Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
New Delhi: Rafael Nadal has managed to win a remarkable 14 Grand Slam titles despite an injury-stricken career and he is only going to come back stronger from his latest setback, feels fellow countryman and former world number one Carlos Moya.
Nadal is back to practice following his injury to remove appendix and a stem cell treatment for his ailing back.
“He (Nadal) is starting to practice now. I have been in constant touch with him. He has been very unlucky with the injuries. Having said that, every time he has had an injury he has come back stronger than before. There is no reason to think it is going to be any different,” Moya, who is here for the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL), told PTI.
“For sure, he will be back at the top soon. For the past 10 years he has been winning with all the injuries,” he added.
Nadal was unable to defend his US Open crown this season due to a wrist injury before being sidelined for the rest of the season in October.
The 28-year-old, who won the French Open for the record ninth straight time this season, is eyeing a competitive return to the Australian Open.
Nadal was supposed to play the IPTL but his injury made way for another great Roger Federer.
“He was very excited to be part of the IPTL but had to pull out. Now he is looking forward to 2015. The feeling that I get is that he is very motivated for the next season,” Moya, who won the French Open in 1998 before becoming the world number one in 1999, said.
Although Moya has played in India earlier, he is excited about his role in the IPTL, where he is representing Manila Mavericks as a player-cum-coach. He is also looking forward to meet Federer and Pete Sampras, who are part of the Indian Aces.
“It is not my first time in India. I have been to Chennai and Mumbai earlier but very excited to be here. I have played against both Roger and Pete. It will be nice to see them again,” said the soft-spoken Spaniard.
“From what we have seen in the past six days in Singapore and Manila has been quite encouraging. The players have been giving their best, it is very competitive on the court. The new format is unbelievable. India, as a country can be very proud of having Mahesh (Bhupathi) as the founder of the League. It is going to be great for Indian tennis to have this event here. Having these big names around is huge for India.”
The event has a time-based innovative format with a match consisting of five sets each featuring men’s singles, men’s doubles, mixed doubles, men’s doubles and men’s legends singles.
Each set is played to six games with a five-minute shoot-out at 5-5 besides doing away with the otherwise standard ad-scoring. The most talked innovation is the ‘Shot Clock’, aimed at restricting a point to 20 seconds.
Moya said the tournament could be a great inspiration for the budding Indians but he would want to see more men in IPTL from his country.
“Well the Indian players are very skillful and we can have more of them in the tournament. But firstly I would like to see more Spanish players. I am the only one so far,” he quipped.
Asked about the way forward for Indian tennis, Moya said he was not in a position to say much on the issue.
“I don’t know how the federation works, how the culture works, so I can’t talk much about Indian tennis. It is tough for me to give an unbiased opinion on the subject,” he said.
Moya is hoping to do some sight-seeing during his short stay in Delhi.
“I am the captain of my team so there are a lot of things to do. I would love to take out some time to explore the city. I have also heard a lot about the Taj Mahal (in Agra). If time permits, I will go there,” Moya signed off.
PTI
