Toni Nadal masterminded nephew Rafa’s incredible career from well before he broke into the big time by winning the French Open as a teenager in 2005, steering him towards a record 21 Grand Slam victories.
The 61-year-old stepped down as Rafa’s coach in 2017 and concentrated on running the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca before agreeing to work with world number nine Auger-Aliassime last year.
“From the first time we started working together we knew it was a possibility that eventually I would play Rafa when I’m working with Toni,” C a n a d i a n Auger-Aliassime said on Friday evening following the third round victory that confirmed he would play Nadal. But fans will not be seeing Toni in Auger-Aliassime’s box during the match, with the Canadian saying he thought his coach would watch from a “neutral place and enjoy the match”.
“I don’t know how Toni feels…But I think also you have to remember…for me Rafa’s career and what he did with Toni is much bigger than the match tomorrow.” For 13-time French Open champion Nadal the presence of his uncle at the side of another player is not a matter of concern. “I don’t think he will be able to want me to lose but he’s a professional and he’s with another player,” Nadal said. “We are family more than anything else…We are a family that stays together all the time. So he’s not only an uncle. He’s more than that.”
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