"Rapha. My story' - the other look at the greatness Rafael Nadal

"Rapha. My story' - the other look at the greatness Rafael Nadal

The autobiography that showed what lies beneath the mask of a gladiator on the court

When we talk about tennis, three names immediately come to mind - Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. These are the players who are destined to be the greatest in this sport. Each one of them has its own unusual story, each is strange in its own right and has shown it thousands of times on and off the court. But have you asked yourself the question: "Why is Rafael Nadal so successful, so consistent and so unusual?" If you are interested in the answers, then you must read his autobiographical book "Rafa. My story".

It is an unconventional memoir in that it is written in English. A language that Nadal is not very good at. We've seen it in thousands of interviews, and it's more of the typical representative of a Spanish speaker still trying to learn English. It is assumed that the man who wrote this memoir, John Carlin, spoke to him in Spanish so that he could choose the most accurate words to describe in the strongest and most correct way what Rafa wanted to say.

What is curious and also strange about the book is that it mixes first and third person throughout the narratives. For example, in the chapter on the Wimbledon final against Roger Federer in 2008, the story is told in the first person, but we can also find short essays telling about aspects of the tennis player's character or background that are written in the third person. And if you fear that Nadal might be too sparse with his words, the end result is unusually effective and turns into a literary portrait.

In the book you will learn why Rafa is really so successful and how Uncle Tony's approach to him has turned him into the monster on the court that the Spaniard is. You will find that a failed tennis player who can't stop criticizing his nephew turns out to be the perfect coach, psychologist, teacher and everything else a player needs in this sport. You will find that Rafa is not so much talented as he is superhumanly strong and durable, both physically and mentally. You'll learn where the impression that the former men's world number one is tailor-made comes from, and far from weakening him, adversity only makes him more determined.

Of course, Nadal's staunchest fans can say that there are also omissions, such as the fact that he says almost nothing about his long-time girlfriend Maria Francisco Perello, nor about his pre-serve rituals. Maybe these are the last secrets he wants to keep to himself.

"Rapha. My Story' shows us Nadal as we would expect if we thought of him as an ordinary person. Namely, humble, lonely at times, trying to escape the shadow cast by his domineering uncle. The book reveals that the image of a gladiator on the court is just a mask, under which we understand that Rafa is an insecure little boy, convinced that he will never be a good enough tennis player.