Rafael Nadal (seeded n°5) will live, this Sunday, a particular match against the Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime (n°9) whose one of the coaches is none other than Toni Nadal, the first coach and uncle of the legend of Roland-Garros (13 titles) who accompanied his nephew until 2017. Before diving into this heartbreaking match, Toni Nadal confided to the ATP website: “My nephew is my nephew. I told Felix that when he told me about working with him. I want Rafael to win. If he were to lose, it would be a less painful loss because the player I work with would have won, but I don’t want to deceive anyone: I’m Raphael’s uncle and he’s more than a distant nephew. If Felix was playing my son, I wouldn’t want him to win. It’s the same thing. »
And Toni Nadal to assure: “I’m not going to go there to watch the match. I will watch it on TV. I’m not going to sit in the cubicle. If they give me a ticket, maybe I’ll go see the game. I told Felix’s coach (Frédéric Fontang) that I would attend the training session on Saturday but not on Sunday. I don’t want to know what he will tell him, I won’t be tempted to tell Rafael, to whom, of course, I won’t tell any strategy. »
Before concluding: “I would like my nephew to win Roland-Garros (a 14th time). Unfortunately, to do so, he has to beat Felix. I’m very comfortable with him, I’m lucky to work with a player who is one of the best people on the circuit, a very good player, but I’m a member of Rafael’s family. Either way, he has a chance. He has improved on clay, although he still has his ups and downs. He changed things. If he continues to improve, he will be a contender for the title in the next few years. On Sunday, the favorite will be Rafael and that shouldn’t upset Felix. »
