For Angel Ruíz Cotorro, doctor of the Spanish Tennis Federation and Rafael Nadal, assures that the Manacor player is the living example of psychological improvement and that in that aspect “it is always one step above the others”, in addition to being the “mentally strongest of all tennis players on the circuit and possibly in tennis history.”
“From a psychological point of view, for many years Rafa Nadal has been showing that in situations of maximum tension, before the most difficult moments that can exist in sport, in this case tennis, he is always a step above the others “, says Ruíz Cotorro in an interview with EFE Salud.
The director of the Medical Services of the Spanish Tennis Federation and general director of the Mapfre Tennis Clinic, considers that from a physical point of view, Nadal is “a marvel because he has qualities that are” difficult to have in the same player, such as aerobic resistance and at the same time a lot of power “.
And it is part, he explains, of a work done “since he was little with his physical trainer to achieve a very good aerobic base, which at the beginning did not have “.
The doctor points out that his normal physiological qualities are very high, because he has a great resistance and that at the same time “is a tennis player with explosiveness and power difficult to mix in the same person”.
Ruíz Cotorro considers that the recent Roland Garros final played against Serbian Novak Djokovic “was one of the most important moments in tennis history for both tennis players “.
“And Nadal, apart from his tennis level, which was very high and far superior to his rival, mentally faced the most prepared match”He says when referring to the conquest of his twentieth Grand Slam, with which he has been equated with his friend Roger Federer.
“I have always thought that Rafa is one of the best competitors in the history of sport and the other day he showed it by winning the tournament”, Add.
His physical strength has been created since he was young, “with his first steps with his uncle Toni Nadal, who taught him what effort, work and mental capacity were “, He says.
Because this last “He trains and during these years it has been one of the factors that he has really worked on the most.”
“Currently, he is a player who has all those acquired routines; I think he is the strongest mentally of all the tennis players on the circuit and possibly in the history of tennis “, points out.
In his opinion, moreover, he was born with a one hundred percent competitive personality, and tennis is his passion.
“Rafa Nadal has a passion for this sport that makes him work, enjoy, improve himself constantly and I think that's what he was born with. In training he trains in extreme situations, which later serve him when solutions must be sought. It has been a whole process that joins its very competitive base. All of that is natural to him. “
About your age and your competitors, remember that Rafa is 34, Djokovic 33, and Federer 39, and they are different situations. “Federer is in a different situation.”
“In Rafa's case, as long as he has a passion for this sport and is able to compete as he did in this last Grand Slam in front of Djokovic, with that passion and preparation, is going to continue playing tennis, because it is his life, “he says.
“How many years can he play? Well, two, three … In the 2016 Olympic Games it was said, let's see if he can get to Tokyo, because we are in 2020, that Tokyo would have touched him, and he has just won his 13th Roland Garros, playing perhaps one of the best games of his life, “he says.
“I think that as long as his body holds him, he has the illusion and works every day as he is doing, because every time he plays better tennis, because we really have Rafa left for a few years”, says the doctor who adds, however, that his tennis longevity “depends on many situations, if the injuries respect him, but physically he is now very well.”
In the opinion of this specialist, the pandemic totally influences training, because it is a new situation for everyone, and the athlete, and especially the elite athlete, you need to have references and know what your goals are and where the moments are.
“Not only Rafa, but everyone has had a situation of not knowing where he was and it is very difficult for everyone to program, when they say that in March they confine us …, it is no longer known when this or that tournament is going to be played “.
Rafa, explains his doctor, has had his team behind, his representative Carlos Costa, his coach Carlos Moyá, his physical trainer Joan Forcades, his physio Rafa Maymó, all of them.
“Everyone has been tucking him in there, logically his whole family to really help him in those moments, because it is very difficult to program anything when you don't know anything, “he says.
“And for the player these are very hard moments; the illusion and desire to train are closely linked to the objectives, and six months have passed in which I did not know when I was going to play, “he continues.
When it is already defined what is going to be played, says Ruíz Cotorro, they set some objectives, “The team makes some decisions regarding whether to play in the US or not, and from there Rafa prepares for Rome and Roland Garros.”
“That period has been hard for everyone, logically and he already said in past statements that sport is secondary to everything that society is experiencing, but on a personal level they have been very difficult months for him, for all athletes, for all people who practice sports “, he says.
“He has more than fulfilled, I think he has played one of the best games in a final against a great Djokovic. It had been a long time since I saw him play so well, “says the doctor.