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20-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal made it clear that the physical and mental aspect of the game is important but acknowledged that having 'natural talent' for tennis is even more important. Nadal, 35, is one of the most accomplished players in tennis and he is in contention to go down as the greatest tennis player of all time.
"I mean people talk a lot about mentality, about physicality, but if you don't have the power on your hand and the talent on your hands the rest of the things can't help you,"Nadal said during his interview with the Australian Open YouTube channel, as quoted on Sportskeeda..
"The important thing is tennis at the end of the day. I think I have been a privileged player on that. I have been working a lot since I was a kid but it's true that I had some natural talent."
Nadal started winning at a very young age
Nadal captured his first Grand Slam title at the 2005 French Open and the rest is history.
"I used to be very strong when I was 18," Nadal recalled. "In 2005 I was young with a lot of energy, a lot of passion. I was running for every ball. During the year you lose some of this energy and then you need to improve the other things to keep being competitive." Focusing on the all right and important things played a major role in Nadal becoming one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
"When you are playing just think about keep playing and just try to do things the proper way in terms of hydration, trying to to do the right routines, to hold and to keep the body ready for the next point. That's it. I just try to be focused and ready for the next point, the next game and the next set," Nadal explained. Nadal made a winning start to his 2022 season as he won the Melbourne Summer Set title last week.