Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.

Alex Corretja is through to the final of the Legends Cup in Palma, Mallorca. And he’s not the only player preparing for a final on Sunday, as fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal is also gearing up for a clash with Novak Djokovic in the final of the China Open in Beijing.

Speaking after his 7-6, 6-4 defeat of Britain’s Tim Henman in his final group match on Saturday, Corretja recalled the first time he met Nadal, in Barcelona, when Rafa was just 16 years of age.

‘I remember it was winter and it was freezing cold,’ he said. ‘I showed up with a coat and scarf and he was waiting for me in a t-shirt, but he didn’t even seem cold.  And then as soon as we started to practise he hit the first ball so hard, like unbelievably hard. I tried to stop him because I thought he was going to hurt himself, and he just said that he always plays 100% from the very first ball, even in practice. I was very impressed and I knew this guy was unique, special. it was an amazing feeling actually to watch him back then.’

Corretja holds the very special accolade of having retired with a winning record against both Nadal (2-0) and his great rival Roger Federer (3-2), whom Corretja beat on three occasions. The first of those was at Roland Garros in 2000, when Federer was just 18 years old. Corretja was blown away by his talent even then.

‘I felt he was special,’ he said. ‘His ball was very heavy, his forehand was amazing, and the way he disguised his serve was incredible. His movement was great and the way he reacted to the short ball was like not many other people. I saw that he was really very special, from the first time we played.’

Corretja will meet Sweden’s Thomas Enqvist in Sunday’s Legends Cup final, and he’s looking forward to it.

‘I feel proud to be here, it makes me feel special and of course is great to be in the final,’ he said. ‘I haven’t played so much tennis in the last year so it was a big goal for me to be in shape for this and I’m enjoying the moment. I know Thomas is a tough opponent but I want to win and will try for it.’

The full interview with Corretja in which he talks about his life, his career, his time coaching Andy Murray and his iconic match against Pete Sampras at the 1996 US Open will be available on The Tennis Podcast, a free downloadable radio show, from Monday. To subscribe free to the Tennis Podcast to listen to the full interview when it is out, click here: http://goo.gl/enNLLM.

In Saturday’s other singles match, Thomas Muster secured his qualification against Henman for the 3rd/4th play-off with a 6-4, 2-6, 10-4 victory over Aussie Pat Cash.

Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.