Rafa: My Story
Rafael Nadal (Rafa) is one of the most successful, loved and admired sportsman of the 21st century. An athlete of enormous stature, he will probably go down in the history of tennis as one of the greatest of all times. Even though I am a fan closer to Roger Federer any day over any other tennis player, Rafa's intensity and energy on the court is the most awe inspiring experiences of life. And his autobiography is equal to the task.
You would expect sportspersons to write an elaborate account of their careers once they have bid adieu to their respective sport. And when my wife gifted me Rafa's autobiography book with Rafa's no emotion face on the book cover, I was a little hesitant in reading the book thinking that Rafa thought too much about himself and maybe he is not a humble human like Roger Federer or Sachin Tendulkar. But as people say, never judge a book by its cover. I was proved wrong. The book indeed shows the humble and down to earth person behind the competitive and aggressive tennis player that Rafa is on court.
The book is jointly written by Rafael Nadal & John Carlin and it starts out by taking the reader to the Wimbledon finals of 2008. I still remember every detail of that match as I had watched it live on television. Rafa beautifully depicts the atmosphere in the match, his champion and winner's approach, the ebbs and flows in his mind as the match progressed and the ultimate elation he experiences when he finally wins the Wimbledon. Rafa writes about how the defeats in Wimbledon finals of the years 2006 and 2007 to Roger Federer had affected him and how he took lessons from those defeats to prepare for the final of 2008.
Rafael Nadal is an extremely family oriented person. His uncle Toni Nadal coached Nadal from a very age and Nadal acknowledges that the champion player that has become is mostly because of the discipline and work ethic that his uncle instilled in him. His another uncle Miguel Angle Nadal, played professional football and represented Spain on international arena. Interestingly, Rafael Nadal was equally good at football and he could have played football for Spain but he decided to choose to play tennis professionally instead. Rafa also mentions how his family provides him the cushion and comfort from the rigors of professional tennis. Rafa also credits his success on the court to the happy environment that his family created for him at home. He also talks about the time when the divorce of his parents had a big negative impact on his game and how his parents ensured that Rafa was least affected so that he could concentrate on tennis. He talks about his home town Mallorca in Spain and how everybody in Mallorca treats him as a fellow Mallorcan rather than the tennis superstar that he is. Rafa mentions that he is able to enjoy and have a good time with his friends in his home town without being judged if he had lost or being celebrated when he had won. This is very much unlike in India where successful sportsmen are treated as kings when they do well for India and as paupers when they loose.
Given his rigorous style of play, Rafa writes about his tryst with the large number of injuries that he had to fight against in his career. He especially writes about the time when the injured bone in his foot almost put an end to his sporting career. He describes in great detail that how his family stuck together and helped him through his recovery and what changes he made in his game to lessen the impact of professional tennis on his body. We read so much on what diet to follow, which exercises to do and what life style to follow for a healthy and happy body but seldom we make those changes in our personal life. It is very humbling to read as to how much care and attention these sportsmen pay to keep their bodies fit and how sometimes they battle physical pains to keep their professional careers going. Because they only have a few years of professional career unlike most of us.
Rafa also writes about the various opponents that he played against and will continue to play against during his career. He writes about the intense duels that he has had with his rivals like Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Any Murray and how they have helped him better his game. The book tells you much that goes behind that goes behind the scenes in making a successful sportsmen be it the unwavering support of their families, their single minded determination to keep making comebacks after injuries and their hardships of playing through extreme pains to compete for glory. What we watch of these champions on television or what we read about their achievements in news, those are just the tips of icebergs.
