Rafael Nadal

Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera (Catalan pronunciation: [rəˈfɛɫ nəˈðaɫ pəˈɾeɾə]; Spanish pronunciation: [rafaˈel naˈðal paˈɾeɾa]; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player currently ranked No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time;[2][3][4] his success on clay has earned him the nickname "The King of Clay", and has prompted many experts to regard him as the greatest clay court player of all time.

Nadal has won ten Grand Slam singles titles,including 6 French Open titles, the 2008 Olympic gold medal in singles, a record 19 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments, and also was part of the Spain Davis Cup team that won the finals in 2004, 2008 and 2009. He completed the career Grand Slam by winning the 2010 US Open, being the seventh player in history, and the youngest in the open era, to achieve it. He is the second male player to complete the Career Golden Slam (winner of the four grand slams and the Olympic Gold medal) after only Andre Agassi.

Nadal had a 32-match winning streak in 2008, starting at the 2008 Masters Series Hamburg to the 2008 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open, which included titles at Hamburg, the French Open (where he did not drop a set), Queen's Club, his first ever title at Wimbledon, and the Rogers Cup. In 2011, by winning the Monte Carlo Masters, he became the only player to have won seven editions of a tournament in a row at the ATP level. Nadal was ranked world No. 2, behind Roger Federer, for a record 160 consecutive weeks before earning the top spot, which he held from 18 August 2008 to 5 July 2009.[8] He regained the world No.1 ranking on 7 June 2010, after winning his fifth French Open title.

Federer and Nadal: Fit of Laughter During Shooting



Top Tennis Shot by Rafael Nadal vs Djokovic Madrid Master Final 2011


Early life

Rafael Nadal was born in Manacor, Majorca, Spain to Sebastián Nadal, a businessman managing his own restaurant, Sa Punta; a glass and window glass company, Vidres Mallorca; and owns an insurance company as well. His mother is Ana María Parera, a housewife. He has a younger sister named María Isabel. His uncle, Miguel Ángel Nadal, is a retired professional footballer, who played for RCD Mallorca, FC Barcelona, and the Spanish national team.[10] Nadal supports football clubs Real Madrid and RCD Mallorca.[11] Recognizing that Nadal had a natural talent for tennis, another uncle, Toni Nadal, a former professional tennis player, introduced him to tennis when he was three years old.[12]

At age eight, Nadal won an under-12 regional tennis championship at a time when he was also a promising football player.[13] This made Toni Nadal intensify training, and at that time he encouraged Nadal to play left-handed for a natural advantage on the tennis court, as he noticed Nadal played forehand shots with two hands.[13] When Nadal was 12, he won the Spanish and European tennis titles in his age group and was playing tennis and football all the time.[13] Nadal's father made him choose between football and tennis so that his school work would not deteriorate entirely. Nadal said: "I chose tennis. Football had to stop straight away."[13]

When he was 14, the Spanish tennis federation requested that he leave Majorca and move to Barcelona to continue his tennis training. Nadal's family turned down this request, partly because they feared it would hurt his education,[13] but also because Toni said that "I don't want to believe that you have to go to America, or other places to be a good athlete. You can do it from your home."[12] The decision to stay home meant that Nadal received less financial support from the federation; instead, Nadal's father covered the costs. In May 2001, he defeated former Grand Slam champion Pat Cash in a clay-court exhibition match.[10]

At 15, he turned pro.[14] Nadal participated in two events on the ITF junior circuit. In 2002, at the age of 16, Nadal reached the semifinals of the Boy's Singles tournament at Wimbledon, in his first ITF junior event.[15]

By the age of 17, he beat Roger Federer the first time they played and became the youngest man to reach the third round at Wimbledon since Boris Becker. At 18, he helped pace Spain over the US in the junior Davis Cup in his second, and final, appearance on the ITF junior circuit. At 19, Nadal won the French Open the first time he played it, a feat not accomplished in Paris for more than 20 years. He eventually won it the first four times he played at Roland Garros.[14] In 2003, he had won the ATP Newcomer of the Year Award. Early in his career, Nadal picked up the trademark habit of biting the trophies he won.[16]
Tennis career
2002–2004

In April 2002, at 15 years and 10 months, the world No. 762 Nadal won his first ATP match, defeating Ramón Delgado, and became the ninth player in the open era to do so before the age of 16.[17] The following year, Nadal won two Challenger titles and finished the year in the top 50. At his Wimbledon debut in 2003, Nadal became the youngest man to reach the third round since Boris Becker in 1984.[18] During 2004, Nadal played his first match against world No. 1 Roger Federer at the 2004 Miami Masters, and won in straight sets. He is one of the six players that defeated Federer that year (along with Tim Henman, Albert Costa, Gustavo Kuerten, Dominik Hrbatý, and Tomáš Berdych). He missed most of the clay court season, including the French Open, because of a stress fracture in his left ankle.[10] Nadal, at 18 years and six months, became the youngest player to register a singles victory in a Davis Cup final for a winning nation.[19] By beating world No. 2 Andy Roddick, he helped Spain clinch the 2004 title over the United States in a 3–2 win. He finished the year ranked world No. 51.
2005

At the 2005 Australian Open, Nadal lost in the 4th round to eventual runner-up Lleyton Hewitt. Two months later, Nadal reached the final of the 2005 Miami Masters, and despite being two points from a straight-sets victory, he was defeated in five sets by world No. 1 Roger Federer. Both performances were considered to be breakthroughs for Nadal.[20][21]

He then dominated the spring clay court season. He won 24 consecutive singles matches, which broke Andre Agassi's open era record of consecutive match wins for a male teenager.[22] Nadal won the Torneo Conde de Godó in Barcelona and beat 2004 French Open runner-up Guillermo Coria in the finals of the 2005 Monte Carlo Masters and the 2005 Rome Masters. These victories raised his ranking to world No. 5[23] and made him one of the favorites at his career-first French Open. On his 19th birthday, Nadal defeated Federer in the 2005 French Open semifinals, being one of only four players who defeated the top-seeded player that year (along with Marat Safin, Richard Gasquet, and David Nalbandian). Two days later, he defeated Mariano Puerta in the final, becoming the second male player to win the French Open on his first attempt since Mats Wilander in 1982: He also became the first teenager to win a Grand Slam singles title since Pete Sampras won the 1990 US Open at age 19.[10] Winning the French Open improved Nadal's ranking to World No. 3.[23]

Three days after his victory in Paris, Nadal's 24-match winning streak was snapped in the first round of the grass court Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany, where he lost to the German Alexander Waske.[24] He then lost in the second round of 2005 Wimbledon to Gilles Müller of Luxembourg.

Immediately after Wimbledon, Nadal won 16 consecutive matches and three consecutive tournaments, bringing his ranking to world No. 2 on 25 July 2005.

Nadal started his North American summer hard-court season by defeating Agassi in the final of the 2005 Canada Masters, but lost in the first round of the 2005 Cincinnati Masters. Nadal was seeded second at the 2005 US Open, where he was upset in the third round by World No. 49 James Blake in four sets.

In September, he defeated Coria in the final of the China Open in Beijing and won both of his Davis Cup matches against Italy. In October, he won his fourth ATP Masters Series title of the year, defeating Ivan Ljubičić in the final of the 2005 Madrid Masters. He then suffered a foot injury that prevented him from competing in the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup.[25]

Both Nadal and Federer won eleven singles titles and four ATP Masters Series titles in 2005. Nadal broke Mats Wilander's previous teenage record of nine in 1983.[26] Eight of Nadal's titles were on clay, and the remainder were on hard courts. Nadal won 79 matches, second only to Federer's 81. Nadal won the Golden Bagel Award for 2005 with eleven 6–0 sets during the year.[27] Also, he earned the highest year-end ranking ever by a Spaniard and the ATP Most Improved Player of the Year award.
2006
Nadal and Federer during the 2006 Wimbledon Championships final

Nadal missed the Australian Open due to a foot injury.[28] In February, he lost in the semifinals of the first tournament he played, the Open 13 tournament in Marseille, France. Two weeks later, he handed Roger Federer his first loss of the year in the final of the Dubai Duty Free Men's Open (in 2006, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray were the only two men who defeated Federer). To complete the spring hard-court season, Nadal was upset in the semifinals of the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, by James Blake, and was upset in the second round of the 2006 Miami Masters.

