I've just come home from Toni's presser and it's been a delight being there listening to all the stories and anecdotes we already know, but it's much more endearing listening to them live!

I was lucky to sit in the first row so Toni was at a distance of 2 metres from where I was sitting.

Before the presser/talk started, I saw Toni standing outside the room waiting to go in. He was with his wife, who's a very elegant and beautiful woman. Then Toni came in and he seated in front of me where there was a little stage with two stools on it.

First impression I got of him is that he's shorter than he looks on TV. He's a very handsome man. He was wearing a Babolat shirt since the event was organized by Babolat. And he was very tanned.

He did not say anything that I didn't know but anyway I'm going to share with you all some of the things I remember of what he said. Martín Jaite, captain of the Argentine DC Team, was the one conducting the interview and calling the people that were suppoused to ask him questions. Unfortunately my name was not called so I left withouth asking Toni my question, but I didn't care, since my prerrogative was being there and listening to what he had to tell us.


Well, here are the things he talked about:

- About Rafa's childhood and how he started training him. Rafa was three years old and he was amazed at how well he hit the ball, but Rafa was more interested in football back then and he resumed training tennis at age 5. He spoke about the junior years, about being it all games and fun when Rafa was younger. He remembered the first tournaments Rafa won in Balearics and Europe. He told the anecdotes we already know: about Rafa believing he was a Magician, or a star football player. But since those anecdotes are so cute I didn't mind listenig them once again.

- He talked about Rafa's style of play and how it's not related to the injuries he suffers. He mentioned Rafa's foot injury and how the insoles he was told to use had a negative impact in other areas of his body, such as the knees. He talked about other players, whose game is completely different from Rafa's but they're injured or were injured in the past.

- He talked about Rafa's mentality and attitude and how the way he trained when he was younger prepared him to accept adversities and difficult times. He talked about Rafa's passion, how he's so passionate not only about tennis but with everything that's sport related, such as football.

- About the injury: Jaite asked him about the rumours that say Rafa's career might be almost over and Toni said it's not like that. He said the injury is progressing well, but the process has been slow. He said Rafa had to have his wisdom teeth removed, all four at once and that he got an infection in his blood that made the recovery slower. He said Rafa was at his doctors today and that he was also on Monday. That they expect to go back to training in 15 days more or less but that it's difficult to come back on tour this year since it would be very difficult to come back and play WTF. He said they have not yet planned next season and that he does not know in which level Rafa's going to come back, but they had one thing in their favour: Rafa's expertise and all the accomplishments he already has.

- He mentioned 2009's RG and this year's AO Final as two of the most tough losses for Rafa. On the other hand the most significant wins for him were Wimbledon 2008 and Rafa's first Montecarlo, since it was one of Toni's dreams to see Rafa's name among the names of the champions of that tournament.

- He talked about Rafa's style of play, how they decided Rafa to play with his left hand. About how aggressive Rafa was in his early year on tour, but how he changed the way he played when he began playing with boys older and better than him. That Rafa began hitting his FH the way he does know and somehow it worked and he's been very successful playing like that. That he trains his sons to play tennis but they are not good enough. And that he teaches them to finish the FH across the body but they want to finish it above the head just like Rafa does.

- He said something I did not know about, and it was something related to Rafa's injury back in 2005. That he was told he was not going to be able to play anymore. And that they went to see a doctor in Madrid and that doctor told him it was possible they had to operate on Rafa's foot. That Rafa was seated there in that doctor's office during 20 minutes hearing him talk and then he could not stand it anymore and left the room saying: I can't listen to this anymore.

- He talked about how Rafa's so kind and loving with his family, specially with his younger cousins. That he sometimes comes back from a tournament and goes to watch his cousins that are participating in a football tournament for example. That he has a special bond with them, not only his sons, but all his cousins and that's unusual a boy Rafa's age has that type of bond with children much more younger than him. That Toni has a mini football pitch in the basement of his house and that Rafa loves to play there together with his cousins.

Toni is exactly like he's on TV, that's what surprised me. He's not acting or doing a character, he's authentic, just like Rafa. When Toni shared the anecdotes of Rafa's childhood, he was all smiles. His love for his nephew is evident and it shows in the way he speaks about him. Also, during the conference, they had some videos of Rafa answering some questions related to Toni and I watched Toni's face while they were showing the videos and he looked like an adoring Uncle.

It was such an enjoyable experience and while being there I felt like it was a dream. I could not believe I was in the same room with Toni Nadal, Rafa's Uncle!