Rafa Nadal was rushing his last hours in Mallorca these days before traveling to Paris to play the Roland Garros tournament starting on Monday, which he has already won 13 times. And in Mallorca things are seen differently. In the 15 days of competition, he will swallow more water and isotonic drinks, but in this concentrated previous break with recreation among his people he usually goes fishing and has played golf with his friends and his uncles: Toni, his former coach, and Miguel Ángel , who was a footballer for Barça and the Spanish team. Rafa has surrounded himself with his family and drank his non-alcoholic beers: "With olives and cockles in my case, everyone to do what they want," he jokes.
The tennis player participates precisely in an international promotion of Amstel beer without alcohol, in which they have made him an ambassador of the brand in favor of responsible drinking.
And that allowed a conversation with him of just 15 minutes, last week.
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In the conversation, he talks about the pandemic: “We have had a very difficult time, with people who have suffered from their personal losses, their jobs.
We need to share happy moments with the people we love and in this we are taking steps forward with vaccination after a time of great and totally justified restrictions ”.
And he adds: "I trust that soon we will be able to live happy moments in company, which is what we value the most, beyond the material."
If Nadal won Roland Garros, he would become the tennis player with the most Grand Slam titles (the four great tournaments) in history.
That will be remembered for many years when he retires from the courts, a decision for which he has no date and that does not take away his sleep.
Have you thought about what the day will be like afterwards?
"Sure, completely," he says.
“I have things to take care of: various personal projects in different fields.
My life is on track for that moment.
I am a person who is most bothered by not having anything to do, and we have planned this for a long time ”.
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Among his personal projects is the school that bears his name: Rafa Nadal Academy, which is his present but will be above all his future.
In addition, he dedicates time to his foundation, which cares for 6,100 children in 23 centers throughout Spain and India, focused on education and sports.
"Both are fundamental in my plans," he assures.
While that moment of withdrawal arrives, he will continue trying to add titles;
with his wife, Mery Perelló, always on the court cheering him on together with his parents, Sebastián and Ana María Parera, his sister María Isabel and those around him such as his uncles, both the ex-footballer Miguel Ángel and Toni, his former coach, or his intimates, Carlos Costa and Carlos Moyà.
And the parenting plan?
In this, his great rival at the top, Roger Federer, already has a considerable advantage, with four children with his wife, the Slovak Mirka Vavrinec.
"It's a matter of two", smiles Nadal.
True, that's what Mery Perelló enters, with whom she married in 2019: "I have never hidden that I am a family person and that I trust that one day I will arrive."
But what comes tomorrow is the great clay court tournament, and with it the opportunity to rank as the best of all time. Now, in the face of this challenge, Nadal applies a Zen attitude: “When he plays, I enjoy suffering. I understand it that way, I live it that way ”.
And he never dramatizes: “I have never hidden that I would like to retire as the best in history and the one who has achieved the most Grand Slams, but that does not take away my sleep. It's not that I don't want to put pressure on myself, I say what I feel, I would love to finish my career like this. Of course, for me it is a goal, but it does not obsess me, my main challenge is to be happy with what I do. I have not reached 13 titles in Paris or achieved 20 major tournaments without being ambitious, I do not intend to deceive anyone. Ambition is good, but it must be healthy and not excessive. In each case I set some objectives. If they arrive, fine, but if not, they will not frustrate me or take away the happiness that I enjoy. I lead a quiet life now, calmer even than years ago ”.