Rafael Nadal is ready to begin his campaign for an unprecedented 10th crown at Roland Garros, which starts on Sunday in the French capital. He carries the confidence of a strong clay-court run on the ATP World Tour, which has given him much confidence and great memories.
Under the tutelage of former World No. 1 and fellow Mallorcan Carlos Moya, his team is more than satisfied with how things have gone so far. A 10th title in Monte-Carlo, a 10th crown in Barcelona, a fifth trophy in Madrid. And many positive feelings that he carries into the second Grand Slam of the year.
At the start of the year, was it unbelievable that Nadal would arrive in Paris is such dominant form? Moya, who coaches the 14-time Grand Slam champion with Toni Nadal and Francisco Roig, spoke exclusively to ATPWorldTour.com.
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"Unbelievable? No. Possible? Absolutely," said the former World No. 1. "As I have said many times, I know who I'm working with. With Rafa, you always expect the best. His level has been very high and we have arrived on the right path."
For the Mallorcan coach, the good moments have come with some balance.
"I would not say we are doing something big that is making a difference. That's it. The backhand has been working very well all along, the forehand maybe could have been a little lost and now it is returning to dominate a lot. He's hitting the ball with high quality.
"Once he begins to dominate, he doesn't let the opponent escape. That was something simple at the beginning of the year and we believe that it is continuing. He has great variation in his serve as well and the second serve is strong. All the goals we marked at the start of the season are being achieved."
With a smile, Moya revealed that there were times that he had to tell his pupil to relax.
"Sometimes you have to stop him. You have to tell him that if there's five minutes left, we stop and nothing happens. He always wants to train to the maximum possible but we are in a very good balance. Of course there are more nerves here. It's Roland Garros. We understand that. Once the tournament starts and he sees how he's playing, he'll be fine."
Go inside the tournament at RolandGarros.com.