For the first time in his professional coaching career, Toni Nadal will coach someone other than his nephew. While he will continue to coach Rafael Nadal, Toni will also be coaching Chilean young gun Christian Garin. 20-year-old Garin, currently ranked 260th on the ATP World Tour, will be working with the Spanish legend, hoping to take that extra step towards being a full-time pro.
Seeking consistency
Toni Nadal gave his analysis of the young Chilean’s game while speaking to Letcetera. The Spaniard explained what he believes Gain needs to do to take the next steps towards being a serious player on the ATP World Tour.
According to Nadal, “The first is that we must solidify the game, you have to be good at everything. This is essential, because most of the time there are some aspects of the game in which some fail. He has the need to be guided and to play to improve. Immediately start improving, it will take a quick jump. In tennis now it seems far away, but then quickly you can cram. Garin showed he is good player. The reality says he has sufficient quality to be there. Then it will depend on his desire if he can be No. 5 or No. 20 or No. 30 in the world."
An unprecedented move
Toni Nadal has only ever coached Rafael Nadal on the ATP World Tour, so this will be uncharted territory for one of the most successful coaches in the world. While he will continue to coach his nephew, this will be an added challenge for Toni.
Toni explained that "We are interested in good players and he is a gamble. I insist on having the conditions to get high. It depends on the level of good player who wants to be. I look forward anything you can do with a young player. I look forward to working with him and hopefully he can help Garin come up. I think it has the ability to do so. Garin is young. Today a funny thing happens, people break out much later than before. Good players are maturing later. It is not always the case, but today they are making the jump later. I am confident that Christian can do it soon.”
The plan is for Garin to travel with Rafael and Toni as much as possible on the tour. The Chilean recently appeared in the Davis Cup world group playoffs as the Chilean number one against Canada. He lost both his rubbers, only winning one set.