‘Comes to Shake Hands as He Wins Grand Slams’ – Former Top 10 Player Speaks About Rafael Nadal’s Tremendous Simplicity

Rafael Nadal has been an exceptional player on the court and probably one of the greatest ever tennis players. His humility is probably the greatest virtue of the Spaniard. Throughout his career, the Spaniard has spent a lot of time with his fans, and always shows respect towards his opponents, despite the outcome. Recently, former French player Arnaud Clement opened up about the humility of the 21-time Grand Slam champion.

Arnaud Clement talks about Rafael Nadal and his simplicity

In a recent interview, the former French Davis Cup team captain, Arnaud Clement, talked about the 2022 Australian Open winner, Nadal. According to him, Rafael Nadal is an extraordinary human being, and his simplicity is the most impressive thing.

“What I find extraordinary about Rafa is that he has always been a player, with his entourage, extremely polite. He always comes to say hello, he comes to shake hands as he wins Grand Slams, tournaments every week, Masters 1000 all the time. I don’t remember where it was, the day after one of his big victories, we were in the hotel lobby and then he sees me, our eyes meet, I make him a small gesture to greet him and then he crosses the whole hall to shake my hand,” The Frenchman said. (Google Translate)

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Mar 16, 2022; Indian Wells, CA, USA; Rafael Nadal (ESP) reacts after winning a point as he defeats Reilly Opelka (USA) in the fourth round at the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

“So we respect each other but I can’t say we’re close or anything but here it is, it’s Nadal, it’s like that, it’s simplicity, we always say hello, whatever the time, be it a difficult time, an exceptional moment in his career or that he was solicited for dozens of hours by the media from all over the world just before and well that will not change anything in his attitude which has always been the same. I’ve always found that extraordinary,” he further said.

Notably, Clement faced Nadal four times in his career and won only once. In 2006, the Frenchman beat Nadal in the Marseille semi-final, which was a hard-court event. The Spaniard then won both of his next two matches, in Monte Carlo and Indian Wells, comfortably. Before that, in 2001, the Frenchman reached the Australian Open final. As a result, he achieved his highest ever ranking of 10 on the ATP tour. Also, he won the Wimbledon title in the doubles event in 2007. The Frenchman retired from professional tennis in 2012. 

Nadal is eying his 14th French Open title in 2022

After winning three back-to-back titles, the Spaniard was aiming for his fourth in a row at the Indian Wells Masters. However, his 20-match unbeaten streak was put to an end by American, Taylor Fritz in the final in the Californian desert. During his semifinal win over Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinal in Indian Wells, Nadal felt pain in his ribs. However, he played through the pain and faced difficulty in breathing in the final against Fritz, further aggravating the injury. The scans later revealed that the Spaniard suffered a stress fracture in his ribs, putting him on the sidelines for at least four to six weeks.

Already, he has missed the Monte Carlo Masters and will miss the Barcelona Open as well. Although he hasn’t made any announcement on his return, we could possibly see the Spaniard at the Madrid Open. Last year, he lost to Novak Djokovic in the semi-final, only the third loss of the Spaniard on the Parisian clay.

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Can Nadal, recovering from his injury, bounce back to win the French Open this year? Let us know in the comments.

The post ‘Comes to Shake Hands as He Wins Grand Slams’ – Former Top 10 Player Speaks About Rafael Nadal’s Tremendous Simplicity appeared first on EssentiallySports.