Rafael Nadal- Spanish Tennis Superstar
Rafael Nadal- Spanish Tennis Superstar. World No 4, Spanish Tennis Superstar Rafael Nadal is popular as “Rafa” among his admirers. He ranked as world no 1 for 299 weeks and he topped no 1 for five times in his career. It is great to notice that he managed to maintain his rank in the list of top 10 tennis players in the world since his first appearance in 2005. To date, Nadal has won 22 grand slams in men’s singles.
Career
Rafael Nadal made his professional appearance at 15 years of age. In 2001, he participated in two events on the ITF Junior circuit. In 2003, Nadal won the Challenger title and finished at 49th Rank.
2005 was the big year in Nadal’s career as he became the youngest player in the Tenis history to qualify for the 3rd round at the Miami Masters. He played the Devis cup in 2004 and won the trophy by defeating Andy Roddick.
Rafael Nadal got massive success in 2006, and he won many Titles in Tennis tournaments like Dubai Duty-Free Men’s Open,’ ‘Masters Series Monte Carlo,’ and ‘Masters Series Internazionali BNL d’Italia. Nadal faced Roger Federer at French Open and won the match in a Tie Breaker. He became the first player who won a Grand Slam Against Federer.
In 2008, Nadal reached Chennai Open Final but unfortunately lost to Russian player Mikhail Youzhny. He suffered from a knee injury during the Australian Open and took his name off the tournament. In 2010 he won US Open beating Novak Djokovic. In 2019, Rafael Nadal won Australian Open and US Open Titles. Thus, he bagged his 19th Grand Slam.
Personal life
Born in 1986, June 3rd, to an entrepreneur in Spain, Rafael Nadal started playing Tennis at age three. His uncle was his first coach. He won several medals when he was just 12 years old.
Awards and Honor
- He was honored with the ATP Newcomer of the Year Award in 2003.
- In 2005 he was awarded the Golden Bagel Award when he won 11 straight sets without losing a single one.
- He was honored with Best Male Tennis Player for his consistency from 2011 to 2014.