The cover from Ronda magazine is at the Iberia website with this following Interview: PDF FILE
RAFA NADAL: "I look forward to ending 2010 as number one again "
Again, Rafa Nadal is again the number one, the best player in the world. After conqueringits fifth season and his second Roland Garros Wimbledon, hopes to win the U.S. Open,only Grand Slam that still resists it. The Spaniard, who wept like a child on July 11South Africa to see how his friend Iker Casillas lifted the football World Cup, leads asuccessful and extraordinary generation of Spanish sportsmen. It is the golden boy "made in Spain."
TEXT: José Manuel Muñozpictures / photos: Miguel Angel zubiarraín
“I’d be thrilled to end 2010 as number one again ” Rafa Nadal is again number one, the best tennis
player in the world. After winning his fifth Roland Garros and his second Wimbledon this season, he
is determined to triumph in the U.S. Open, the only Grand Slam title still to evade him. The Manacor born sportsman, who cried like a baby on 11 July in Johannesburg as he watched his friend Iker Casillas raising the soccer World Cup, is the figurehead of an extraordinarily successful generation of Spanish athletes, a golden boy "made in Spain." In 2005, when he occupied 56th place in the ATP
ranking, he became the two millionth Iberia Plus cardholder. Iberia has been supporting Rafa Nadal, the world’s number one tennis player, ever since. Thanks to effort, hard work and sacrifices, Rafa has recovered his competitive spirit, his game and his spectacular repertoire of winning strokes. That is why his victorious streak has returned, with his fifth title at Roland Garros and his second at Wimbledon. Once more he is the king of the clay court and the best all-round player on every surface, just as he was in 2008, when he won every title available plus the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Beijing. Things could not be going better for him. -The truth is that everyone’s worked out very well for me, and I’m very happy. I don’t know if I would have believed it would all turn out this way at the start of the season, after the Australian Open. I knew I was playing well and doing things properly. I was training and playing at a very high level. Although I wasn’t on top form at the end of last season, I’d reached finals and played some important matches. I didn’t have very far to go.
-Did it mean more to you to win your fifth Roland Garros or your second Wimbledon?
-Both. The situation was different in the two championships, but they’re both obviously very important.
-Has your success this year owed something to the fact that you’ve dosed yourself out and chosen the right calendar for your interests?
-Actually, I haven’t changed my calendar very much. The only change was not playing the Conde de Godó tournament in Barcelona, but that was because I had to undergo treatment on my knee that had already been scheduled. We don’t have many options to choose where we play, as the Grand Slams and the ATP Masters 1000 series are obligatory, and that restricts your calendar a great deal.
-What are your objectives for the remainder of the season?
-My objective is still to improve and be on form for the final stretch of the year. There are some very important tournaments coming up and a lot of points at stake. I’m not going to try to fool anyone. What I’d really like, of course, is to have options of winning the U.S. Open!
-And this year, no-one can stop you being the world’s number one.
-That remains to be seen. But I would be thrilled to end 2010 as number one again.
-You’ve remarked that you could never have recovered your level of play without the encouragement of your parents and the work done by your uncle Toni and the rest of your team. Were things really going so badly for you last season?
-It was a tough time for me, yes. But it’s all forgotten now, and the way to look is ahead. It’s time to be positive.
-Did you think at any point that you would never return to your form of 2008?
-You can always have doubts, but what I did know with at conviction was that I was going to do everything to play at my highest level again. Whether or not you manage it is another thing altogether. In this case I did, and as I said before, I’m very happy about it.
-They say you should try to get something positive out of every situation. What lesson did you learn from last year’s experiences?
-You always learn something from both defeats and victories. And from tough moments like last year, of course, which teach you to take things more pragmatically. You have to know how to listen to your body, and that’s perhaps what I learned. I like competition, and if it were up to me, I’d be competing every day. But the body gives the orders.
-What’s your sporting dream?
-Being on form and continuing to do what I like best, which is this.
-Are you obsessed with winning the U.S. Open, the only Grand Slam missing from your roll of honour?
-Not at all. There’s no obsession. I’d like to win it, and I’ll try to with all my might. I’ll be contented if I know I gave my all. Winning or not will depend on a great many factors, but in no case will obsession come into it.
-Sweden’s Bjorn Borg says you’ll win Roland Garros as many times as you want to.
-I’m grateful for his kind remarks, as always. If only that turned out be true. But I don’t know if it’s as easy as he says it is.
-Do you think your friend Roger Federer will once again be what he was?
-Certainly. They made out he was finished in 2008, and look at what he’s won since then. Let’s hope the mistake isn’t repeated.
-Those who know you say you’re a very demanding player who won’t settle for his victories.
-I’ll settle for doing things well. I’m happy enough with that.
-How do you manage to be so natural and come across so well to everyone?
-It’s the way you have to be. You’ve got to be normal. We’re all normal. I can’t understand why you should change because you’re better than something or somebody. I’m very grateful to everyone for the affection they show me, and I try to make sure they know it.
-Because of your straightforwardness, talent and humility, the Royal Family and the people of Spain as a whole regard you as an example for all other Spanish athletes. Does it make you blush when your fans flatter you to that extent?
-Yes, to be quite honest.
-What did you feel when you saw your friend Iker Casillas lifting the World Cup in South Africa?
-An almost indescribable sensation. I started sobbing and I couldn’t stop. I really couldn’t stop. I think it’s a wonderful thing for our country. We deserved it. Soccer is the king of sports, and after so many Spanish sporting successes in recent years, our soccer deserved the same.
