Nadal and the Great Mac post match talk
About the Bottles Nadal arranges and more
If you are a tennis fan at any level and witness the best of tennis on TV or in person, you have seen Rafael Nadal adjust his bottles near his feet during change overs. The labels and location have to be perfect. John asked him if, because he has changed other things in his game (they were just talking about some serve changes) if he was going to change that habit. Laughing Nadal said “One thing I have learned in life is don’t change it if its not broken…and the bottles have been working very well.” Pressed, Nadal said he only does that in competition and not at home nor in practice. Competition makes us do crazy things.
A hidden lesson here though is wouldn’t Rafa, having won 17 slams and millions in earnings and even more in endorsements NOT change a thing! After all, whatever he did to get himself where he is must be working. I am not sure he thought of that in his response above. But the reality is this. Nadal is a fighter and fierce competitor and true to that form, as we should all be, he will find ways to get better. So should you. So should I. Champions try to be their best for that keeps you going. If you are just THE best then that can halt progress in some ways. But to be your best never stops. So Rafa worked on getting to net more (and he can attack like a wild cat on prey–pounce in the blink of an eye); he as changed his serve as of late; he has worked on his serve and first ball to punish his opponents’ less than heroic returns. So he does change things even though it isn’t broken per se. But champions also have to have constancy, something to hang their hat on, the go to. So I guess that will be his bottles, perfectly arranged when he plays.