Interview in Spanish:
Rafael Nadal si racconta: dall’infanzia ai trionfi passando per il rapporto con i rivali Djokovic e Federer. «A 19 anni mi dissero che non avrei più giocato. Quella fragilità ora è forza»
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English Translation:
Q. What are you afraid of? It's said darkness, dogs
Rafa: Those are just jokes. I'm afraid of illness. I'm afraid for those I love.
Q .Are you also afraid of Covid?
Rafa: Not for me. I'm still young & my body still responds. But, if I get infected, I can infect people at risk. I'm worried for my parents, my family. For my community. It's the toughest time in our life. That's why it's the time to fight for things more important than a tennis match. We must have faith.
Q. How should we face the Covid crisis?
Rafa: With respect. Towards ourselves, towards our beloved ones and towards others. And then with responsibility and logic. You can die from the virus, but also from hunger. The blow to the economy has been really severe. We must find the balance between health and work, between health and social protection. Safety is key, but so are freedom and dignity.
Q. Unlike many of your colleagues who have taken refuge in tax havens, you pay your taxes in Spain. Are you proud of being Spanish?
Rafa: I'm Spanish. And I'm happy to be so. Of course, when the tax bill arrives, I'm a little less happy, but I've had the good fortune to be born in a country with many virtues, which gave me a good life.
Q. You're named after your grandfather, Rafael Nadal, musician.
Rafa: Conductor. After the civil war he brought Beethoven's Ninth Symphony to the village. He later conducted Alfredo Kraus, the tenor. I was very close to my grandfather. His death was a terrible pain.
Q. People wonder what's the reason for your ritual: the 2 sips of water from 2 bottles, not to walk on the lines... Superstition?
Rafa: No. I'm not superstitious. Otherwise, I'd change the ritual with each defeat. I'm not even a slave to the routine: my life changes constantly, always traveling. And competing is very different from training. What you call tics is a way of putting my head in order, for me, who usually am very messy. It's a way to focus and silence the voices within. In order not to listen to the voice that tells me that I will lose, or to the one, even more dangerous, that tells me that I will win.
Q. You have been with the same woman all your life. When did you meet her?
Rafa: We've known each other since forever, ever since we were kids. Mery is my point of stability.
Q. Is it true that behind your 2009 crisis there was the crisis between your parents?
Rafa: It's true. That year they separated, although only for a period. I suffered very much from it because without my family I would have done nothing.
Q. It is usually said that you're less talented than Federer. However, some deny it. What do you think?
Rafa: What is talent? Each of us has his own talent. To some it all comes easy, others know how to stay on court for longer. You can have the talent to write a good article in half an hour, but if one of your colleagues can work for six straight hours and come up with an excellent article, he will be a more talented journalist than you.
Q. Do you believe in God?
Rafa: I don't know, and I don't ask myself. For me the important thing is to behave well, to help those in need. I believe in good people. And if after all God exists, it'll be wonderful.
Q. How do you imagine the afterlife?
Rafa: I don't imagine it.
Q. Why do you never throw your racket?
Rafa: Because as a child I was taught that it must not be done. It is me who makes mistakes, not the racket.
