Mark Nixon · @markalannixon
24th Jan 2014 from TwitLonger
Interview in l'Equipe with Toni Nadal: (With Becker, Edberg etc. do you feel small in the locker room?)No, I never feel small with anyone. I don't ever feel big either. It's good for tennis that the old greats return to the tour. But for us, it's different. Rafa started when he was four. I was there. And Rafa's results haven't been too bad with me.
(You don't have to have been a great champion to be a good coach?) I'll give you an image: if my son wanted to learn math, I wouldn't want Einstein as his professor. A good coach, it's like a good professor. What you've done before is not the most important, it's what you said, how you said it, when you said it. Knowing how to motivate your player doesn't depend on how you hit the ball. Becker, Edberg or Lendl can bring their experience. It's naturally interesting. But for a coach, the essentials are the words, the personality, knowing your player ... there are no rules: Cruiyff was the best player in the world and a very great coach but Mourinho is a great coach too and he wasn't a great player.
(Hiring an old great for Rafa?) Never. We come from an island where we love simplicity. Me, sports theories pffft. Look, I listen to everything the old greats tell me. But hire another coach ... No. Rafa also has Francis Roig (who's there when Toni isn't) who's very good. He doesn't need more. When something isn't broken, you don't need to fix it.
(Borg?) Haha. No.
(Playing around: if you could hire a great) To me, Borg was a huge player, but I'd never choose Borg. Because we've won Roland-Garros plenty of times. I'd take McEnroe. For his vision of the game, his on-court intelligence. It's always enriching when you talk to him.
(Fed - as fluid as before?) He's playing very well. His first two sets against Murray were incredible. This surface that's faster than previous years suits him well. When he serves like that, always going to the net, he's difficult to stop. Murray wasn't at his normal level in my opinion. He had a back operation in October. The same match in three months would be different. It was to much, too soon for Murray. We expect Federer to move up right away, and often. Rafael has to be very concentrated and hit good passing shots. Along with Djokovic, Rafael is without a doubt the best passer. It can mean something ... Last year in Cincinnati, Federer was very aggressive (but he lost 5-7,6-4,6-3). For four or five sets, putting that pressure on and going permanently to the net is tiring.
(Blister affect the match?) If we lose, we'll say it's because of the blister (laughs) Just now (yesterday) he served normally. It's getting better.
(Last year, when Federer lost to Stakhovsky at Wimbledon and to Robredo at the US Open, did you think "Ah, this time, it's serious?) Yes, but especially at the US Open, because Federer had been very good, just before, in Cincinnati. He also lost to Brands and Delbonis in July on clay. I never thought he'd lost his game. But I wondered if he'd lost his motivation, his ambition. He's won so so so many things... and maybe he didn't want to make the effort to keep his concentration at maximum all the time. It can't be stimulating for him being sixth in the world. It's hard. I wondered if everything he'd accomplished had become enough. Unfortunately for us, that's not the case.
(Your nephew has beaten him two times out three. His last slam loss to him was Wimbledon 2007. Playing Federer is super for you) No! It will never be super or easy to play Federer. Never.
(But more difficult now for Rafa to meed Murray or Djokovic than Federer) Yes, that's true. Against Federer, Rafael's best shot happens to go to Federer's "weakness". Against Murray and Djokovic, it's the opposite. There's something else. Psychologically, Rafael has always been Federer's challenger. The little kid who was trying to annoy the number 1. It's more comfortable. There's less pressure. Djokovic feel with Rafael the same thing that Rafael feels with Federer.
(Do you believe in the Edberg effect?) It's possible, sure. It's a reality that Federer is playing better in this tournament than in the months previously. But then again ... Last year, at the end of the season, Federer could have beaten Djokovic at Bercy and he played a big match against Del Potro at the WTF. He was already improving then. In terms of Federer's quality, there's no Edberg effect. If Edberg asks just anyone to move up, move up, move up, he won't get the same results.