Toni Nadal has, reportedly, declined an offer to become the coach of world No 3 Alexander Zverev, due to time constraints.
The uncle of the 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal was spotted alongside the German player, as Zverev practised at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca two weeks after his Wimbledon loss.
Nadal has been the inaugural director of the academy since its establishment in 2016 and is also the tournament director of the ATP 250 event held in Mallorca.
According to a report from Sport Blid, those roles consume much of the 64-year-old’s time, forcing him to turn down the offer of coach.
Additionally, Rafael Nadal personally told the three-time Grand Slam finalist that he could use the facilities of the renowned academy at any time.
Zverev suffered a shock first-round loss at the latest edition of Wimbledon at the hands of Arthur Rinderknech, with the German looking riddled with nerves and passivity at the crunch moments of the match.
Afterwards, the two-time Nitto ATP Finals champion disclosed that he would be open to finding an additional coach – on top of his father, Alexander Senior
“Possibly,” the 28-year-old said, during his post-match press conference.
“As I said, yeah, it’s a different feeling right now for me. I can’t speak for the moment. But I think I’ll have answers by Canada.”
Despite the decline of the invitation, Nadal was crystal clear in his analysis of where Zverev is lacking.
“Zverev, it’s a mental problem,” said the Mallorcan.
“For example, last year when he played against [Carlos] Alcaraz in the Roland Garros final, he won the third set and start the fourth… in this moment he knows he plays against Alcaraz, Alcaraz is a wonderful player.
“This is a moment when you have to put a lot of attention in these first games. In this moment Zverev played, in the first game, he was in troubles with his team, he started to talk, and within 10 minutes it was 4-0 or 4-1 to Alcaraz.
“This is what can happen. I don’t say this to be bad to Zverev, because I appreciate him, but for me, has to change.
“When he changes, he has everything. I think he played better before, I remember some matches against Rafael and [Roger] Federer, he played very well.
“If he wants to win and have chances to win a Grand Slam, he needs to change a little his mentality. He can win, but to win is a thing about mentality.
“In Roland Garros, why did he lose? Against Sinner [in the Australian Open final] at 40-0, he was not brave enough. It is not easy, but I think he can win. He is the third player in the world, he can win. But it’s about working hard and working hard at what you are not good enough at.”
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“A very good week,” said the German, speaking after his final practice session on the Centre Court of the academy.
“I’ve had lot of help from Toni and from Rafa as well, it was fantastic seeing the two of them once again.
“The academy is very beautiful, Mallorca, in general, is very beautiful. Especially in summer, it’s very, very hot, so I enjoyed my time and I’m ready to go to the United States now.”
Zverev is next due to participate at the Canadian Masters, July 27 – August 7, and will begin against either Benjamin Bonzi or Adam Walton in the second round.
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