Nadal dreams of playing golf with Tiger Woods

Rafael Nadal is the remaining top star among the old guards at the on-going U.S Open, but the Spaniard yesterday admitted that he goes starry eyed when he sees Tiger Woods.

Tiger Woods was in the crowd when Nadal played his fourth round match against Marin Cilic in the U.S. Open. And the Spaniard, who has a close relationship with the American golfer, joked afterwards, “Honestly, it’s much better if Tiger doesn’t see my swing.”

“Maybe he would lose a little bit of rhythm after that. It’s a huge honour to play in front of all of [New York fans] but to play in front of Tiger is a very special thing. I’ve always said that I don’t have idols, but if I did I would have to say that one idol is him.”

Nadal confessed that he always try to follow every of Woods’ single shot through the whole year, confessing, “For me it’s a pleasure to have him here supporting me. It means a lot. He’s a big legend of sport, one of the greatest sportsmen of all time. I want to congratulate him for one of the most amazing comebacks of the sport ever when he won The Masters this year.

“It means a lot to have him supporting me. He is a great inspiration. All the things he has accomplished in the sport, fighting that hard, he has always been an example. I am in touch with him very often and hopefully one day we can play golf together.”

Nadal has a special connection with the US Open crowd too: “[It’s] so special to see this amazing crowd supporting [me]. As I said before the tournament started, I’ve always had a great connection with the crowd here in New York.”