Rafael Nadal thrilled to be at The Masters: 'Dream come true'

Nadal reflects on his own golf game

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Rafael Nadal playing golf in October 2020. By ATP Staff

Rafael Nadal won the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters 11 times in his career. And while all eyes in the tennis world are on the first clay-court ATP Masters 1000 event of the season, the Spaniard is focused on a different Masters: golf’s The Masters at Augusta National.

“The atmosphere is huge. It's difficult to compare to something else, I think,” Nadal said in an interview with ESPN in Georgia. “The fact that nobody can have a cell phone, it's a brilliant idea, brilliant rule, from my point of view, because everybody's just focused on what the eyes can see. This place is magical.

“For a sports fan and for a golf fan like me, I’ve followed this tournament since I was a small kid. You remember all these dramatic moments, emotional moments, and today, to have the chance to be here and to see it in real [life] is a dream come true to be honest.”

Many tennis players will quickly tell you how good Nadal is at golf. The Spaniard spoke about his love for the sport, despite what he called “a terrible swing”.

“Better you don't show these images,” Nadal said, cracking a smile. “But I’ll tell you, even with that swing, the ball more or less goes straight. But I am competitive. I love the game. I played a lot of golf when I was playing tennis. It was a way to be a little bit away [from] everything and at the same time compete. I have been a big golf fan since I was a kid.”

Two-time U.S. Open champion Andy North broke down Nadal’s swing during the segment. The Spaniard then explained how he learned the sport and why it looks the way it does.

“I never took a lesson on my golf swing. I think I play like a backhand of tennis,” Nadal said. “I have a lot of issues that I cannot bring my shoulder higher, I need to open my stance because of my foot, so I have a lot of body issues that don't allow me to do things a little bit better. But even like this, I accept the challenge to do it a little bit better just for fun. And of course, I am a guy that wants to improve in anything that I do, always.”

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