For Joao Fonseca, Jakub Mensik and Alex Michelsen, competing at the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals came with a little bit of guidance from a great.
The three ATP Tour talents sat down with former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings Rafael Nadal on Friday in Jeddah, where the Spaniard answered their questions about his career and offered advice on a range of topics. Check out the full round table chat below to hear more of Nadal’s sage advice for the #NextGenATP stars:
One of Nadal’s most notable responses came after a question from Fonseca about the source of the Spaniard’s renowned on-court competitiveness.
“For me it’s about a personal feeling that if I don’t give my best, I don’t try my best, I come back home and I am not calm with myself,” explained Nadal, who retired last month as a 92-time tour-level champion. “At the end, it’s the fear of not being satisfied with myself. It’s about, ‘Okay I can lose, I can play terribly, I can play good’, but what cannot happen is not going off the court knowing that I tried.
“For me that is the key at the end, to have the personal responsibility to give your best regardless of the situation. Sometimes giving your best is a disaster, in terms of you are playing so bad… If you are mentally there and able to accept the challenge, accept that you are playing terribly but you need to fight with what you have that today, a lot of days you have the level to win that match. Then the next day, you play a little bit better and win the match, and somehow things can change quickly in our sport.”