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Rafa, GOAT, no?

Many suggested the outcome at Melbourne would have been different if Novak Djokovic had overcome his vax-phobia and played

Rafael Nadal
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Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates after defeating Matteo Berrettini of Italy in their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne (Photo: AP/PTI)

Kanika Datta
One of the lucrative post-retirement activities sportspeople get to enjoy is invitations to speak at motivational sessions for senior executives. It’s usually a pleasurable, low-pressure gig at a luxurious cruise or resort with the chief guest invited to explain the secrets of his or her outstanding career. You can expect the sage cliches: Hard work, believing in yourself, never giving in, plus the occasional anecdote thrown in. These past few years I have tried to imagine Rafael Nadal in a post-career role as a motivational speaker and concluded that he’ll be terrible at it.
 
Sure, he’s all for hard work
Disclaimer: These are personal views of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect the opinion of www.business-standard.com or the Business Standard newspaper