On European clay, Nadal won all four tournaments he entered and 24 consecutive matches. He defeated Federer in the final of the Masters Series Monte Carlo in four sets. The following week, he defeated Tommy Robredo in the final of the Open Sabadell Atlántico tournament in Barcelona. After a one-week break, Nadal won the Masters Series Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, defeating Federer in a fifth-set tiebreaker in the final, after saving two match points and equaling Björn Borg's tally of 16 ATP titles won as a teenager. Nadal broke Argentinian Guillermo Vilas's 29-year male record of 53 consecutive clay-court match victories by winning his first round match at the French Open. Vilas presented Nadal with a trophy, but commented later that Nadal's feat was less impressive than his own because Nadal's winning streak covered two years and was accomplished by adding easy tournaments to his schedule.[29] Nadal went on to play Federer in the final of the French Open. The first two sets of the match were hardly competitive, as the rivals traded 6–1 sets. Nadal won the third set easily and served for the match in the fourth set before Federer broke him and forced a tiebreaker. Nadal won the tiebreaker and became the first player to defeat Federer in a Grand Slam final.[30]
2006 Roland Garros Champion

Nadal injured his shoulder while playing a quarterfinal match against Lleyton Hewitt at the Artois Championships, played on grass at the Queen's Club in London.[31] Nadal was unable to complete the match, which ended his 26-match winning streak. Nadal was seeded second at Wimbledon, but was two points from defeat against American qualifier Robert Kendrick in the second round before coming back to win in five sets. In the third round, Nadal defeated world No. 20 Andre Agassi in straight sets at Agassi's last career match at Wimbledon. Nadal also won his next three matches in straight sets, which set up his first Wimbledon final, which was against Federer, who had won this tournament the three previous years. Nadal was the first Spanish man since Manuel Santana in 1966 to reach the Wimbledon final, but Federer won the match in four sets 6–0, 7–6(5), 6–7(2), 6–3 to win his fourth consecutive Wimbledon title.

During the leadup to the US Open, Nadal played the two Masters Series tournaments in North America. He was upset in the third round of the Rogers Cup in Toronto and the quarterfinals of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio. Nadal was seeded second at the US Open, but lost in the quarterfinals to world No. 54 Mikhail Youzhny of Russia in four sets.

Nadal played only three tournaments the remainder of the year. Joachim Johansson, ranked world No. 690, upset Nadal in the second round of the Stockholm Open 6–4, 7–6. The following week, Nadal lost to Tomáš Berdych in the quarterfinals of the year's last Masters Series tournament, the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid. During the round-robin stage of the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup, Nadal lost to James Blake but defeated Nikolay Davydenko and Robredo. Because of those two victories, Nadal qualified for the semifinals, where he lost to Federer 6–4, 7–5. This was Nadal's third loss in nine career matches with Federer.

Nadal went on to become the first player since Andre Agassi in 1994–95 to finish the year as the world No. 2 in consecutive years.
2007

Nadal started the year by playing in six hard-court tournaments. He lost in the semifinals and first round of his first two tournaments and then lost in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open to eventual runner-up Fernando González. After another quarterfinal loss at the Dubai Tennis Championships, he won the 2007 Indian Wells Masters, before Novak Djoković defeated him in the quarterfinals of the 2007 Miami Masters.
Nadal serving at the 2007 US Open

He had comparatively more success after returning to Europe to play five clay-court tournaments. He won the titles at the Masters Series Monte Carlo, the Open Sabadell Atlántico in Barcelona, and the Masters Series Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, before losing to Roger Federer in the final of the Masters Series Hamburg. This defeat ended his 81-match winning streak on clay, which is the male open era record for consecutive wins on a single surface. He then rebounded to win the French Open for the third straight year, defeating Federer once again in the final.

Between the tournaments in Barcelona and Rome, Nadal defeated Federer in the "Battle of Surfaces" exhibition match in Majorca, Spain, with the tennis court being half grass and half clay.[32]

Nadal played the Artois Championships at the Queen's Club in London for the second consecutive year. As in 2006, Nadal was upset in the quarterfinals. Nadal then won consecutive five-set matches during the third and fourth rounds of Wimbledon before being beaten by Federer in the five-set final. This was Federer's first five-set match at Wimbledon since 2001.[33]

In July, Nadal won the clay court Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, which proved to be his last title of the year. He played three important tournaments during the North American summer hard court season. He was a semifinalist at the Masters Series Rogers Cup in Montreal before losing his first match at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was the second-seeded player at the US Open, but was defeated in the fourth round by David Ferrer.

After a month-long break from tournament tennis, Nadal played the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid and the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris. David Nalbandian upset him in the quarterfinals and final of those tournaments. To end the year, Nadal won two of his three round robin matches to advance to the semifinals of the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, where Federer defeated him 6–4, 6–1.

During the second half of the year, Nadal battled a knee injury suffered during the Wimbledon final. In addition, there were rumors at the end of the year that the foot injury he suffered during 2005 caused long-term damage, which were given credence by coach Toni Nadal's claim that the problem was "serious". Nadal and his spokesman strongly denied this, however, with Nadal himself calling the story "totally false".[34]
2008
Nadal against Nicolás Almagro in the 2008 French Open quarterfinals

Nadal began the year in India, where he was comprehensively beaten by Mikhail Youzhny in the final of the Chennai Open. Nadal then reached the semifinals of the Australian Open for the first time. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated Nadal 6–2, 6–3, 6–2 in the semifinal of 2008 Australian Open. Tsonga's semifinal performance was characterized by his powerful and precise serve, finesse volleys, and aggressive baseline play; it was a performance that drew the Melbourne crowd to their feet. Tsonga did not face a break point until the third set, while breaking the Spaniard five times in the match. Nadal also reached the final of the Miami Masters for the second time.

During the spring clay-court season, Nadal won four singles titles and defeated Roger Federer in three finals. He beat Federer at the Masters Series Monte Carlo for the third straight year, capturing his open era record fourth consecutive title there. He won in straight sets, despite Federer's holding a 4–0 lead in the second set.[35] Nadal then won his fourth consecutive title at the Open Sabadell Atlántico tournament in Barcelona. A few weeks later, Nadal won his first title at the Masters Series Hamburg, defeating Federer in the three-set final. He then won the French Open, becoming the fifth man in the open era to win a Grand Slam singles title without losing a set.[36] He defeated Federer in the final for the third straight year, but this was the most lopsided of all their matches, as Nadal only lost four games and gave Federer his first bagel since 1999.[35] This was Nadal's fourth consecutive French title, tying Björn Borg's all-time record. Nadal became the fourth male player during the open era to win the same Grand Slam singles tournament four consecutive years (the others being Borg, Pete Sampras, and Federer).
Nadal against Andreas Beck in the 2008 Wimbledon Championships first round

Nadal then played Federer in the final of Wimbledon for the third consecutive year, in the most anticipated match of their rivalry.[37][38] Nadal entered the final on a 23-match winning streak, including his first career grass-court title at the Artois Championships staged at the Queen's Club in London prior to Wimbledon. Federer had won his record fifth grass-court title at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, and then reached the Wimbledon final without losing a set. Unlike their previous two Wimbledon finals, though, Federer was not the prohibitive favorite, and many analysts picked Nadal to win.[38][39] They played the longest (in terms of time on court, not in terms of numbers of games) final in Wimbledon history, and because of rain delays, Nadal won the fifth set 9–7 in near-darkness. The match was widely lauded as the greatest Wimbledon final ever, with some tennis critics even calling it the greatest match in tennis history.[40][41][42][43][44] By winning his first Wimbledon title, Nadal became the third man in the open era to win both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year, after Rod Laver in 1969 and Borg in 1978–80, (Federer later accomplished this the following year) as well as the second Spaniard to win Wimbledon. He also ended Federer's record streak of five consecutive Wimbledon titles and 65 straight wins on grass courts. This is also the first time that Nadal won two Grand Slams back-to-back.

