his buddy Carlos Moya, he said, “When we are in Mallorca, we never speak about tennis. We like to play the PlayStation.”
Rafael Nadal? French Open champ? Owner of a 47-match winning streak? Home early...for PlayStation?
Relax. He’s only 19.
But I bet I know what PlayStation game he’s playing. Tennis.
And I bet Player B “Roger Federer” is crying to Player A “Rafael Nadal.”
(john@brightacademy.edu.ph)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (May 2, 2006 issue)
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