Even if you’re merely a casual fan of men’s tennis, you should be psyched by Rafael Nadal’s return to court tomorrow. To clarify, by casual, I mean you recall Wimbledon and our looking forward to the U.S. Open at the end of the month.

Based on how Wimbledon went (with Nadal sitting out due to an ailing knee), we could see a pretty decent four man battle - assuming Nadal returns true to form, and Andy Roddick and the could-be newly #2 ranked Andy Murray show up like they did at the All England. Or, it could just go back to the Federer vs. Nadal show, that’s kool and the gang too. Point is, I don’t think anyone expects, or is rooting for, Rafa to come back and be anything less than a top contender. Except maybe his old soccer coach…

In anticipation of Nadal’s first match back, The Telegraph posted 20 Things You Didn’t Know About Rafael Nadal, two of which dealt with his background as a football player in his youth…

3. Rafael himself was a promising footballer, and scored 100 goals in his local junior league.

4. He gave up football aged just 12 because his coach did not like his players playing more than one sport, and would leave him on the bench if he arrived after playing tennis.

Granted the opportune term here is local junior league - I’m sure this wasn’t the Real Madrid Development Program. Speaking of which, the trajectory of the coach from Nadal’s former club probably didn’t ascend much past Mayorca Park & Rec. either.

Also of note, he’s still got skills..

Nadal Begins His Comeback in a Different Tennis World (New York Times)