"I don't think I have a different treatment from the umpires" says Rafael Nadal
ATP
Rafael Nadal completely rejected the idea of receiving preferential treatment from the umpires after his opening win at the 2022 US Open.
Nadal is one of the legend of the sport, and at the moment, he's the man with the most Grand Slam titles to his name. The Spaniard has won 22 majors, and at the 2022 US Open, he's trying to increase that number to 23.
In his first-round match, the second-seeded Spaniard took on wild card from Australia, Rinky Hijikata, who he beat in four sets 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 to reach the second round of the tournament.
During his first match in New York this year, but also often during his career, the shot clocks gets dangerously close to hitting zero before Nadal hits his serve.
He's known as probably the slowest player on the ATP Tour when it comes to the time he takes between the points, and after his match against Hijikata, the Spaniard was asked just about that.
Nadal responded that throughout his career, he's struggled to be quicker in between the rallies since he sweats a lot. Because of that, he has to wipe his hands after almost every rally, which then directly influences his time to prepare.
"I went through a lot of warnings during my tennis career. Never for breaking a racquet, never for making a mess on the court. But, yes, for the time clock. I have a problem that I am sweating a lot."
At the same time, Nadal doesn't think that he received any preferential treatment from the umpires, even though it's known that he struggles with this issue.
"The problem for players like me that am sweating that much, you know when you go to pick up the towel, you going to be in trouble with the time. So I am not going very often. I don't think I have a different treatment from the umpires at all."
