Rafael Nadal not sure of another Slam

A long queue of kids and tennis fans lined up outside the RK Khanna Stadium to steal a glimpse of their ‘god’ Rafael Nadal. The tennis great was here on Thursday to hold a clinic and said “he always shared a great connection with kids”.

“When I was a kid, I just dreamt about playing at Roland Garros, at Wimbledon, professional tournaments. I am no different than many kids. My motivation and passion to try to reach that dream was the key to our success. We worked hard with motivation. Kids can do it, if I did it,” the Spanish legend said, announcing the association of Mahesh Bhupat-hi Tennis Academies with the Rafa Nadal Academy.

As part of the tie-up, Indian talent will be scouted and trained in Mancor, the home town of Nadal.The king of clay Nadal already runs a foundation and academy in Anantpur, Andhra Pradesh, for underprivileged kids and hinted that after his tennis career, he would try his hands at coaching full time. “When I am over with my tennis career I will be much more involved in the academies and coaching.”

Nadal, who has been plagued with injuries and also had surgery to remove his appendix earlier, rallied in the latter part of this year to finish as world number five.

The 14-time Grand Slam winner sank to world number 10 this year after losing in the French Open quarter-finals, before suffering early exits from Wimbl-edon and the US Open.

“2015 has been not the best season... but in the last three months, I finished much better and I’m happy with the way I’m playing now. I need to keep going the same way that I finished the 2015 season.

“It is difficult to come back from injury. Sometimes you recover faster but sometimes you take more time. There is no reason for that but I am trying to get back to my best.”

Asked if he could add another Grand Slam trophy to his collection, Nadal said he can’t say. “I don’t know when that is going to happen, I don’t know if that is going to happen. All I need to is to play well.”