27/12/2023
Jill Craybas remembers seeing Rafa Nadal pull up a chair to watch Roger Federer play on grass so he could improve:
"A story that impressed me about Nadal is, you know, he understood that he was the best on the clay. And he understood he had to make some adjustments to the other surfaces, which he did phenomenally well. But I remember one year at Wimbledon, he hadn't won a Wimbledon title, he knew it wasn't his best surface. And I just remember being at the practice courts at Aorangi and I was still playing at the time. And he just picked up a chair, sat right in front of the practice court watching Federer. And just sat there watching Federer's practice, trying to learn how to play on the grass surface to get better. And, you know, just having that, I mean, obviously he has that awareness & understanding, but just wanting to learn from the best. And I think that's what those three guys did so well. They all had different styles which I think pushed them to be better players. And I think they all had an understanding & awareness of that. But to be at the top of the game like Nadal & to be aware, I need to learn from Federer, one of his biggest rivals. To me, that's incredible having that mentality.”
(via ATP Tennis Radio Podcast)
