it’s definitely not the way he picks his butt that i admire him for. or the fact that he fastidiously lines up his water bottles on the court after each warm up. or that he sweats profusely.
rafael nadal’s character and work ethic is what makes me a huge fan. in most recent interview after winning his first 2019 title in rome, he says
“i don’t care about winning 6-0 or 6-4 over djokovic. the victory is the work i do everyday, more than winning titles.”
“you work mentally when you go to the court everyday and you train. you don’t complain when you play bad, when you have problems, when you have pains. you put on the right attitude, the right face. you are not negative about the issues that cause you to play bad. you go on court everyday with the passion to keep practicing. that’s the mental work. i’ve done that all my career. not being frustrated when things are not going well. not being too negative. that’s why i always have the chance to be back. and now here we are, an important moment, an important title, and now is the moment to keep going.”
even uncle toni, his previous coach is motivated by rafa’s desire to constantly improve.
it’s about doing the daily work, the hard slog, even when you don’t see the immediate results. but with every day, you’re building character, consistency, the right attitude.
that’s been drilled into my mind lately – you can’t control the result or the outcome. but you can control what you do daily. you are responsible for your actions so stick to the process and decide to keep going.
having just got back from a surf today in less than ideal conditions, i can choose to give up, or i can keep going regardless of the wave conditions and practice in the whitewash. and when the conditions are better, i can hopefully see my progress.
thanks rafa for the inspiration yet again. vamos for the french open!!
so, what victory can you have today? what work can you do today?
