Happy Days! Rafael Nadal did an interview on stage at the Crown Sports Hub in Melbourne today and I was lucky enough to be there to record the interview and take photos.
Check out our best pics of a lot of different adorable Rafa faces below, plus some snippets of the interview. Thanks to Tennis Only who arranged the Rafa presentation today, and to my friends at Happy Slam Tennis who let me know that it was happening.
Rafa (about being in Melbourne) “for me it’s always very special to be here in this city…the people here are so intense…it’s a happy city so I really find when I’m here I’m looking forward to play and compete well here”.
Rafa (on what he looks forward to when coming to the Australian Open) “I was working so hard at home just to be ready for the beginning of the season…in the off season I’ve been working a lot to try and start strong” and about how he’s feeling in the lead to AO “for the moment I’m feeling perfect, let’s see”.
Rafa (about his favourite things to do in Melbourne) “The real thing that most of the people don’t know is when we’re in a tennis tournament we don’t have much time to do things…. I know a little bit Melbourne, I know the city…we try to go for dinner around…we walk around…the city has this unbelievable weather and the river in the middle is just fantastic to practice sport…with the parks people can walk around and practice some sport…that makes and looks a healthy city…when I have the chance to visit some things I try to do it.”
Rafa (about what he does in his time off from tennis) “I like to be with the family…when I have the time I want to be with I have a lot of small cousins, parents, friends, all the people that I miss them in a lot of moments just during the year….my girlfriend travels more with me, more than the rest of the family so I miss her less.”
Rafa “I’m from an island…I love the ocean, I live just in front of sea, for me it’s difficult to imagine a life without the sea you know I love to navigate and all the things you can do in the water, I love it”.
Nice photos, no?
Here’s the video of Rafa’s interview (and yes, it’s crooked at the start but then ok, I’m still learning about Periscope!) I was too far back to get a clear view of Rafa for the full interview, but the sound is clear so you can hear what he’s saying.
Until next time
Grand Slam Gal