After Wimbledon, Nadal extended his winning streak to a career-best 32 matches. He won his second Rogers Cup title in Toronto, and then made it into the semifinals of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio. As a result, Nadal clinched the US Open Series and, combined with Federer's early-round losses in both of those tournaments, finally earned the world No. 1 ranking on 18 August, officially ending Federer's record four-and-a-half year reign at the top.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Nadal defeated Novak Djoković of Serbia in the semifinals 6–4, 1–6, 6–4 and Fernando González of Chile in the final to win his first Olympic gold medal. Nadal became the first male player ranked in the top five to win the gold medal.[45]

At the US Open, Nadal was the top-seeded player for the first time at a Grand Slam tournament. He did not lose a set during his first three matches, defeating qualifiers in the first and second rounds and Viktor Troicki in the third round. He then needed four sets to defeat both Sam Querrey in the fourth round and Mardy Fish in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, he lost to eventual runner up, Andy Murray 6–2, 7–6(5), 4–6, 6–4. Later in the year in Madrid, Nadal helped Spain defeat the United States in the Davis Cup semifinals.

At the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid, Nadal lost in the semifinals to Gilles Simon 3–6, 7–5, 7–6(6). However, his performance at the event guaranteed that he would become the first Spaniard during the open era to finish the year as the world No. 1.[46] On 24 October at the Campoamor theatre in Oviedo, Spain, Nadal was given the Prince of Asturias Award for Sports, in recognition of his achievements in tennis.[47] Two weeks after the Madrid Masters at the BNP Paribas Masters in France, Nadal reached the quarterfinals, where he faced Nikolay Davydenko. Nadal lost the first set 6–1, before retiring in the second with a knee injury.[48] The following week, Nadal announced his withdrawal from the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, citing tendinitis of the knee. On 10 November, Nadal withdrew from Spain's Davis Cup final against Argentina, as his knee injury had not healed completely.[49]
2009
Nadal at the 2009 Australian Open, his first slam on hard courts

Nadal's first official ATP tour event for the year was the 250 series Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha. After his first-round match with Fabrice Santoro, Nadal was awarded the 2008 ATP World Tour Champion trophy.[50] Nadal eventually lost in the quarterfinals to Gaël Monfils. Nadal also entered and won the tournament's doubles event with partner Marc López, defeating the world No. 1 doubles team of Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić in the final. As noted by statistician Greg Sharko, this was the first time since 1990 that the world No. 1 singles player had played the world No. 1 doubles player in a final.[51]

At the 2009 Australian Open, Nadal won his first five matches without dropping a set, before defeating compatriot Fernando Verdasco in the semifinals in the longest match in Australian Open history at 5 hours and 14 minutes.[52] This win set up a championship match with Roger Federer, their first meeting ever in a hard-court Grand Slam tournament and their nineteenth meeting overall. Nadal defeated Federer in five sets to earn his first hard-court Grand Slam singles title,[53] making him the first Spaniard to win the Australian Open and the fourth male tennis player—after Jimmy Connors, Mats Wilander, and Andre Agassi—to win Grand Slam singles titles on three different surfaces. This win also made Nadal the first male tennis player to hold three Grand Slam singles titles on three different surfaces at the same time.[54] Nadal then played the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam. In the final, he lost to second-seeded Murray in three sets. During the final, Nadal called a trainer to attend to a tendon problem with his right knee, which notably affected his play in the final set.[55] Although this knee problem was not associated with Nadal's right knee tendonitis, it was serious enough to cause him to withdraw from the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships a week later.[56]

In March, Nadal helped Spain defeat Serbia in a Davis Cup World Group first-round tie on clay in Benidorm, Spain. Nadal defeated Janko Tipsarević and Novak Djokovic. The win over world No. 3 Djokovic was Nadal's twelfth consecutive Davis Cup singles match win and boosted his career win–loss record against Djokovic to 11–4, including 6–0 on clay.[57][58]

At the 2009 Indian Wells Masters, Nadal won his thirteenth Masters 1000 series tournament. In the fourth round, Nadal saved five match points, before defeating David Nalbandian for the first time.[59] Nadal defeated Juan Martín del Potro in the quarterfinals and Andy Roddick in the semi-finals, before defeating Murray in the final. The next ATP tour event was the 2009 Miami Masters. Nadal advanced to the quarterfinals, where he again faced Argentinian del Potro, this time losing the match. This was the first time del Potro had defeated Nadal in five career matches.[60]
Nadal against Jürgen Melzer in the 2009 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, Madrid, Spain

Nadal began his European clay court season at the 2009 Monte Carlo Masters, where he won a record fifth consecutive singles title there.[61] He defeated Novak Djokovic in the final for his fifth consecutive win, a record in the open era. Nadal is the first male player to win the same ATP Master series event for five consecutive years.

Nadal then competed in the ATP 500 event in Barcelona. He advanced to his fifth consecutive Barcelona final, where he faced David Ferrer. Nadal went on to beat Ferrer 6–2, 7–5 to record five consecutive Barcelona victories.[62] At the Rome Masters, Nadal reached the final, where he defeated Novak Djokovic to improve his overall record to 13–4 and clay record to 8–0 against the Serb.[63] He became the first player to win four Rome titles.
Nadal at 2009 Sony Ericsson Open, Miami, Florida, United States

After winning two clay-court Masters, he participated in the Madrid Open. He lost to Roger Federer 4–6, 4–6 in the final. This was the first time that Nadal had lost to Federer since the semifinals of the 2007 Tennis Masters Cup.

On 19 May, the ATP World Tour announced that Nadal was the first player out of eight to qualify for the 2009 ATP World Tour Finals, to be played at the O2 Arena in London.[64]

By beating Lleyton Hewitt in the third round of 2009 French Open, Nadal (2005–09 French Open) set a record of 31 consecutive wins at Roland Garros, beating the previous record of 28 by Björn Borg (1978–81 French Open). Nadal had won 32 consecutive sets at Roland Garros (since winning the last 2 sets at the 2007 French Open final against Federer), the second-longest winning streak in the tournament's history behind Björn Borg's record of 41 consecutive sets. This run came to an end on 31 May 2009, when Nadal lost to eventual runner-up, Robin Söderling in the 4th round. The Swede triumphed 6–2, 6–7(2), 6–4, 7–6(2). This was Nadal's first loss at the French Open.

After his surprise defeat at Roland Garros, Nadal withdrew from the AEGON Championships. It was confirmed that Nadal was suffering from tendinitis in both of his knees.[65] On 19 June, Nadal withdrew from the 2009 Wimbledon Championship, citing his recurring knee injury.[66] He was the first champion to not defend the title since Goran Ivanišević in 2001.[66] Roger Federer went on to win the title, and Nadal consequently dropped back to world No. 2 on 6 July 2009. Nadal later announced his withdrawal from the Davis Cup.

