Jaume Munar grateful for Rafael Nadal mentorship - Things to know about the young Mallorcan

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  • Jaume Munar is the No. 7 seed at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan this week, where he has landed in Group A alongside Stefanos Tsitsipas, Frances Tiafoe and Hubert Hurkacz.

    Here are a few facts to know about the 21-year-old Spaniard…

    – Munar is from Mallorca and trains at the Rafa Nadal Academy. He is coached by Nadal’s best friend, Tomeu Salva and considers Nadal a mentor. They may hail from the same island, and Munar has a strong supporter in Nadal but the youngster insists there is no room for any comparison between him and the 17-time Grand Slam champion.

    “It’s different, starting with the fact that Rafa got his first Roland Garros at 19 while I’m still here fighting to get into the top 100, I think there is no real or good comparison,” Munar told Sport360 in Milan.

    “But anyway it feels special to have Rafa behind me, mentoring me. He’s trying to help as much as he can, I’m also working with one of his best friends on my team. Of course it’s special to have Rafa just in front, but I cannot be compared to one that is that big and important in tennis and in sports.”

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  • – On June 18, 2018, Munar became the youngest Spaniard to reach the top 100 since Nadal achieved that feat on July 16, 2007.

    – Munar is enjoying a career-high ranking of 76 this week, which makes him the Spanish No. 8. He is the youngest of nine Spaniards in the top 100.

    – His nickname is ‘Jimbo’ because his fiery attitude on the court resembles that of Jimmy Connors.

    – His favourite surface is clay, favourite shot is serve and favourite tournament is, of course, Roland Garros.

    – If he weren’t a tennis player, he says he would have liked to be a doctor.

    – His best ATP result so far was reaching the semi-finals in Kitzbuhel last July.

    – He qualified for the main draw at the Australian Open and Roland Garros this year. He claimed two five-set wins at the majors this season, coming back from two sets down to defeat world No. 41 David Ferrer in the French Open first round, and defeating Ruben Bemelmans in the US Open first round.

    – Owns three Challenger titles (Segovia 2017, Prostejov 2018, Caltanissetta 2018).


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    How good this company is? 😛🤙🏽 #Mallorca ➡️ #NewYork 👋🏼

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