Saturday afternoon, barely finished his interview with Radio-Canada Sports, a youthful voice began to shout uncle Toni, uncle Toni
. A young boy of about twelve years approached quickly to exchange a few words with the famous trainer.
Toni Nadal has shaped his famous nephew’s game since he was four years old. He was at his side in the conquest of 14 of his 22 grand slam titles. Their relationship goes beyond their sports partnership. The Nadal clan is a tightly knit family.
That’s why when Toni Nadal speaks, we listen. After a year and a half of collaboration with the team of Félix Auger-Aliassime, the Spaniard does not budge: the Quebecer can still improve.
<q data-attributes=""lang":"value":"fr","label":"Français","value":"html":"Je crois qu’il a le potentiel pour devenir no1 in the world, I believe, explains Toni Nadal, in French, the language he uses with Félix and his coach, Frédéric Fontang. His overall game has evolved over the past year. Before, he made mistakes that we didn’t really understand, but now he’s more solid.”,”text”:”I think he has the potential to become world No. 1, I believe him, explains Toni Nadal, in French, the language he uses with Félix and his trainer, Frédéric Fontang. His overall game has evolved over the past year. Before, he made mistakes that we didn’t really understand, but now he’s more solid.””>I believe he has the potential to become world No. 1, I believe him, explains Toni Nadal, in French, the language he uses with Félix and his coach, Frédéric Fontang. His overall game has evolved over the past year. Before, he made mistakes that we didn’t really understand, but now he’s more solid.
« I feel in him a little more tranquility when it comes to playing the important points, but he still has a lot of room for improvement. Of the youngsters in the top 10 in the world, he has the biggest margin. We must stabilize the game to be top, top and be able to win grand slams. »
During training, Toni Nadal talks briefly, but regularly with Frédéric Fontang and Félix Auger-Aliassime. Interventions are short and precise.
The mentor does not seem there to impose his knowledge. We are more in the register of the great sage, or of the Jedi for Star Wars fans.
His message for the young Quebecer is no different from the one he would offer to anyone, regardless of the field. The most important thing is to have objectives that are both precise and ambitious.
A common thread on which it is sometimes difficult to stay balanced.
When we made contact, I first asked him what world rank he wanted to achieve, says Nadal. We must work towards this goal. We always have to improve, that’s the most important thing. That’s what I try to convey to him and let him know that it’s not easy.
On Saturday, Auger-Aliassime delivered a practice match to Casper Ruud, 5th in the world. On Sunday, on the eve of his first-round match, he struck an hour with Russian Aslan Karatsev.
The 38th in the world had also eliminated him in five rounds in Australia, in 2021. In both cases, it was not a walk in the park for the Quebecer.
He worked hard.
Toni Nadal
Photo: Radio-Canada / Jean-Francois Vachon
Learn to win when things go wrong
It takes a big binder to bring Toni Nadal’s huge track record into the world of tennis. He is now director of the Rafa Nadal academy in Manacor, but followed his nephew all over the world until 2016.
However, the sexagenarian has never finished learning.
Learning is never closed, you can never know everything, replies the uncle. All my life I’ve been open to watching what other people do. Friday, we trained near Carlos Alcaraz. I told Felix to watch what he was doing, how he was doing his drop shots, how he was hitting the ball.
« It’s impossible to know everything, so Félix also has to be open and learn from everyone here. He must be willing to do so. If he learns, he is in the correct way for me. »
Of course, the young Quebecer still has a lot to learn, especially from his adviser’s nephew. If physically, at 36, Nadal no longer rises above the masses, he remains a formidable warrior, winner of the first two grand slam tournaments of the season.
And it was only an abdominal tear that kept him out of Wimbledon on the eve of the semi-finals.
Toni and Rafael Nadal in training
Photo : Getty Images / Clive Brunskill
Toni Nadal certainly does not know the film Les Boys
, but he praises with conviction the hardness of his nephew’s mind. You have to know how to navigate in rough seas.
Rafael, he has an incredible thing, he has a very good mentality and he is always there, explains the uncle. I told Félix that the difference is that Rafael knows how to play when things are bad. Many new generation players know how to play only when things are going well. To win a grand slam is difficult because things don’t go well every day. You have to be a good player when things aren’t going well. Rafael does that well.
« Today there are several players who can win, it’s not like before when it was always the same three or four. Today there is Felix, Alcaraz, Medvedev, Tsitsipas, Berrettini and others. Things will never be easy. All my life I prepared my nephew for difficulties, and when they came I believe he was always well prepared. »
Faith of the trainer, Félix does it a little better every day. And if the student is still far from having exceeded the master, Toni Nadal recognizes similar qualities between Rafael and Félix.
I learned the same from Felix as I learned from Rafael. You can be a great player and be a normal person. I think he has a great education, for me that’s one of the most important things. He is a calm person, sometimes tense on the court, but outside he is calm.
Calm and focused on the goal to be achieved. The one for next week is to go even further at the US Open than last year.
It would mean a final. And potentially against Rafael Nadal, favorite of his portion of the table.
However, there are big chunks to get rid of on both sides before we get to that. For example, world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev for Felix in the quarterfinals. And Spanish regent Carlos Alcaraz for Nadal in the semis.
But as Uncle Toni says so well, you have to be prepared to overcome the difficulties.