On 4 August, Nadal's uncle, Toni Nadal, confirmed that Nadal would return to play at the Rogers Cup in Montreal.[67] There, in his first tournament since Roland Garros, Nadal lost in the quarterfinals to Juan Martín del Potro.[68] With this loss, he relinquished the No. 2 spot to Andy Murray on 17 August 2009, ranking outside the top two for the first time since 25 July 2005.

In the quarterfinals of the US Open he defeated Fernando González 7–6(4), 7–6(2), 6–0 in a rain-delayed encounter.[69] However, like his previous US Open campaign, he fell in the semifinals, this time losing to eventual champion Juan Martín del Potro 2–6, 2–6, 2–6.[70] Despite the loss, he regained his No. 2 ranking after Andy Murray's early exit.[71]

At the World Tour Finals, Nadal lost all three of his matches against Robin Söderling, Nikolay Davydenko, and Novak Djokovic respectively without winning a set.

In December, Nadal participated in the second Davis Cup final of his career. He defeated Czech No. 2 Tomáš Berdych in his first singles rubber to give the Spanish Davis Cup Team their first point in the tie. After the Spanish Davis Cup team had secured its fourth Davis Cup victory, Nadal defeated Jan Hájek in the first Davis Cup dead rubber of his career. The win gave Nadal his 14th consecutive singles victory at Davis Cup (his 13th on clay).

Nadal finished the year as No. 2 for the fourth time in five years. Nadal won the Golden Bagel Award for 2009 with nine 6–0 sets during the year. Nadal has won the award three times (a tour record).
2010
Main article: Rafael Nadal in 2010
Nadal in the 2010 Australian Open quarterfinals

Nadal began the year by participating in the Capitala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. He defeated compatriot David Ferrer 7–6(3), 6–3 to reach his second final in the exhibition tournament. In the final, Nadal defeated Robin Söderling 7–6(3), 7–5.[72]

Nadal participated in an Australian Open warm-up tournament, the Qatar ExxonMobil Open ATP 250 event in Doha, where he lost in the finals.[73] He defeated Simone Bolelli of Italy 6–3, 6–3 in the first round, and in the second round, Nadal defeated Potito Starace 6–2, 6–2. Nadal's progress continued in the quarterfinals when he was up 6–1, 2–0 against Steve Darcis of Belgium, who eventually retired from the match. He defeated fifth seed Viktor Troicki 6–1, 6–3, winning 11 straight games in the semifinals. Nadal lost to Nikolay Davydenko 6–0, 6–7(8), 4–6 in the finals, despite dominating in the opening set and holding two match points in the second set.[73] Davydenko also defeated Roger Federer in the semifinals before advancing to the finals.[73]

In the first round of the Australian Open, Nadal defeated Peter Luczak of Australia 7–6(0), 6–1, 6–4. In the second round, he beat Lukáš Lacko 6–2, 6–2, 6–2. In the third round, he was tested by Philipp Kohlschreiber, finally beating him 6–4, 6–2, 2–6, 7–5. In the fourth round, he beat Ivo Karlović of Croatia, 6–4, 4–6, 6–4, 6–4.[74] In the quarterfinals, Nadal pulled out at 3–0 down in the third set against Andy Murray, having lost the first two sets 6–3, 7–6(2).[75] After examining Nadal's knees, doctors told him that he should take two weeks of rest, and then two weeks of rehabilitation.

Nadal reached the semifinals in singles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, where he was the defending champion; however, eventual champion Ivan Ljubičić defeated him in three sets.[76] He and countryman López won the doubles title, though, as wildcard entrants against number one seeds Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić.[77] This boosted his doubles ranking 175 places[78] to world number 66, whereas he was 241st before Indian Wells.[79] After Indian Wells, Nadal reached the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open, where he lost to eventual champion Andy Roddick in three sets.[80]

Nadal reached the final of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters in Monaco, after beating fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 6–3, 6–2 in the semifinals. This was Nadal's first tour final since Doha earlier in the year. He won the final 6–0, 6–1 over his compatriot Fernando Verdasco. He lost 14 games throughout all five matches, the fewest he had ever lost en route to a championship, and the final was the shortest Masters 1000 final in terms of games. With this win, Nadal became the first player in the open era to win a tournament title for six straight years.[81]

Unlike in previous years, Nadal next chose to skip the Barcelona tournament (despite being that event's five-time defending champion), and his next tournament was the 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia. He defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber, Victor Hănescu, and Stanlias Wawrinka, all in straight sets, to win his 57th straight match in April. In the semis, he faced a resilient Ernests Gulbis, who defeated Roger Federer earlier in the tournament and took Nadal to three sets for the first time this clay-court season. Nadal eventually prevailed with a 6–4, 3–6, 6–4 in 2 hours and 40minutes. He then defeated compatriot David Ferrer in the final 7–5, 6–2 for his fifth title at Rome to equal Andre Agassi's record of winning 17 ATP Masters titles.
Nadal at the 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, Madrid, Spain

Nadal then entered the 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, where he had finished runner-up the previous year. Being one of the top eight seeds, he received a bye in the first round. In the second round, he defeated qualifier Oleksandr Dolgopolov Jr in straight sets. He then played the six-foot-nine-inch American John Isner. Nadal comfortably came through in straight sets, 7–5, 6–4. He defeated Gaël Monfils in the quarterfinals 6–1, 6–3 and his countryman Nicolás Almagro in the next round, who was playing in his first Masters 1000 semifinal, 4–6, 6–2, 6–2. The first set of his match against Almagro would be just the second set he lost on clay up to this point in 2010. Nadal then defeated longtime rival Roger Federer 6–4, 7–6(5), avenging his 2009 finals loss to Federer. The win gave him his 18th Masters title, breaking the all-time record. He became the first player to win all three clay-court Masters titles in a single year and the first player to win three consecutive Masters events. Nadal moved back to No. 2 the following day.

Entering the French Open, many were expecting another Nadal-Federer final. However, this became impossible when rival Robin Söderling defeated Federer 3–6, 6–3, 7–5, 6–4 in the quarterfinals.[82] The failure of Federer to reach the semifinals allowed Nadal to regain the world No. 1 ranking if he were to win the tournament. Nadal advanced to the final and defeated Soderling 6–4, 6–2, 6–4 to win the French Open. The win gave Nadal his seventh Grand Slam, tying him with John McEnroe, John Newcombe, and Mats Wilander on the all-time list, and allowed Nadal to reclaim the position of world No. 1, denying his biggest rival Roger Federer the all-time record for weeks at No. 1.[83][84] By this win, Nadal became the first man to win the three Masters series on clay and the French Open. This was dubbed by the media as the "Clay Slam". This victory at Roland Garros marked the second time (2008) that Nadal had won the French Open without dropping a single set (tying the record held by Björn Borg). With the win in Paris he also booked his place at the World Tour Finals in London and became the first player to win five French Open titles in six years.

