Iz Rafine autobiografije. Mnogo nezgodan Toni
, a Rafa poslusan do bola. Mada sada deluje da je poceo da se buni kada misli da Toni nije u pravu
As Nadal writes about his triumph at the 2010 U.S. Open—a victory that made him only the seventh man in history to complete a career Grand Slam—he lets us all in on a dispute that arose between himself and Uncle Toni that could have spiraled out of control and damaged both men at the worst possible time. Before Nadal took on Denis Istomin in the second round, Toni urged him to lengthen the points, play safely, loop balls up high, and establish a rhythm that would serve him well for the rest of the tournament. Rafa felt he went out and did precisely what his uncle had asked him to do, but Toni chided him for what he considered a poor attitude. Toni had stressed to Rafa that he needed as always to put on a “good face, meaning he should conceal any inner doubts and present a brave and positive face to the world.
After the Istomin match, Toni Nadal was dissatisfied, and told his young nephew of his concerns. Nadal explained that if his expression looked that way, it was because he felt nervous and was afraid he might lose. He saw that as an understandable “human reaction.” After Nadal stood up for himself politely to Toni, his uncle responded, “O.K. O.K. I just tell you what I think, and if you don’t like it, I’m off home and you can find yourself another coach.”
Nadal writes, “I wasn’t thrilled at his reaction. Toni must know that I am one of the easiest players on the tour to get along with. Few treat their coach with more respect than I do. I listen to Toni, I do as he instructs, and even when things become tense, I rarely answer back. I am well-mannered on the court, I train at a hundred percent, and in everyday life I don’t put any pressure on those around me, much less Toni. So when he responded the way he did in the locker room at Flushing Meadows, I felt I had been treated unjustly. But I made an effort and contained myself.”
As told in the book, Nadal tried to explain to his strong-minded uncle that he simply did not agree with him in this instance. Usually he was in accord with Uncle Toni, but not this time. This time, Rafa told Toni that he felt he was wrong. Astoundingly, the older man responded this way: “If this is the way things are going to be, I can’t see any pleasure in being your coach any longer.” With that line, Uncle Toni stormed out of the locker room.
“I’ve seen reports in the news media saying that Toni forced me to play left-handed, and that he did this because it would make me harder to play against. Well, it’s not true. It’s a story the newspapers have made up. The truth is I began playing when I was very small, and because I wasn’t strong enough to hit the ball over the net, I’d hold the racket with both hands, on the forehand as well as the backhand. Then one day my uncle said, ‘There are no professional players who play with two hands [off both sides] and we’re not going to be the first ones, so you’ve got to change.’ So I did, and what came naturally to me was to play left-handed. Why, I can’t tell. Because I write with my right hand, and when I play basketball or golf—or darts—I play right-handed, too. But in football [soccer] I play with my left; my left foot is much stronger than my right. People say this gave me an advantage on the double-handed backhand, and they may be right. Having more feeling, more control on both hands than the majority of players, has to work in my favor, especially on cross-court shots, where a little strength helps. But this was definitely not something that Toni, in a moment of genius, thought up. It’s dumb to imagine that he might have been able to force me to play in a way that did not come naturally to me.”
http://www.tennischannel.com/news/NewsDetails.aspx?newsid=9883 
