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#Post#: 33015--------------------------------------------------
Facing Nadal: Thiem, Moya, Armando and Kokkinakis Speak Out…
By: britbox Date: November 6, 2015, 7:11 pm
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Tennis journalist Mark ‘Scoop’ Malinowski has published his
fourth tennis book, Facing Nadal: Symposium of a Champion
available from Amazon.
This second in a series of three book excerpts includes insider
views from Dominic Thiem, Carlos Moya, Hugo Armando and Thanasi
Kokkinakis.
Dominic Thiem:
“I faced him in Paris where obviously he lost one match in his
career. It was maybe…it’s one of the biggest challenges in, not
only tennis, but in all sport…to face Rafa in Paris. But it was
a good experience for me and I think it helped me a lot.”
Question: Did anything surprise you about being on the court
with him live, instead of seeing him on TV or from the side?
Dominic Thiem: “It was completely new. It was my first year last
year on the Tour and I knew everything, everybody only from the
TV. And then all of a sudden I was matched in Paris against the
nine-time champion. So it was a very good experience and also
helpful.”
Question: What did you learn that day?
Dominic Thiem: “That I still (have) a long way to go [smiles].”
Nadal leads series 1-0
2014 Roland Garros Clay R64 Nadal 6-2, 6-2, 6-3
Carlos Moya:
Question: What is your first memory of Nadal?
Carlos Moya: “Well, meeting him in Stuttgart when he was twelve.
He was playing an under-12 tournament and I was playing the
Masters 1000 event in Stuttgart (’98). So that was the first
time we met.”
Question: What was your initial reaction of seeing him play?
Carlos Moya: “We played. We actually played that day and he was
twelve and I was twenty-two. I think he was a very great player
under twelve, he was very shy off court. But then we saw
something different on court. But he was very hungry to play and
compete and that’s something you could see right away.”
Nadal leads series 6-2
2003 Hamburg Masters Clay R32 Nadal 7-5, 6-4
2003 Umag Clay SF Moya 6-4, 6-4
2005 Montreal Masters Hard R64 Nadal 6-3, 6-7, 6-3
2006 Miami Masters Hard R64 Moya 2-6, 6-1, 6-1
2007 Roland Garros Clay QF Nadal 6-4, 6-3, 6-0
2008 Chennai Hard SF Nadal 6-7, 7-6 (8), 7-6 (1)
2008 Hamburg Masters Clay SF Nadal 6-1, 6-3
Hugo Armando:
“I played him in Stuttgart. He’s the toughest competitor I ever
faced. It’s just something I’ve never seen before. It’s just
everything about him. His energy, just everything. Before
walking on the court, the guy’s doing ten-foot sprints side to
side, just non-stop. It was just unimaginable (smiles).”
Thanasi Kokkinakis:
“I played him at the Aussie Open, second round. I was impressed
by all the intensity and effort that he put into every ball that
he hit. And I actually found his serve really awkward, it moved
a lot. Had a lot of slice on his serve. Those were the big
things. Tough to win a point against him.”
Question: Before the match, how did you feel going out to the
court to face the ATP World Tour number one player?
Thanasi Kokkinakis: “I wasn’t nervous, I was more excited. I had
already got the win in the first round. I had no pressure. So I
went out there to try to swim freely. I knew obviously it was
going to be a tough out but I did think I could trouble him a
bit with my game style, the way I play. So I had a good chance
in the second set to maybe break his serve or be close but I
didn’t take my break points. And, you know, it was suddenly one
break at the end of that set. So it was pretty tight.”
Question: Did anything surprise you about him?
Thanasi Kokkinakis: “Probably how well he handled my first
serve. My first serve return, those were the main things. But
apart from that I kind of expected most of it.”
Question: Before the match how would you describe his
preparations in the locker room?
Thanasi Kokkinakis: “Fine. I think I talked with him a bit about
golf. I think there was golf on TV. So my coach and I talked a
little bit of golf with him (smiles). And that was probably
about an hour before the match. But then obviously when we got
closer he started getting prepared, like every other player.”
Question: Lasting memory of Nadal on or off court?
Thanasi Kokkinakis: “He’s been a nice guy to me. I enjoyed
playing him, sharing the court with him. Hopefully next time it
will be more fun and I’ll come out on the other end.”
Question: What will you try to do different next time?
Thanasi Kokkinakis: “Probably keep my first serve percentage up,
he likes playing against second serves. And just keep giving it
to him and being more aggressive and I’ll be a lot more tougher
physically next time around if I play him again.”
Nadal leads series 1-0
2014 Australian Open Hard R64 Nadal 6-2, 6-4, 6-2
#Post#: 33018--------------------------------------------------
Re: Facing Nadal: Thiem, Moya, Armando and Kokkinakis Speak Out…
By: Clay Death Date: November 6, 2015, 8:31 pm
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wow. what a fantastic thread.
I will have to ponder over this later. I just got home.
having some dinner right now.
I read what carlos moya said about Rafa. awesome stuff.
thanks for sharing all this general britbox.
#Post#: 33021--------------------------------------------------
Re: Facing Nadal: Thiem, Moya, Armando and Kokkinakis Speak Out…
By: Clay Death Date: November 6, 2015, 9:51 pm
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it is quite a read.
I enjoyed it.
his relentless will to win even as early on as age 12 showed
that he had something special about him.
he was going to be somebody really special.
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