In June, Nadal entered the AEGON Championships, which he had won in 2008, at the prestigious Queen's Club. He played singles and doubles at this grass court tournament as a warmup for Wimbledon. Being one of the top eight seeds, he received a bye in the first round. In the second round, where he played his first match on grass since winning Wimbledon 2008, he defeated Marcos Daniel easily, 6–2, 6–2. In the third round, he played Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan, whom he defeated 7–6(4), 4–6, 6–4, to advance to the quarterfinals. However, he was defeated by compatriot Feliciano López 6–7(5), 4–6.
Nadal against Paul-Henri Mathieu in the 2010 Wimbledon Championships 4th round

At the Wimbledon, Nadal beat Kei Nishikori 6–2, 6–4, 6–4. Nadal was taken to the limit by Robin Haase winning 5–7, 6–2, 3–6, 6–0, 6–3. He defeated Philipp Petzschner in the third round. The match was a 5-set thriller, with Nadal triumphing 6–4, 4–6, 6–7, 6–2, 6–3. During his match with Petzschener, Nadal was warned twice for receiving coaching from his coach and uncle, Toni Nadal, resulting in a $2000 fine by Wimbledon officials. Allegedly, encouraging words for Nadal shouted during the match were some sort of coaching code signal.[85][86] He met Paul-Henri Mathieu of France in the round of 16 and comfortably beat Mathieu 6–4, 6–2, 6–2. In the quarterfinals, he got past Robin Söderling of Sweden in four sets 3–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–4), 6–1. He defeated Andy Murray in straight sets 6–4, 7–6(8–6), 6–4 to reach his fourth Wimbledon final.

Nadal won the 2010 Wimbledon men's title by defeating Tomáš Berdych in straight sets 6–3, 7–5, 6–4. After the win, Nadal said "it is more than a dream for me" and thanked the crowd for being both kind and supportive to him and his adversary during the match and in the semifinal against Andy Murray.[87] The win gave him a second Wimbledon title and an eighth career major title[88] just past the age of 24.[89] The win also gave Nadal his first "Old World Triple"; the last person to achieve this was Björn Borg in 1978 ("Old World Triple" is a term given to winning the Italian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon in the same year).

In his first hard-court tournament since Wimbledon, Nadal advanced to the semifinals of the Rogers Cup, along with No. 2 Novak Djokovic, No. 3 Roger Federer, and No. 4 Andy Murray, after coming back from a one-set deficit to defeat Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4.[90] In the semifinal, defending champion Murray defeated Nadal 6–3, 6–4, becoming the only player to triumph over the Spaniard twice in 2010.[91] Nadal also competed in the doubles with Djokovic in a one-time, high-profile partnership of the world No. 1 and No. 2, the first such team since the Jimmy Connors and Arthur Ashe team in 1976.[92] However, Nadal and Djokovic lost in the first round to Canadians Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil. The next week, Nadal was the top seed at the Cincinnati Masters, losing in the quarterfinals to 2006 Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis.
Nadal at the 2010 US Open

At the 2010 US Open, Nadal was the top seed for the second time in three years. He defeated Teymuraz Gabashvili, Denis Istomin, Gilles Simon, number 23 seed Feliciano López, number 8 seed Fernando Verdasco, and number 12 seed Mikhail Youzhny all without dropping a set, to reach his first US Open final, becoming only the eighth man in the Open Era to reach the final of all four majors, and at age 24 the second youngest ever to do so, behind only Jim Courier. In the final, he defeated Novak Djokovic 6–4, 5–7, 6–4, 6–2 which completed the Career Grand Slam for Nadal and he became the second male after Andre Agassi to complete a Career Golden Slam.[93] Nadal also became the first man to win grand slams on clay, grass, and hard court in the same year, and the first to win the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open in the same year since Rod Laver in 1969. Nadal and Mats Wilander are the only male players to win at least two Grand Slams each on clay, grass, and hardcourts in their careers. Nadal also became the first left-handed man to win the US Open since John McEnroe in 1984.[94] Nadal's victory also clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking for 2010, making Nadal only the third player (after Ivan Lendl in 1989 and Roger Federer in 2009) to regain the year-end number one ranking after having lost it.[95]
Nadal serving in Tokyo

Nadal began his Asian tour at the 2010 PTT Thailand Open in Bangkok where he reached the semifinals, losing to compatriot Guillermo García López. Nadal was able to regroup, and at the 2010 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo (debut), he defeated Santiago Giraldo, Milos Raonic, and Dmitry Tursunov. In the semifinals against Viktor Troicki, Nadal saved two match points in the deciding set tiebreaker to win it 9–7 in the end. In the final, Nadal comfortably defeated Gaël Monfils 6–1, 7–5 for his seventh title of the season.

Nadal next played in the 2010 Shanghai Rolex Masters in Shanghai, where he was the top seed, but lost to world No. 12 Jürgen Melzer in the third round, snapping his record streak of 21 consecutive Masters quarterfinals. On the 5 November, Nadal announced that he was pulling out of the Paris Masters due to tendinitis in his left shoulder.[96] On 21 November 2010, in London, Nadal won the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for the first time.[97]
Nadal against Federer at the 2010 ATP World Tour Finals

At the 2010 ATP World Tour Finals in London, Nadal defeated Roddick 3–6, 7–6(5), 6–4 in the first match, Djokovic 7–5, 6–2 in the second match, and Berdych 7–6(3), 6–1 in the third match, to advance to the semifinals for the third time in his career. This is the first time that Nadal achieved three wins in the round-robin stage. In the semifinal, he defeated Murray 7–6(5), 3–6, 7–6(6) in a hard-fought match to reach his first final at the tournament. In only their second meeting of the year, Federer beat Nadal in the final by a score of 6–3, 3–6, 6–1. After the match, Nadal stated: "Roger is probably the more complete player of the world. I'm not going to say I lost that match because I was tired." This was a reference to his marathon victory over Murray on Saturday. "I tried my best this afternoon, but Roger was simply better than me."[98]

Nadal ended the 2010 season having won three Slams and three Masters 1000 tournaments, and having regained the No. 1 ranking.

Next up for Nadal was a two-match exhibition against Federer for the Roger Federer Foundation. The first match took place in Zürich on 21 December 2010, and the second in Madrid the next day.
2011
Main article: Rafael Nadal in 2011
Nadal at the 2011 Australian Open

Nadal started 2011 by participating in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. He defeated Tomáš Berdych 6–4, 6–4 to reach his third final in the exhibition tournament. In the final, he won over his main rival Roger Federer 7–6(4), 7–6(3).

At his first tour event of the year in an Australian Open warm-up tournament, the Qatar ExxonMobil Open ATP 250 event in Doha, Qatar, Nadal barely struggled past his first three opponents, Karol Beck 6–3, 6–0, Lukáš Lacko 7–6(3), 0–6, 6–3, and Ernests Gulbis 7–6(3), 6–3 citing fever as the primary reason for his poor performance. He fell in straight sets to a resurgent Nikolay Davydenko in the semifinals, 6–3, 6–2.[99] He and countryman López won the doubles title by defeating the Italian duo Daniele Bracciali and Andreas Seppi 6–3, 7–6(4).[100]

In the first round of the Australian Open, Nadal defeated Marcos Daniel of Brazil 6–0, 5–0 ret. In the second round, he beat upcoming qualifier Ryan Sweeting of the United States 6–2, 6–1, 6–1. In the third round, he was tested by emerging player Bernard Tomic of Australia, who previously ousted Nadal's countryman Feliciano López, but Nadal was victorious with a score of 6–2, 7–5, 6–3. He went on to defeat Marin Čilić of Croatia 6–2, 6–4, 6–3 in the fourth round. He suffered an apparent hamstring injury against fellow Spaniard David Ferrer early in the pair's quarterfinal match and ultimately lost in straight sets 4–6, 2–6, 3–6, thus ending his effort to win four major tournaments in a row.[101]

On 7 February 2011, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Nadal won the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for the first time, ahead of footballer Lionel Messi, Sebastian Vettel, Spain's Andres Iniesta, Lakers star Kobe Bryant and Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao.[102]

In March, Nadal helped Spain defeat Belgium in a 2011 Davis Cup World Group first-round tie on hard indoor in Spiroudome, Charleroi, Belgium. Nadal defeated Ruben Bemelmans 6–2, 6–4, 6–2.[103] After Spain's victory in three matches, Nadal played a second unnecessary match against Olivier Rochus and won 6–4, 6–2.[104]

