Rafael Nadal. Photo: Matthew Stockman / Getty Images
Rafael Nadal started playing with balls before he could walk and in his formative years liked soccer just as much as tennis, his grandmother Isabel Homar told Spanish radio today.
Speaking to Cadena Ser from the island of Mallorca where Nadal is from, Homar said the world number two, who beat top-ranked Novak Djokovic to win his second US Open title on Monday, “always liked anything that was round”.
“He started playing with balls in the hallway of his home before he learned to walk,” Homar said, adding things often got broken by accident.
“He loved playing football and he was always excited when Saturday came around,” added the 82-year-old. “He liked football just as much as tennis.”
Homar remembered how her son Toni, who has coached his nephew to 13 grand slam titles, rang her one day and told her to come and watch her grandson.
“I remember one day Toni called me and said ‘you have to come and see him’,” she said after watching Nadal’s victory at Flushing Meadows on television with members of her family.
“I can’t remember how old he was, maybe six. He was already holding the racket very well and when he hit the ball he hit it well.” – Reuters
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