Rafael Nadal was known for the intensity in which he played and also being a fierce competitor.
This was a frightening sight for other players and sometimes they would lose the psychological battle before the match even began.
The Spaniard also practiced at a speed and intensity that left other players in awe, and the fans with their jaws dropped.
But during his illustrious career Rafael Nadal trained with two players who have since said they did not enjoy the experience being on the other side of the net.
John Isner and Sam Querrey did not like practicing with Rafael Nadal
Nadal played with plenty of topspin throughout his career which players found difficult to contend with.
This helped him create acute angles and more margin over the net, but during his practice sessions, the 38-year-old flattened out his shots and went for more risk with his shots by hitting with even more power.
This is one of the reasons why Sam Querrey and John Isner did not enjoy practicing with Nadal, as they explained on their Nothing Major podcast.
“In Beijing, my coach said Rafa wants to practice with you so I set it up and I was like okay. By the way Rafa was horrible to practice with,” Isner said.
“He hits the ball so hard and he hits winners and it’s Rafa so you won’t say anything, just let him go on it. It was a horrible practice because he was hitting the ball so hard and ripping every third ball for a winner and I didn’t enjoy it and he saw my game as well.”
Querrey added: “Those Rafa practices, I played with him maybe two times in my career. It is so intense and you’re so nervous.
“He misses a lot of balls, he red lines and hits every ball as hard as he can. The practice is all about Rafa. You could be ranked eight in the world and you are catering your practice around him, which is totally fine, but he is not a fun guy to practice with.”
John Isner explains why he thinks Rafael Nadal wanted to practice with him in Beijing
The greatest players in each sport do things differently to the rest in order to attain their sustained excellence.
Nadal arguably practiced more intensely than any other player, and he had methods for how he trained and at times who he practiced with.
This is the view of Isner, who believes Nadal asked to practice with him at the 2017 China Open due to a possible quarterfinal showdown, which is what came to fruition and Nadal won the match 6-4, 7-6(0).
“In Beijing we were scheduled if it all worked out to play each other in the quarter finals and I was seeded, and he was number one,” Isner added.
“So Rafa asked me to practice and I was like this is weird. And I saw the draw and thought, ‘is this what he is doing, is he anticipating we are going to play in the quarter-finals?’
“After thinking I was like yes, this is exactly what he was doing. He wanted to see my game, my serve, how I was hitting the ball four or five days before he played me in the quarter-finals if it worked out that way. Sure enough I played him in the quarter-finals and I lost to Rafa.
“That just talks about his greatness, I think. That he would ask me to practice. If I wasn’t on the same side of the draw as him he would not have asked me. So it just goes to show that a guy like that, the all time greats, they leave no stone unturned. I thought that was interesting.”
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