At the 2011 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Nadal defeated upcoming qualifier Rik de Voest of South Africa 6–0, 6–2 in the first match. In the Third round, he beat upcoming qualifier Ryan Sweeting of the United States 6–3, 6–1. He then defeated upcoming Indian qualifier Somdev Devvarman 7–5, 6–4 in the Fourth round. In the quarterfinals Nadal had a hard time against Croatian Ivo Karlovic but won 5–7, 6–1, 7–6(7), and in the semi-finals he met Argentine player Juan Martin del Potro, back from a long injury. The last three confrontations between the players was in favor of Del Potro, and despite some difficulties Nadal won 6–4, 6–4. He reached his third final at Indian Wells, and in the final lost against Novak Djokovic. The Serbian player won 6–4, 3–6, 2–6.[105] The next day Nadal and Djokovic played a friendly match in Bogota, Colombia which Nadal won.[106]

Nadal started the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open win over Japanese player Kei Nishikori 6–4, 6–4, then met his compatriot Feliciano Lopez in the third round, whom he defeated 6–3, 6–3, and in the fourth round defeated Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine 6–1, 6–2. In the quarterfinals Nadal had the first real test of the tournament where he met the world No. 7 seed Tomas Berdych. After a good first set, Nadal's level of play fell significantly due to an injured right shoulder, and he lost the second set. He eventually triumphed 6–2, 3–6, 6–3. in the semi-finals Nadal met main rival Roger Federer, their first meeting in a semi-final since the 2007 Masters Cup. Nadal was swiftly victorious at 6–3, 6–2; this match was one of the fastest matches played on hard courts. For the second time in two weeks, Nadal faced Novak Djokovic in the final. As in the Indian Wells tournament, Nadal won the first set, and Djokovic the second. The third set ended in a tiebreak with Djokovic winning the match 4–6, 6–3, 7–6(3).[107] This is the first time Nadal reached the finals of Indian Wells and Miami in the same year.

Nadal began his clay-court season in style, winning the 2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters with the loss of just one set. Nadal defeated Jarkko Nieminen 6–2, 6–2, Richard Gasquet 6–2, 6–4, Ivan Ljubicic 6–1, 6–3 and Andy Murray 6–4, 2–6, 6–1 in the semi-final to reach his seventh consecutive final in Monte Carlo. In the final, Nadal avenged his defeat by David Ferrer in the quarter-finals of the 2011 Australian Open and won the match 6–4, 7–5. He is the first man to have won the same tournament seven times in a row at the ATP level in the open era.[108] Nadal chalked up his 37th straight win at the clay-court event, where he has not lost since the 2003 Monte Carlo Masters. It was his 44th career title and 19th at a Masters event.[109] Nadal lost his three previous finals, twice to world No. 2 Novak Djokovic and once to No. 3 Roger Federer. It was his first title since winning the Japan Open. Guillermo Coria was the last player to beat Nadal at Monte Carlo, in the third round in 2003. Nadal missed the 2004 tournament because of an injury. Nadal shares third place with Bjorn Borg and Manuel Orantes in the list of players with the most titles on clay.[110]

Just a week later won his sixth Barcelona Open crown, winning the 2011 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell in straight sets. He won the final over Ferrer again (3rd Barcelona final and 5th clay court final), 6–2, 6–4. In doing so Nadal became the first man in the open era to have won two specific tournaments at least six times each. Nadal is now the leader in terms of matches won this year, with 29. He did not gain any points for this victory, however, as only four ATP 500 tournaments can be counted towards a players ranking at one time, but they will go into effect 08.08.2011 when the result of the 2010 Legg Mason Tennis Classic ATP 500 tournament of Washington expires.[111]

At the Madrid in May, he defeated Marcos Baghdatis, had a walkover against Juan Martin del Potro, and defeated Michael Llodra and Roger Federer, before losing the final to Novak Djokovic, 7–5, 6–4.[112] Nadal lost in straight sets to Novak Djokovic in the Rome Masters final, 6–4, 6–4.[113] This marked the first time that Nadal has lost two clay court finals in a single season.[114] However, Nadal retained his number one ranking during the clay court season and won his sixth French Open title by defeating Roger Federer 7-5, 7-6, 5-7, 6-1.[115]
Major Titles
Grand Slam performance timeline

To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through the 2011 French Open.
Tournament 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Career SR Career W-L Win %
Grand Slam Tournaments
Australian Open A 3R 4R A QF SF W QF QF 1 / 7 29–6 82.85
French Open A A W W W W 4R W W 6 / 7 45–1 97.82
Wimbledon 3R A 2R F F W A W 2 / 6 29–4 87.87
US Open 2R 2R 3R QF 4R SF SF W 1 / 8 28–7 80.00
Win–Loss 3–2 3–2 13–3 17–2 20–3 24–2 15–2 25–1 11–1 10 / 28 131–18 87.92
Grand Slam Finals
Singles: 12 (10 titles, 2 runner-ups)
Outcome↓ Year↓ Championship↓ Surface↓ Opponent in Final↓ Score in Final↓
Winner 2005 French Open Clay Argentina Mariano Puerta 6–7(6), 6–3, 6–1, 7–5
Winner 2006 French Open (2) Clay Switzerland Roger Federer 1–6, 6–1, 6–4, 7–6(4)
Runner-up 2006 Wimbledon Grass Switzerland Roger Federer 0–6, 6–7(5), 7–6(2), 3–6
Winner 2007 French Open (3) Clay Switzerland Roger Federer 6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4
Runner-up 2007 Wimbledon (2) Grass Switzerland Roger Federer 6–7(7), 6–4, 6–7(3), 6–2, 2–6
Winner 2008 French Open (4) Clay Switzerland Roger Federer 6–1, 6–3, 6–0
Winner 2008 Wimbledon Grass Switzerland Roger Federer 6–4, 6–4, 6–7(5), 6–7(8), 9–7
Winner 2009 Australian Open Hard Switzerland Roger Federer 7–5, 3–6, 7–6(3), 3–6, 6–2
Winner 2010 French Open (5) Clay Sweden Robin Söderling 6–4, 6–2, 6–4
Winner 2010 Wimbledon (2) Grass Czech Republic Tomáš Berdych 6–3, 7–5, 6–4
Winner 2010 US Open Hard Serbia Novak Djokovic 6–4, 5–7, 6–4, 6–2
Winner 2011 French Open (6) Clay Switzerland Roger Federer 7–5, 7–6(3), 5–7, 6–1
Olympic finals
Singles: 1 (1 title)
Outcome↓ Year↓ Championship↓ Surface↓ Opponent in the final↓ Score in the final↓
Winner 2008 Beijing Olympics Hard Chile Fernando González 6–3, 7–6(7–2), 6–3
Career statistics
Main articles: Rafael Nadal career statistics and List of career achievements by Rafael Nadal
ITF Grand Slams records

These records were attained in the Open Era of tennis.

