ATP > Petkovic (ex-9th in the world): “I think Nadal could have been much better if he had been less afraid”

Passing on the podcast of Rennae Stubbs, the former 9^e World player, Andrea Petkovic, spoke at length about Rafael Nadal following the Spanish champion's final retirement.

And the former German player, after explaining why Tennis had become a drug for Rafa, felt that he could have performed better.

“I've seen Boris Becker several times lately and he said to me: 'It's like a drug. Tennis is like a drug. He said: 'Winning titles is a drug, playing on Center Court is a drug.' I think with Rafa you can see when it becomes an addiction, when it becomes harmful to your life. You could see that he was starting to neglect his body, that he wasn't in good health, that he was getting injured all the time, that it showed in his face. Rafa is not the most relaxed person there is. I'm going to have the hottest take here. I think he could have been much better if he had been less afraid. Have you ever watched him train? He played in training ten times faster than in matches, because he was so tense and played very short. Sometimes you could see that Rafa would be able to play even better, which is crazy. »

Published on Thursday November 28, 2024 at 5:57 p.m.