DAVID ESCANELLAS
[originally done in Spanish]
[version original]
1. How and when did you first start getting involved in tennis?
At 8 years of age, I began having little hits on the wall of my house. Probably just copying my Father and my older brother, who were (and still are) huge tennis fans. And I, being the baby of the family, just followed in their footsteps...and continue to do so!
2. What do you do exactly at the the tennis club in Majorca?
My role at the tennis club, which I manage with my brother, is that of sporting director. My job is basically to take care of the technical side of things in the club, regarding training with competitive groups which, incidentally, are having great results this year!
In the mornings, I work with the Balearic Tennis Federation on proposals to improve tennis at a basic level: competition formats, looking for players etc. In general, a little co-ordinating on a basic level to improve our federation. The rest of the day, when I don't have as much to do, I help out at and supervise the physical preparation of some leading young local players. In fact, if Toni Nadal, Rafael's coach, has a query relating to his physical preparation, we get in contact with each other and I try to help him as much as I can. One of the most interesting things about our club (the Arta tennis club) is that we have hardcourts, in a region of Europe where most courts are clay. Ours are the only hardcourts within a radius of many kilometres and that's why top players, such as Maria Sharapova, Tomeu Salva and, of course, Rafael Nadal, come to train here. When they do, I take care of providing their training needs.
3. How long have you known Rafael and how did you meet him?
I've known Rafael since he was 3 years old because the club where I played and developed as a player was the Manacor tennis club. He was the "mascot" because our coach, Toni Nadal, is his uncle, as many people already know. Rafael would always be there in his free time and we, being the older ones, would always joke around with him.
4. Do you see him often?
Now, not so much. After I gave up playing tennis at a competitive level, I went to study in Barcelona and didn't have much to do with tennis and lost contact with Toni and Rafael. When I went back to Majorca, we were once again back in contact, as my club and the Manacor tennis club are very close. Any time they need to train at the Arta club in preparation for hardcourt tournaments like the US Open or the Australian Open, we see each other. But anyway, now it's going to be much harder to see Rafael because he's starting to do a lot more international travel and as each year goes by, it will just become more difficult because he's going to be even more involved in the international circuit.
5. What do you think the rest of 2004 holds for Rafael? Do you think he can win a tournament? What do you think will be his year-end ranking?
One of the most surprising things that Toni told me was that, at the beginning of the year (2003), they were satisfied for Rafael to finish in the top 100. That was his goal in January 2003. Imagine that! He ended up being in the top 50. I'm saying this because, with Rafael, anything is possible. He has so much potential that it's difficult to predict what he'll do. He's capable of almost anything: losing his singles in the first round of Chennai, yet winning the doubles tournament there in the same week; reaching the final in Auckland the following week in singles. So, yes, he is very capable of winning a tournament. Not a Grand Slam as yet, that would be very hard. But an ATP tournament is well and truly within his grasp. In fact, you only have to look at the players he's beaten who have won an ATP tournament to see it. His ranking could be in the 20s or 30s by the end of this year. However, Rafael's main goal, apart from his results, is to learn and develop as a player, as he is still very young.
6. What do you think of the Davis Cup doubles combination of Rafael and Tommy Robredo?
It's a very interesting pairing because, in the few tournaments they've played together, they've had very good results. In fact, they won an ATP title in India and at the Australian Open, they did very well, beating a very experienced seeded pair (Arnold and Hood) and only losing to the very specialised pair of Black and Ullyett. Taking into account the fact that they are both very young and have not played much together, these are very good results. They could be a very solid, long-serving doubles pair for the Spanish Davis Cup team if they're interested in doing so. Apart from this, playing doubles will also improve many aspects of their game, such as the serve, the volley and the return.
7. Do you think Spain can win the Davis Cup this year?
Let's hope so. And taking into account that Australia is out, we have a chance. Spain has a much better team than last year because the doubles pairing is better than it used to be. Last year, the team proved they could win on any surface to set up a tough battle against Australia in Melbourne. And this year, without their top 2 players (Moya and Ferrero), they beat the Czech Republic on their weakest surface. All of this breeds optimism.