ITF Grand Slams Year(s) Record accomplished Player tied
Australian Open
French Open
Wimbledon
US Open
Olympics 2009
2005
2008
2010
2008 Career Golden Slam Andre Agassi
Australian Open
French Open
Wimbledon
US Open
2009
2005
2008
2010
Career Grand Slam Rod Laver
Andre Agassi
Roger Federer
Australian Open – French Open – Wimbledon – US Open 2005–2010 At least two Grand Slams on grass, clay, and hard courts Mats Wilander
French Open – US Open 2010 Winner of grand slams on clay, grass, and hard court in calendar year Stands alone
French Open – US Open 2010 Winner of three consecutive grand slams in calendar year Rod Laver
French Open – US Open 2008–2010 Simultaneous holder of grand slams on clay, grass, and hard court Roger Federer
Olympics – US Open 2008–2010 Simultaneous holder of Olympic singles gold medal and grand slams on clay, grass, and hard court Stands alone
Olympics – Wimbledon 2008–2010 Simultaneous holder of Olympic singles gold medal and Wimbledon Stands alone
Olympics – French Open 2008–2010 Simultaneous holder of Olympic singles gold medal and three grand slams Andre Agassi
Olympics – US Open 2008–2010 Simultaneous holder of Olympic singles gold medal and clay & hard court grand slams Andre Agassi
Olympics – US Open 2008–2010 Simultaneous holder of Olympic singles gold medal and US Open Andre Agassi
French Open 2005–2011 6 titles in 7 years Stands alone
French Open 2005–2011 6 titles Björn Borg
French Open 2005–2009 31 consecutive match wins Stands alone
French Open—Wimbledon 2008, 2010 1 "Channel Slam": Winning both tournaments in the same year Rod Laver
Björn Borg
Roger Federer
French Open—Wimbledon 2008, 2010 Winner of multiple "Channel Slam" singles titles Björn Borg
French Open 2005–2008 4 consecutive wins Björn Borg
French Open 2005–2008 4 consecutive finals Björn Borg
Ivan Lendl
Roger Federer
French Open 2008, 2010 Most French Open championships without losing a set (2) Björn Borg
French Open 2005–2008, 2010–2011 6 French Open Finals overall Björn Borg
Australian Open
French Open
Wimbledon
US Open 2005–2010 Finalist in all the 4 majors Rod Laver
Ken Rosewall
Ivan Lendl
Stefan Edberg
Jim Courier
Andre Agassi
Roger Federer
ATP Masters records
ATP Masters Series Year(s) Record accomplished Player tied
Monte Carlo Masters—Madrid Masters 2005–2011 Most Masters singles titles (19) Stands alone
Monte Carlo Masters—Rome Masters 2005–2011 Most Masters singles finals (29) Roger Federer
Madrid Masters 2009 Longest best-of-three sets Men's singles match ever played (4 hours, 3 minutes) Novak Djokovic
Monte Carlo Masters—Roland Garros 2010 1 Clay Slam: 3 Masters series on clay and Roland Garros Stands alone
Monte Carlo Masters 2005–2011 7 consecutive titles Stands alone
Rome Masters 2005–2010 5 titles in 6 years Stands alone
ATP Masters 2005 Most Titles in a season – 4 Roger Federer (2005 & 2006), Novak Djokovic (2011)
ATP Masters 2008–2010 21 consecutive Quarter-Finals Stands alone
ATP Masters 2008 Consecutive tournaments won on 3 different surfaces Roger Federer (2004)
ATP Masters 2005–2011 Most consecutive years winning at least ONE Masters Title – 7 Stands alone
Monte Carlo Masters—Rome Masters 2005–2007
2009–2010 Most years winning both Titles – 5 Stands alone
ATP Masters 2007–2010 Consecutive years winning at least 3 Masters Titles – 4 Stands alone
ATP Masters 2005–2011 Highest Winning Percentage: 83.5% (208–41) Stands alone
Monte Carlo Masters-Rome Masters-Madrid Masters 2010 Winning 3 consecutive ATP Masters Titles Stands alone
Monte Carlo Masters 2008 Winner of the Singles and Doubles Tournament at the same Tournament and the same year Jim Courier (Indian Wells 1991)
ATP Masters 2011 Most Consecutive Finals reached – 5 Stands alone
Rivalry with Roger Federer
Main article: Federer–Nadal rivalry
A dark-haired tennis player is reaching to hit a tennis shot with a racket in his left hand, and he is wearing black shoes and shorts with black and white mixture shirt and yellowish-green accessories
Nadal during the 2009 Australian Open final

Nadal and Federer have been playing against each other since 2004, and this rivalry is a significant part of both men's careers:

They are the only men in the open era who have played each other in eight Grand Slam finals, with Nadal winning six of the eight finals. Four of these six wins were on Nadal's best surface (clay), and he has beaten Federer twice in non-clay major finals: Wimbledon 2008 and the Australian Open 2009.[116]
Their 2008 Wimbledon final has been lauded as the greatest match of all time by many long-time tennis critics.[42][117]
Many critics consider their rivalry to be the greatest in tennis history.[40][118][119][120]
Twelve of Nadal's 17 wins over Federer have come on clay courts, Nadal's best surface. Nadal leads their overall head-to-head series 17–8 (Nadal leads 12–2 on clay, Federer leads 2–1 on grass, tie 4–4 on hard courts).

Playing style

Nadal generally plays an aggressive, behind-the-baseline game founded on heavy topspin groundstrokes, consistency, speedy footwork and tenacious court coverage thus making him an aggressive counterpuncher.[121] Known for his athleticism and speed around the court, Nadal is an excellent defender[122] who hits well on the run, constructing winning plays from seemingly defensive positions. He also plays very fine dropshots, which work especially well because his heavy topspin often forces opponents to the back of the court.[123] Nadal is primarily a baseliner, although he has been noted by several commentators (including John McEnroe) as an excellent volleyer, which has contributed to his reaching four Wimbledon finals on grass, winning two of them, and has been observed approaching the net more often since 2009.
Nadal playing on clay

In recent years, Nadal employs a full western grip forehand, often with a "lasso-whip" follow through, where his left arm hits through the ball and finishes above his left shoulder – as opposed to a more traditional finish across the body or around his opposite shoulder.[124][125] Nadal's forehand groundstroke form allows him to hit shots with heavy topspin – more so than many of his contemporaries.[126] San Francisco tennis researcher John Yandell used a high-speed video camera and special software to count the average number of revolutions of a tennis ball hit full force by Nadal. "The first guys we did were Sampras and Agassi. They were hitting forehands that in general were spinning about 1,800 to 1,900 revolutions per minute. Federer is hitting with an amazing amount of spin, too, right? 2,700 revolutions per minute. Well, we measured one forehand Nadal hit at 4,900. His average was 3,200."[127] While Nadal's shots tend to land short of the baseline, the characteristically high bounces his forehands achieve tend to mitigate the advantage an opponent would normally gain from capitalizing on a short ball.[128] Although his forehand is based on heavy topspin, he can hit the ball deep and flat with a more orthodox follow through for clean winners.

Nadal's serve was initially considered a weak point in his game, although his improvements in both first serve points won and break points saved since 2005 have allowed him to consistently compete for and win major titles on faster surfaces. Nadal relies on the consistency of his serve to gain a strategic advantage in points, rather than going for service winners.[129] However, before the 2010 season, he altered his service motion, arriving in the trophy pose earlier and pulling the racket lower during the trophy pose. Before the 2010 U.S. Open, Nadal modified his service grip to a more continental one. These two changes in his serve have increased its average speed by around 10 mph, maxing out at 135 mph (217 km), allowing him to win more free points on his serve.[130]

Nadal's mental resilience and strategic approach to the game are other noted strengths. Nadal is able to avoid discouragement regardless of match score, allowing him to singularly focus on winning the current point and gaining an advantage. As a strategic player, Nadal can assess outside variables such as court surface, weather conditions, and his opponent's tactics in order to adjust his own play to best adapt to present conditions.[131]

Although once considered a clay court specialist, Nadal has shed that label due to his success on the tournaments played on other surfaces, including holding Grand Slams simultaneously on grass, hard courts, and clay on two separate occasions, winning five Masters series titles on hardcourt, and winning the Olympic gold medal on hardcourt.[121][132] Despite praise for Nadal's talent and skill, some have questioned his longevity in the sport, citing his build and playing style as conducive to injury.[133] Nadal himself has admitted to the physical toll hard courts place on ATP Tour players, calling for a reevaluated tour schedule featuring fewer hard court tournaments.[134]
Public image
Equipment and endorsements
Nike sleeveless shirt with matching headband & wrist bands and Babolat AeroPro Drive GT at Roland Garros 2007

