Rafael Nadal won 22 Grand Slam titles in his career, with his penultimate triumph coming at the 2022 Australian Open.
Nadal has called the 2022 Australian Open his most unexpected major win, particularly due to the physical struggles he was having before the tournament.
However, the Spaniard appeared to be managing them until the final, where Nadal left Daniil Medvedev stunned after winning the Australian Open title from two sets to love down.
Most of Nadal’s matches during that run were much more straightforward, including his first round win over an American ATP player who has now recalled playing the 22-time major winner.
Marcos Giron claims that Rafael Nadal does not hit the ball as hard as you would expect
The player that Nadal beat in his first round match at the 2022 Australian Open was Marcos Giron, easing past the American 6-1 6-4 6-2.
When asked about that match on the Changeover podcast, Giron claimed that Nadal does not actually hit as hard as people expect, before suggesting that it is his movement that is underappreciated.
“I actually think he doesn’t hit the ball as hard as you would expect, hot take,” said Giron. “I think his positioning every time he gets to the ball, you’re like, ‘Oh f***’.
“Like okay, so before you’re like he’s going to hit every ball to your backhand. You’re like, ‘Okay, he’s going to lift my backhand’. But then as he gets sets up you’re like, ‘Oh f*** is he going to go forehand line?’ Oh s*** no, of course he doesn’t. He rolls it back. And so you’re like, ‘Oh, one step farther back.’ And then he sets up and you’re like, ‘Okay, yeah. Oh f***, is he going to go forehand line again?’ No, no, no, of course not.
“Like and then the next thing you know it’s just like four shots later and you’re 15 feet behind the baseline outside the doubles alley, and it’s just like relentless. And so I just think it’s actually a setup of you really feel like he’s going to be able to hit the ball anywhere and it just causes so much ‘Oh man’, and also I didn’t play well for two weeks before and so when I saw the draw, I was a little like damn, I don’t know if I’m ready for this one today.”
Giron added when asked what makes it so tough to play Nadal, “Well I think it’s everything, like dude I mean he gets to every ball. When he touches the racket he’s going to ask a question. He gets up to the position ball so quick and he’s so prepared and he can make contact at any point that he wants to, and so you’re just like ‘Oh man, is he about to rip line or is he about to loop line or even go cross?’.
“And he’s there so early, he’s up to it so quick and he’s able to just kind of like play within his comfort zone, and he can do it. You know, it’s not like you don’t believe that he can do it, he can do it on every, he can do it on the forehand, he can do it on the backhand.
“You got him on defence of his backhand and he can go chip slice this far from the sideline to your backhand and he totally negates you whatever you did. And so, he’s super accurate, he’s like relentlessly there every single point and yeah I was not winning the neutral points there.”
Why Marcos Giron was not a fan of Rafael Nadal until he played him for the first time
This is not the first time that Giron, who is currently the world number 48, has spoken about his match with Nadal, and he actually admitted earlier this year that he was not always a fan of the Mallorcan.
When speaking on the Russo and Rizzo podcast back in February, Giron admitted that his match with Nadal at the 2022 Australian Open actually changed his personal opinion of the former world number one.
“Hard not to be a fan of [Roger] Federer, [Juan Martin] Del Potro, Novak [Djokovic]. Rafa, I feel like, I wasn’t a fan until I played him when I really got to appreciate him – he’s a helluva player,” said Giron.
“Yeah, yeah, I kind of thought he was always full of it, like ‘Oh no, I respect every guy’ but he is like that, he’s just a genuine, nice dude. But he’s a killer on court. He’s a good dude, and I respect the hell out of him, and all of them.”
Despite his newfound appreciation, Giron never got the opportunity to have another match with Nadal before he retired from tennis last year at the Davis Cup Finals.
While he may no longer be active on the ATP Tour, there are some rumours about a potential Nadal and Roger Federer exhibition tour.
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