-Do you find popularity a burden?
-Sometimes, but I try not to let it show.
-Spanish athletes are in the spotlight around the globe. We have reason to celebrate.
-I think you’re right, and we all ought to be very proud.
“I’d be thrilled to end 2010 as number one again ” Rafa Nadal is again number one, the best tennis
player in the world. After winning his fifth Roland Garros and his second Wimbledon this season, he
is determined to triumph in the U.S. Open, the only Grand Slam title still to evade him. The Manacor born sportsman, who cried like a baby on 11 July in Johannesburg as he watched his friend Iker Casillas raising the soccer World Cup, is the figurehead of an extraordinarily successful generation of Spanish athletes, a golden boy "made in Spain." In 2005, when he occupied 56th place in the ATP
ranking, he became the two millionth Iberia Plus cardholder. Iberia has been supporting Rafa Nadal, the world’s number one tennis player, ever since. Thanks to effort, hard work and sacrifices, Rafa has recovered his competitive spirit, his game and his spectacular repertoire of winning strokes. That is why his victorious streak has returned, with his fifth title at Roland Garros and his second at Wimbledon. Once more he is the king of the clay court and the best all-round player on every surface, just as he was in 2008, when he won every title available plus the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Beijing. Things could not be going better for him. -The truth is that everyone’s worked out very well for me, and I’m very happy. I don’t know if I would have believed it would all turn out this way at the start of the season, after the Australian Open. I knew I was playing well and doing things properly. I was training and playing at a very high level. Although I wasn’t on top form at the end of last season, I’d reached finals and played some important matches. I didn’t have very far to go.
-Did it mean more to you to win your fifth Roland Garros or your second Wimbledon?
-Both. The situation was different in the two championships, but they’re both obviously very important.
-Has your success this year owed something to the fact that you’ve dosed yourself out and chosen the right calendar for your interests?
-Actually, I haven’t changed my calendar very much. The only change was not playing the Conde de Godó tournament in Barcelona, but that was because I had to undergo treatment on my knee that had already been scheduled. We don’t have many options to choose where we play, as the Grand Slams and the ATP Masters 1000 series are obligatory, and that restricts your calendar a great deal.
-What are your objectives for the remainder of the season?
-My objective is still to improve and be on form for the final stretch of the year. There are some very important tournaments coming up and a lot of points at stake. I’m not going to try to fool anyone. What I’d really like, of course, is to have options of winning the U.S. Open!
-And this year, no-one can stop you being the world’s number one.
-That remains to be seen. But I would be thrilled to end 2010 as number one again.
-You’ve remarked that you could never have recovered your level of play without the encouragement of your parents and the work done by your uncle Toni and the rest of your team. Were things really going so badly for you last season?
-It was a tough time for me, yes. But it’s all forgotten now, and the way to look is ahead. It’s time to be positive.
-Did you think at any point that you would never return to your form of 2008?
-You can always have doubts, but what I did know with at conviction was that I was going to do everything to play at my highest level again. Whether or not you manage it is another thing altogether. In this case I did, and as I said before, I’m very happy about it.
-They say you should try to get something positive out of every situation. What lesson did you learn from last year’s experiences?
-You always learn something from both defeats and victories. And from tough moments like last year, of course, which teach you to take things more pragmatically. You have to know how to listen to your body, and that’s perhaps what I learned. I like competition, and if it were up to me, I’d be competing every day. But the body gives the orders.
-What’s your sporting dream?
-Being on form and continuing to do what I like best, which is this.
-Are you obsessed with winning the U.S. Open, the only Grand Slam missing from your roll of honour?
-Not at all. There’s no obsession. I’d like to win it, and I’ll try to with all my might. I’ll be contented if I know I gave my all. Winning or not will depend on a great many factors, but in no case will obsession come into it.
-Sweden’s Bjorn Borg says you’ll win Roland Garros as many times as you want to.
-I’m grateful for his kind remarks, as always. If only that turned out be true. But I don’t know if it’s as easy as he says it is.
-Do you think your friend Roger Federer will once again be what he was?
-Certainly. They made out he was finished in 2008, and look at what he’s won since then. Let’s hope the mistake isn’t repeated.
-Those who know you say you’re a very demanding player who won’t settle for his victories.
-I’ll settle for doing things well. I’m happy enough with that.
-How do you manage to be so natural and come across so well to everyone?
-It’s the way you have to be. You’ve got to be normal. We’re all normal. I can’t understand why you should change because you’re better than something or somebody. I’m very grateful to everyone for the affection they show me, and I try to make sure they know it.
-Because of your straightforwardness, talent and humility, the Royal Family and the people of Spain as a whole regard you as an example for all other Spanish athletes. Does it make you blush when your fans flatter you to that extent?
-Yes, to be quite honest.
-What did you feel when you saw your friend Iker Casillas lifting the World Cup in South Africa?
-An almost indescribable sensation. I started sobbing and I couldn’t stop. I really couldn’t stop. I think it’s a wonderful thing for our country. We deserved it. Soccer is the king of sports, and after so many Spanish sporting successes in recent years, our soccer deserved the same.
-Do you find popularity a burden?
-Sometimes, but I try not to let it show.
-Spanish athletes are in the spotlight around the globe. We have reason to celebrate.
-I think you’re right, and we all ought to be very proud.
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