Nadal has appeared in advertising campaigns for Kia Motors as a global ambassador for the company. In May 2008, Kia released a claymation viral ad featuring Nadal in a tennis match with an alien. Nadal also has an endorsement agreement with Universal DVDs.[135]

Nike serves as Nadal's clothing and shoe sponsor. Nadal's signature on-court attire entailed a variety of sleeveless shirts paired with 3/4 length capri pants.[136] For the 2009 season, Nadal adopted more-traditional on-court apparel. Nike encouraged Nadal to update his look in order to reflect his new status as the sport's top player at that time[137] and associate Nadal with a style that, while less distinctive than his "pirate" look, would be more widely emulated by consumers.[138][139] At warmup tournaments in Abu Dhabi and Doha, Nadal played matches in a polo shirt specifically designed for him by Nike,[140] paired with shorts cut above the knee. Nadal's new, more conventional style carried over to the 2009 Australian Open, where he was outfitted with Nike's Bold Crew Men's Tee[141] and Nadal Long Check Shorts.[142][143][144] Nadal wears Nike's Air CourtBallistec 2.3 tennis shoes,[145] bearing various customizations throughout the season, including his nickname "Rafa" on the right shoe and a stylized bull logo on the left.

Becomes the face of Lanvin's L’Homme Sport cologne, launched April 2009.[146]

Nadal uses an AeroPro Drive racquet with a 4 1/4-inch L2 grip. As of the 2010 season, Nadal's racquets are painted to resemble the new Babolat AeroPro Drive with Cortex GT racquet in order to market a current model which Babolat sells.[147][148] Nadal uses no replacement grip, and instead wraps two overgrips around the handle. He used Duralast 15L strings until the 2010 season, when he switched to Babolat's new, black-colored, RPM Blast string. Nadal's rackets are always strung at 55 lb (25 kg), regardless of which surface or conditions he is playing on[citation needed].

As of January 2010, Rafa is the international ambassador for Quely, a company from his native Majorca that manufactures biscuits, bakery and chocolate coated products; he has consumed their products ever since he was a young child.[149][150]

In 2010, luxury watchmaker Richard Mille announced that he had developed an ultra-light wristwatch in collaboration with Nadal called the Richard Mille RM027 Tourbillon watch.[151] The watch is made of titanium and lithium and is valued at US$525,000; Nadal was involved in the design and testing of the watch on the tennis court.[151] During the 2010 French Open, Men's Fitness reported that Nadal wore the Richard Mille watch on the court as part of a sponsorship deal with the Swiss watchmaker.[152]

Nadal replaces Cristiano Ronaldo as the new face of Emporio Armani Underwear and Armani Jeans for the spring/summer 2011 collection that will launch in February.[153] This is the first time that the label has chosen a tennis player for the job; association football has ruled lately prior to Ronaldo, David Beckham graced the ads since 2008.[154] Armani said that he selected Nadal as his latest male underwear model because "...he is ideal as he represents a healthy and positive model for youngsters."[153]
In popular culture

In February 2010 Rafael Nadal was featured in the music video of "Gypsy", the forthcoming single from Shakira[155][156] and part of her album release She Wolf. In explaining why she chose Nadal for the video, Shakira was quoted as saying in an interview with the Latin American Herald Tribune: "I thought that maybe I needed someone I could in some way identify with. And Rafael Nadal is a person who has been totally committed to his career since he was very young. Since he was 17, I believe." She added about "Gypsy": "I've been on the road since I was very, very young, so that's where the gypsy metaphor comes from."[157][158][159]
Misc

128036 Rafaelnadal is a Main belt asteroid discovered in 2003 at the Observatorio Astronómico de Mallorca, Spain and named after Rafael Nadal.[160]
Off the court
Involvement in football

Nadal has recently become seriously involved in Spanish football. Rafa is an avid fan of soccer club Real Madrid. On 8 July 2010 it was reported that Nadal has become a shareholder of RCD Mallorca, his local club by birth, in an attempt to assist the club from debt.[161] Rafa reportedly owns 10% and was offered the role of vice president, but he rejected that offer.[162] Though, his uncle Miguel Ángel Nadal, became assistant coach under Michael Laudrup. Ironically, Rafael remains a passionate Real Madrid supporter; ESPN.com writer Graham Hunter wrote, "He's as Merengue as [Real Madrid icons] Raúl, Iker Casillas and Alfredo Di Stéfano." Shortly after acquiring his interest in Mallorca, he called out UEFA for apparent hypocrisy in ejecting the club from the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League for excessive debts, saying through a club spokesperson, "Well, if those are the criteria upon which UEFA is operating, then European competition will only comprise two or three clubs because all the rest are in debt, too."[163]

He is also a fervent supporter of the Spanish national team, and was one of only six people not affiliated with the team or the national federation allowed into the team's locker room immediately following Spain's victory in the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final.[163]
Philanthropy

Rafael Nadal took part in Thailand's ‘A Million Trees For The King’ project, planting a tree in honour of King Bhumibol Adulyadej on a visit to Hua Hin during his Thailand Open 2010. "For me it's an honour to part of this project," said Nadal. "It's a very good project. I want to congratulate the Thai people and congratulate the King for this unbelievable day. I wish all the best for this idea. It's very, very nice."[164]

The Rafa Nadal Foundation

The creation of the organization took place in November 2007 and its official presentation was in February 2008 at the Manacor Tennis Club in Mallorca, Spain. The foundation will focus on social work and development aid particularly on childhood and youth.[165] On deciding why to start a foundation, "This can be the beginning of my future, when I retire and have more time,[...] I am doing very well and I owe society, [...] A month-and-a-half ago I was in Chennai, in India. The truth is we live great here....I can contribute something with my image..." Nadal was inspired by the Red Cross benefit match against malaria with Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas, recalling, "We raised an amount of money that we would never have imagined. I have to thank Iker, my project partner, who went all out for it,[...] That is why the time has come to set up my own foundation and determine the destination of the money." Ana Maria Parera, Rafa's mom, will chair the organization and father Sebastian will be vice-chairman. Coach and uncle Toni Nadal and his agent, former tennis player Carlos Costa, are also involved. Roger Federer has been giving Rafa advice on getting involved in philanthropy. Despite the fact that poverty in India struck him particularly hard, Nadal wants to start by helping "people close by, in the Balearic Islands, in Spain, and then, if possible, abroad."[166]

On 16 October 2010, Rafa traveled to India for the first time to assist in the transformation of one of the poorest and most needy areas of India, Andhra Pradesh. He has an academy in the south of the country, in the state of Andhra Pradesh. His foundation has also worked in the Anantapur Educational Center project, in collaboration with the Vicente Ferrer Foundation.[167]
Personal life

Nadal owns an Aston Martin DBS.[168] Nadal lived with his parents and younger sister Maria Isabel, at an age when many tennis stars have long moved out, in a five-story apartment building in their hometown of Manacor, Mallorca. In June 2009, Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia and then The New York Times reported that Nadal's parents, Ana Maria and Sebastian, had separated. This news came after weeks of heated speculation in Internet posts and message boards over Nadal's personal issues as the cause of his setback.[169] Nadal has revealed himself to be Agnostic.[170]
See also
Tennis ball.svg Tennis portal

ATP World Tour records
List of ATP number 1 ranked players
List of Grand Slam men's singles champions
List of non-Grand Slam tennis statistics and records
128036 Rafaelnadal asteroid
List of open era tennis records
ATP Awards

References from Wikipedia.com