Tennis coach Rob Steckley who coached Shapovalov for a while has a great level of admiration and respect for Rafael Nadal as he has noted that the Spaniard is a guy that would never quit.
Nadal has been battling various injuries throughout his career and has faced many setbacks but each time he has managed to find a way to make a successful comeback. He played just one tournament in the second half of the 2021 season because of a foot issue. After missing basically the entire second half of the 2021 season, Nadal returned to action in Australia where he made history with a 21st grand slam trophy.
Speaking in the Match Point Canada podcast, Steckley said:
"Nadal, that guy, he seems like he's falling apart but he just never leaves us. When I was coaching Denis (Shapovalov), we'd always talk about when that guy was ever gonna leave tennis. And he's that guy that literally - there is nothing else for that guy you know. He's got the most money in the world, he's got everything."
He further said:
"And still, that guy will, even with one leg, he's still gonna try to compete and do what he does, so that's also admirable and courageous."
Nadal is currently rehabbing a cracked rib sustained at the Indian Wells Masters and he hopes to return in Barcelona.
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