Marc Lopez on Coaching Nadal: "Let's See If I Can Tell Him How to Hit a Forehand"
Throughout his career, Nadal has always had very close individuals in his team. First with his uncle Toni for over 20 years, and later with his friend Carlos Moya starting in 2017.
Marc Lopez also joined the Spanish clan in 2021. A doubles specialist, the Barcelona native often partnered with the Mallorcan, including during their gold medal win at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
In an interview with the Mutua Madrid Open’s YouTube channel, the former world No. 106 reflected on the early days of his collaboration with the clay-court legend:
"From the very first minute, he told me: ‘I’m hiring you as a coach, not as a friend, not as a training partner, not as a teammate. I’m hiring you to tell me what I’m doing right and what you think.’ But that was a problem for me.
I thought to myself: Let’s see if I can tell Rafa how to hit a forehand, a backhand, or a volley. It’s tough, but it took me some time to adjust. Watching Carlos Moya do it helped me a lot because, in the end, he’s also a friend and teammate.
He was close to me and helped me immensely. I leaned on Carlos a lot, and in the end, I managed to tell Rafa everything I thought. Those were three very enjoyable years working with him."
