Rafael Nadal is getting the chance to play tennis in front of his son in what may be his final few matches as a professional tennis player and now he has opened up on what it means to be a father.
With his wife and son Rafa Jnr looking on from the stands, Nadal eased to victory over teenage wildcard Darwin Blanch in his first match at the Madrid Open, as he aims to prove his fitness in time for the French Open.
The newest member of the Nadal family dominated the TV coverage and media headlines around the world, as he watched his Dad in action while clutching a mini version of his colourful Babolat racket.
Nadal has made no secret of his desire to play as many matches as he can with his son present, as he confirmed in a press conference in Madrid.
“I would love to play a little bit longer and give him a memory of myself playing tennis,” said Nadal.
“That’s what will be the ideal thing for me and for my wife and family. But I can’t, probably I will not be able to make that happen. But at least, I mean, happy to have a great team and family and friends around me almost all my life. It helped me in every single way of being happy.
I still have a great family, great team, and friends from ever since I was a child, a small kid. That makes me happy, and that, in some way, makes me feel great that they are here, but hopefully they’re gonna keep being next to me in the future after my tennis career, and that makes me feel great and super happy.”
Now Nadal has expanded on those comments, as he made an appearance on the Madrid Open podcast and spoke about his devotion to his young family.
“When I wake up every day and see him, it is no different to any other father. I’m just another person in that regard, I’m nothing special,” said Nadal.
“Every time you see your son, it makes you happy. It’s a unique kind of love.
“I’m lucky that he almost always travels with me and I’m lucky that my wife is by my side. That’s vital for me at this time.”
Nadal also suggested he has managed to deal with his global celebrity by ignoring the hype around him, as he insisted he is content with the simple things in life.
“I think ego is one of humanity’s biggest curses,” he added.
“Excessive ego creates many of the problems in our society. I’d say almost all of them. So I think ego, in general, is not at all good.
“At some point, it can help you to be more successful if you distance yourself from it, but I don’t think having an ego is an important facet of life. Quite the opposite actually.”
Nadal may be reaching the end of his tennis career, but his experience working with the media and the gravitas he commands as one of the all-time great sporting icons will give him a platform to make a positive contribution to the world long after his tennis career comes to an end.
