The Mallorca Championships presented by waterdrop® hosted this Saturday the Tennis talk with Toni Nadal, Boris Becker and Tommy Haas. The event brought together authoritative voices to analyze current tennis based on their proven experience and knowledge.
Fifty racket sport lovers were delighted with the opinions and anecdotes that Nadal, Becker and Haas offered in the VIP Tent of the Mallorca Country Club shortly before the day began with the qualifying phase.
Toni Nadal, director of the Mallorca Championships presented by waterdrop®, highlighted that “everything is ready” for the fourth edition of the only ATP250 tournament held on grass in Spain. “We have the players prepared and the tournament is improving every year. We hope people come and enjoy it,” he predicted.
Boris Becker pointed out that Mallorca is a “very familiar island and where I feel like one more.” Regarding the tournament being held in Calvià, the German indicated that the grass “needs rain and not much heat, but Edwin Weindorfer and his tournament team are ensuring that there are good courts in Mallorca” and added that this tournament “It is the last opportunity for many tennis players to play before Wimbledon and the Mallorca Championships presented by waterdrop® allows it with good weather and good conditions.“.
Tommy Haas, for his part, agreed with his compatriot that the event “improves year after year and the atmosphere is very pleasant.” Regarding the surface conditions in Mallorca, the former number 2 who participated in the Opening Night exhibition on Friday, said that the boats “are not very high and the track will settle”, in addition to celebrating having been able to win with Dustin Brown in front of Feliciano López and Jaume Munar on a night “where the important thing was that everyone would have a good time.”
Regarding the evolution of lawn tennis, Becker noted that before “sHe played differently and now, players like Nadal and Djokovic have shown that service is not everything and that you can also win by playing in the background.“.
The triple Wimbledon champion recalled that next year will have passed “40 years since I won my first Wimbledon and then, the difficult thing is to win for the second time because you only have to continue improving and mentally you have to find the motivation and inspiration“.
Nadal acknowledged that now the courts “are slower”, but this does not prevent “you can play without thinking and I prefer creativity.” Rafa Nadal’s uncle pointed out that the best moments of his career were Wimbledon 2008, as well as Roland Garros 2005 and 2010. “When in 2009 we lost in Paris against Robin Soderling, the first thing I told my nephew was that we had to prepare for win in 2010. That year he won three Grand Slams and I felt very happy.
Haas closed by stating that “Nadal on clay is the best of all time. He has won 14 times at Roland Garros and for me there will never be anyone like him.”
Regarding the rivalry between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, the German indicated that the Spaniard “He plays spectacular, he has a lot of charisma and I like to see him on the court.“while the Italian”It is necessary that they be there because it is good for this sport, but they cannot yet be compared with Nadal, Federer or Djokovic until 15 years pass and we see how they evolve or if they have new rivals“.
