If Rafael Nadal had become a professional golfer, his career might have been even more successful than in tennis. In any case, fewer defeats.
Rafael Nadal knows how to handle almost every kind of ball: The number one in the world’s tennis rankings dominates not only his very own specialty but also the art of playing football – and he also knows how to please on the golf course. Perhaps not quite in the dimensions of Yevgeny Kafelnikov or Mardy Fish, who both tried to prove themselves on a professional level. But still good enough to describe the striking differences between golf and tennis.
There are things that are more difficult when it comes to tennis, Nadal explained to the Spanish Marca, but also a few things about golf. You go out every day and play – with the possibility of losing,”Nadal says,” In golf you don’t lose, you have four days to play – and if you end up fourth or fifth, you have played a good tournament.”
In fact, there is of course the possibility to miss the cut after two days in golf – and to spend the weekend in front of the TV set. However, there is no chance of making up for a weak Thursday with a good Friday round in tennis:”In tennis, it always ends with a loss: in the final, in the semi-finals, in the quarter-finals. The word “losing” makes tennis particularly hard.”
A man who for years didn’t want to settle for losing is Tiger Woods. The US-American, Nadal’s guest at the US Open, is currently preparing for a comeback:”If he is able to train, he will fight for titles again. I don’t know how far he is. But I hope he’ll be able to compete in the tournaments week after week.”