{"id":17178,"date":"2025-01-06T03:05:29","date_gmt":"2025-01-06T03:05:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=17178"},"modified":"2025-01-06T03:05:29","modified_gmt":"2025-01-06T03:05:29","slug":"he-talks-to-you-like-a-normal-guy-felix-auger-aliassime-recalls-his-experience-with-rafael-nadal-at-his-academy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=17178","title":{"rendered":"\u201cHe talks to you like a normal guy\u201d: Felix Auger-Aliassime recalls his experience with Rafael Nadal at his Academy"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"article-blocks\">\n<p>Felix Auger-Aliassime revealed what it\u2019s like to work with Rafael Nadal at his academy and praised the humility of the 22-time Grand Slam champion. The Canadian has visited the Rafa Nadal Academy several times to train and observe the Spaniard\u2019s demeanour with those at his sports centre.<\/p>\n<p>The 24-year-old appeared on the latest episode of The Slice Tennis podcast, where he discussed his interactions with Nadal. \u201cI went to his academy a few times to train. We didn\u2019t have extended conversations, I think ever, but he was always so humble. I know I am repeating what people say, but it\u2019s true,\u201d Auger-Aliassime said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor the superstar he is \u2013 I feel like we are used to in American sports that these guys are massive celebrities and they almost feel like you can\u2019t talk to them. They don\u2019t feel obtainable in the way,\u201d Auger-Aliassime added. \u201cBut Rafa, when you speak to him, he talks to you like a normal guy. He is super, super humble and I respect that a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4>Auger-Aliassime reflects on matches and moments with Nadal<\/h4>\n<p>The Canadian expressed admiration for Nadal\u2019s ability to remain humble despite being one of the greatest tennis players of all time. \u201cTo have that level of success in your sport, to be a legend, and to stay so down-to-earth is not something everyone can do. I respect and admire that a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Auger-Aliassime has faced Nadal three times in his career. Their first encounter was when the Canadian was just 18, on the clay courts of Madrid in 2019, where Nadal defeated him 6-3, 6-3. \u201cThe first match we played was in Madrid, 2019. Actually, I played Denis (Shapovalov) in the first round, and the winner of the match was going to play Rafa,\u201d the World No. 29 recalled.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-_5ljBK4HnI?si=4HrN6-vQJ9NTMu_m\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe were like, \u2018That is a crazy draw\u2019 \u2013 you play your good friend, and the winner of your match gets to play Rafa in Madrid. I was just 18, and it was my first year playing all those matches,\u201d he added. \u201cIt was intimidating. I was like, I just don\u2019t want to get embarrassed. We were playing on clay. In my whole life, I have never been scared of a loss.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can say I have had some bad losses in my whole life, as a junior or whatever, but this one, I was like, let me just put on something that\u2019s up to what I know I can do. The match was okay, it was three and four. But that was a good memory, the first time we played.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Three years later, they met at Roland Garros, where Nadal claimed his last Major title. On this occasion, Auger-Aliassime, the 9th seed, pushed Nadal to a fifth set but ultimately couldn\u2019t overcome the Spaniard\u2019s supremacy at Roland Garros. That same year, they faced off for the final time at the ATP Finals on indoor hardcourt, where Auger-Aliassime emerged victorious, 6-3, 6-4.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/WLZMHHtz9m0?si=OQaCMVaERNEoFvVR\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div>\n<form>\n<div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/r.testifier.nl\/Acbs8526SDKI\/resizing_type:fill\/plain\/https%3A%2F%2Fs3-newsifier.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com%2Ftennisuptodate.com%2Fimages%2F2024-09%2Fgoogle-news-1000x1000px-transparant-logo-66e5878b1d720.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/r.testifier.nl\/Acbs8526SDKI\/resizing_type:fill\/plain\/https%3A%2F%2Fs3-newsifier.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com%2Ftennisuptodate.com%2Fimages%2F2024-09%2Fgoogle-news-1000x1000px-transparant-logo-66e5878b1d720.png 1x, https:\/\/r.testifier.nl\/Acbs8526SDKI\/resizing_type:fill\/plain\/https%3A%2F%2Fs3-newsifier.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com%2Ftennisuptodate.com%2Fimages%2F2024-09%2Fgoogle-news-1000x1000px-transparant-logo-66e5878b1d720.png 2x\" alt=\"\u201cHe talks to you like a normal guy\u201d: Felix Auger-Aliassime recalls his experience with Rafael Nadal at his Academy\" width=\"78\" height=\"78\" data-nimg=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Subscribe to our Newsletter<\/p>\n<p>Unlock your ultimate tennis experience\u2014subscribe today for exclusive access to top stories.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/form>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Felix Auger-Aliassime revealed what it\u2019s like to work with Rafael Nadal at his academy and praised the humility of the 22-time Grand Slam champion. The Canadian has visited the Rafa Nadal Academy seve&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17179,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tennis"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>\u201cHe talks to you like a normal guy\u201d: Felix Auger-Aliassime recalls his experience with Rafael Nadal at his Academy - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=17178\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u201cHe talks to you like a normal guy\u201d: Felix Auger-Aliassime recalls his experience with Rafael Nadal at his Academy - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Felix Auger-Aliassime revealed what it\u2019s like to work with Rafael Nadal at his academy and praised the humility of the 22-time Grand Slam champion. The Canadian has visited the Rafa Nadal Academy seve...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=17178\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-06T03:05:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/4-21.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=17178\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=17178\",\"name\":\"\u201cHe talks to you like a normal guy\u201d: Felix Auger-Aliassime recalls his experience with Rafael Nadal at his Academy - 24\/7 News America\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=17178#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=17178#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/4-21.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-06T03:05:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-06T03:05:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=17178#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=17178\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=17178#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/4-21.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/4-21.jpg\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":2000},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=17178#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u201cHe talks to you like a normal guy\u201d: Felix Auger-Aliassime recalls his experience with Rafael Nadal at his Academy\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"24\/7 News America\",\"description\":\"Breaking Stories, Real Insights&quot;\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914\",\"name\":\"Admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u201cHe talks to you like a normal guy\u201d: Felix Auger-Aliassime recalls his experience with Rafael Nadal at his Academy - 24\/7 News America","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=17178","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u201cHe talks to you like a normal guy\u201d: Felix Auger-Aliassime recalls his experience with Rafael Nadal at his Academy - 24\/7 News America","og_description":"Felix Auger-Aliassime revealed what it\u2019s like to work with Rafael Nadal at his academy and praised the humility of the 22-time Grand Slam champion. The Canadian has visited the Rafa Nadal Academy seve...","og_url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=17178","og_site_name":"24\/7 News America","article_published_time":"2025-01-06T03:05:29+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2000,"height":2000,"url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/4-21.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Admin"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=17178","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=17178","name":"\u201cHe talks to you like a normal guy\u201d: Felix Auger-Aliassime recalls his experience with Rafael Nadal at his Academy - 24\/7 News America","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=17178#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=17178#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/4-21.jpg","datePublished":"2025-01-06T03:05:29+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-06T03:05:29+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=17178#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=17178"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=17178#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/4-21.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/4-21.jpg","width":2000,"height":2000},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=17178#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u201cHe talks to you like a normal guy\u201d: Felix Auger-Aliassime recalls his experience with Rafael Nadal at his Academy"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/","name":"24\/7 News America","description":"Breaking Stories, Real Insights&quot;","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914","name":"Admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Admin"},"url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?author=2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17178"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17178\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17180,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17178\/revisions\/17180"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}