Mark Nixon · @markalannixon
13th Apr 2015 from TwitLonger
Patrick Mouratoglou on Nadal's doubts interviewed in l'Équipe by @djup22 :
What do you think about Nadal's admission that he's unable to control his emotions at key moments?
- There are two ways of dealing with problems: denial or the opposite. By that I mean recognising them and verbalising them, which is what he's done. Except this time he went even further and admitted them publicly. I've never seen that before, that's for sure.
Couldn't Serena Williams have the same attitude in the same situation?
- She'd never do that.
Is admitting a weakness wrong?
- I find that the Nadals have completely changed their method of communicating during the last ten years. They've fallen into the extreme of constantly saying "Rafa" isn't good. They repeat that all the time: he's not playing well and his opponents are ten times stronger. So this new stage follows logically.
But do you think that it's a thought out plan ..?
- I don't know if it's a strategy. I really think that it's a part of their personalities to put everything on a plate, to be transparent. Now, from a purely sports point of view, is that a good thing, not only recognising it, but leaning on your own weaknesses?
What would the point be of raising them publicly?
- I think that what's happening is weighing on him and it's a way of exorcising the pressure, but I could be wrong. After all, Rafael Nadal is probably one of the most mentally strong players in the history of tennis. So admitting that he's also weak when he's also strong is rather astonishing.
But the problem seems real ...
- Of course, you just need to look at his latest matches. Normally, whatever his physical condition, whatever the circumstances, if a match gets to 4-4 in the final set, you know he's not going to lose. So we obviously have a new phenomenon here. From now on, players are going to believe it.
Even on clay?
- For several years there hasn't been a player who thought they could beat him on clay. They went out on court having already lost. Now, that will change ...