I would not have played tennis without him: Nadal lauds uncle Toni

Bengaluru, September 11: Rafael Nadal paid touching tribute to his uncle Toni after winning his third US Open and described him as 'one of the most important' people in his life.

While there is undoubtedly plenty of joy coming out of the Nadal camp, there is the sad realisation that his uncle will not be travelling with his team next season, reports Metro.

Toni has decided to step down from Nadal's team and will instead be based at the Spaniard's academy. Carlos Moya will coach Nadal.

'It's not just one lesson, these are things from since I was three years old,' he said. 'I can't thank him enough for the things that he did for me.

'Probably without him I would never be playing tennis and it's great I just had somebody like him pushing me all the time.

'I think because he was strong and had great motivation to practise with me since I was a kid, I have been able to get through all these problems I've had in my career in terms of injuries.

'That makes me stronger and I just can say thank you very much to him because, for sure, he's one of the most important persons in my life.'