Marc Lopez has shed light on Rafael Nadal’s Roland Garros preparations while working with him.
Lopez, Nadal’s former doubles partner and current member of his coaching team, shared insights into their collaboration. The two famously won a gold medal in doubles at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Like Nadal, Lopez is a French Open champion, having secured the doubles title in 2016 alongside Feliciano Lopez. Despite retiring from professional tennis in 2023, Lopez continued to support Nadal, even playing one more match with him at the Brisbane International doubles tournament.
Since joining forces with Nadal in late 2021, Lopez has been able to identify areas for improvement in Nadal’s game while praising his strong work ethic and competitive nature.
Lopez has been instrumental in providing Nadal with positive encouragement during practice sessions, especially as Nadal has faced physical challenges since returning to the tour.
In a recent interview, Lopez emphasized the team’s focus on maintaining a positive mindset and supporting Nadal, who has expressed doubts about his readiness for Roland Garros. Despite Nadal’s reservations, Lopez is confident in his abilities and continues to motivate him.
“It’s very competitive. Whatever he does, he wants to win and be 100%. Be it golf, tennis or ludo. What about Paris? I think that right now he is not at 100%, which is normal, but from the outside we try to tell him that he is better than he thinks.”
Nadal’s coaching team’s encouragement has been a driving force for him amid physical challenges, leading to recent successes on clay. Nadal’s victory over Alex de Minaur in Madrid marked his first consecutive wins on clay since his last triumph at Roland Garros.
