I
really cannot call myself a great fan of tennis, though I do know the names
of those at the top of the professional circuit, and Rafael Nadal is
obviously one of those, having spent time as world Number 1. I have even
watched some of Nadal’s games and always felt that he looked a tortured man,
but I had no inkling as to his inner self, so I picked up this book Rafa
(ISBN 978-0-7515-4773-3, Sphere Books, 2011) from the Bookazine shelf and
wondered if it would really expose his character.
It begins at Wimbledon and describes Nadal’s emotions as he prepares himself
for the most important singles of any year. All the small routines that he
does to build himself up for the contest. He even admits that he has to
psyche himself up, whilst Roger Federer appears the most ‘natural’ tennis
player with whom he ever shares a court. “He just seems to have been born to
play the game.” He also admits to the crushing despair that he suffers in
any defeat. Nadal is certainly no ‘super-hero’.
With a book like this, which is written, not by Rafael Nadal, but by (in
this case) John Carlin, the reader is at the mercy of the biographer who may
choose to show the positives or the negatives and change the reader’s
perception of the subject. This being an ‘authorized’ biography will mean
that we will probably get more good bits than bad bits, but Carlin presents
Nadal in a most believable way. Very human and in private life very humble,
not the impression one gets from the telecast of Grand Slam finals.
There are a couple of illustration sections with the first of the
photographs being family snaps and the second capturing triumphant moments.
The number of people involved in his ‘team’ was an eye opener as well. Eight
persons including his trainer, his agent, his physical therapist, his
doctor, his Nike handler, a communications chief and his second coach, in
addition to Toni Nadal, his life-long tennis coach from the age of four
years.
With injuries being career threatening occurrences it could be seen why he
needs a doctor and physical therapist as part of his team. “Each individual
member of the group complements the other, each plays his or her role in
fortifying me where I am weak, boosting me where I am strong. To imagine my
good fortune and success in their absence is to imagine the impossible.”
He relates the pain of losing Wimbledon in 2007 and the joy of winning
against Federer the following year and shows just how much mental stress
there is as well as physical stress.
By the time I had finished the book, I had warmed to this Rafa character,
who came across as a most genuine person, and not a prima donna as I had
pre-supposed. If you are a fan of tennis, this is a book you should read,
and at B. 435 it is not expensive. You might even begin to barrack for
Rafael Nadal and not RF, Switzerland’s favorite son. A most enjoyable book.
