Rafa My Story
With John Carlin
(Sphere, R230)
Late one Friday, some tennis on one of the office TVs caught my eye. It was in 2005 and the action was in Paris.
There was this bloke in a no-sleeve T-shirt, bulging biceps and longish dark hair, sliding and powering his way around the red clay of Roland Garros.
It was the start of a “relationship” that endures because of what I learnt over the years about the man.
Rafa Nadal introduced me to tennis. At that stage I had no idea what a break of serve was, or anything else about the game.
Yes, the muscles and the hair were what I noticed first. But it was other characteristics that drew me in to watch, at first, his games, and then tennis as a contest.
Nadal is majestic to watch: that power, focus, determination, killer instinct and mental strength. He gives nothing away on court. A few cries of “vamos”; a grimace when his execution doesn’t match his very high demands of himself; the fist clenches and knee curl when it goes right. But it was also the widely held regard commentators and experts held of him that has attracted a worldwide following of fans, young and old.
Fiercely private, these were the only opinions fans had to form their opinions of the man. Until now.
Rafa My Story lets outsiders in, to a surprising extent. Part of his success on the court is that gameface that gives nothing away. But Nadal opens up about the mental demons he fights, the nerves, the pressure he puts on himself.
He explains the complex relationship with his coach and uncle Toni, a man who has moulded the athlete with some pretty tough love.
Nadal exposes his bedrock: his family. When his parents split, his game fell apart. He describes that dreadful time with honesty and a vulnerability you’d never see when he has a racquet in his hand. His mom tells of the pain the whole family feels when Rafa fails: he is so hard on himself, they’ll do whatever they can to make sure everything in his life is as smooth as it can be to help him avoid that.
For a fan, it is a wonderful read.
It is also an absorbing insight into the effort elite athletes put in to get to the top.
But, perhaps above all, it is a terrific story of a superstar who is also a wonderful human being. Loved it. – Daily News