The Rafa Nadal the world saw as he stormed onto the Centre Court lawn for the start of the 2008 Wimbledon final was a warrior, eyes glazed in murderous concentration, clutching his racket like a Viking his axe.
當拉法·納達爾過關斬將、一腳踏上中央球場的青青草地，等待著2008年溫網決賽開賽時，在全世界人的眼中，他就是一個戰士，神情專注，眼神中閃爍著致命的光芒，緊握著球拍的樣子就像北歐海盜揮動著巨斧。
So many of them show up so often at Nadal's matches, Maymó says, because they understand he is not 100 percent fully functional without them. "It's not a duty. They need to be there. They see no choice in the matter. But they also feel that his chances of success will increase if, when he looks up at the crowds before a match begins, he sees them there. That's why when he wins a big victory, his instinct is to jump up into the stands to embrace them; or if any are back home watching on TV, the first thing he does back in the locker room is phone them."
納達爾比賽時，他的很多家人都會到場觀戰，梅耶莫說，那是因為他們明白，如果家人不在場，納達爾就不能發揮出他的全部水準。「這可不是義務，他們需要到場，這別無選擇。如果拉法在比賽之前抬起頭，在觀眾席裡看到家人，他們能為他增加勝利的砝碼。每當他贏得了重大的比賽，他的第一反應就是跳上觀眾席擁抱家人。如果有家人不能到場，他的頭一件事就是在更衣室裡給他們打電話。」
To the anonymous multitudes the man who emerged from the locker room onto the Centre Court for the start of the Wimbledon 2008 final was Superman; to his intimates, he was also Clark Kent. One was quite as real as the other; it might even be that one depended on the other. Benito Pérez Barbadillo, his press chief since December 2006, is as convinced that Nadal's insecurities are the fuel of his competitive fire as he is that his family offers him the core of affection and support necessary to keep them in check. Pérez worked in the tennis world for ten years, as an official at the Association of Tennis Professionals before becoming Nadal's press chief, and has known, in some cases very well, most of the top players of this period. Nadal, he believes, is different from the rest, as a player and as a man. "That unique mental strength and self-confidence and warrior spirit is the reverse side of the insecurity that drives him," he says. All his fears-be they of the dark, of thunderstorms, or of the disastrous disruption of his family life-obey a compelling need. "He is a person who needs to be in control of everything," Pérez says, "but since this is impossible, he invests all he has in controlling the one part of his life over which he has most command, Rafa the tennis player."
對於普通大眾來說，2008年溫網決賽從更衣室走到中央球場上的納達爾就是個超人；而對於和他親近的人來說，他則是褪去超人外衣的普通人克拉特·肯特（超人的真實身份）。這種雙重角色同時存在，二者相輔相成。從2006年12月開始做他的首席新聞發言人的貝尼託·佩雷茲·巴巴爾迪約表示，正是納達爾的不安全感燃起他競爭欲望的火焰，而他的家人對他的關愛和支持則讓他不至於烈火焚身。在成為納達爾首席新聞發言人之前，佩雷茲在國際職業網球聯合會當過10年的官員，對這個時代的頂尖網球選手都很了解。他認為納達爾的確與眾不同，無論是作為球員還是普通人。他說：「給他前進動力的是他獨一無二的精神力量、自信以及武士精神，這些也正是他不安之感的對立面。」無論是怕黑、怕暴風雨，還是擔心家人的安危，他所有的恐懼都遵循於他強烈的欲望。「他需要對一切都有所掌控，」佩雷茲說，「但掌控一切是不可能的，所以他就將所有的欲望掌控在自己駕馭的生活上，那就是自己作為網球運動員的生活。」
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