And now, Uncle Toni has come up with a fascinating explanation about how Rafael Nadal’s favored wing became the force of nature it is today.

Toni took Rafa under his wing when he was just 12, and after that quietly charted his nephew’s way to the pinnacle of the tennis world. For 19 years, he oversaw every aspect of the 19-time Grand Slam champion’s game; it was the tactical changes that Toni suggested which made Rafael Nadal such a consistent champion.

In a chat with former World No. 1 Mats Wilander on Eurosport’s Players’ Cut, Toni Nadal revealed the observations he had made about the southpaw’s game early on in his career - and the tweaks he introduced to make it more effective.

With intensity and ferocity being such inherent qualities in Rafa, Toni realized that the teenager could be pushed into building a more potent game that would be troublesome even for older and stronger opponents. Nadal’s propensity to hit the ball with a lot of spin was robbing him of the chance to make outright winners, and that is what Toni corrected when the lefty made his ATP tour debut as a 16-year-old.

Playing high above the net with extreme spin helped Rafael Nadal: Uncle Toni

Some ingenious thinking on Toni’s part led Rafa into building his current forehand, with which he is able to crush opponents at will.

The timing was the first thing that needed to be tweaked. Toni realized that by playing late and getting the ball high above the net, the pace of the ball could be maintained even after it bounced on the other side of the net.

The strategy reaped rich dividends for Rafael Nadal on clay, giving him a staggering 12 crowns on the terre battue of Roland Garros.

The relentless and extreme spin would force his right-handed opponents to hit their backhands at shoulder height in every rally. And on clay, it is an arduous task to keep generating depth from that height. A short ball is inevitable in such exchanges, which the indefatigable Rafa would swat away quickly for a winner.

It was thus Toni’s foresight and perfect planning that helped Rafa become the King of Clay.

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