Nadal, Rafael

▪ 2008

Rafael Nadal Parera 

born June 3, 1986, Manacor, Mallorca, Spain

 By 2007 Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal had established himself unequivocally as one of the most indefatigable competitors in the game, winning three consecutive French Open championships from 2005 to 2007 and ranking number two in the world for most of that period.

      Nadal grew up in a sports-minded family; his uncle Miguel Ángel Nadal was a professional association football (soccer) player who competed in the 1994, 1998, and 2002 World Cups. Rafael began playing tennis at the age of four, guided by another uncle, Toni Nadal, who remained his coach on the pro tour. In his early years, Nadal (who wrote with his right hand) played left-handed tennis with his forehand and backhand both two-handed, but when he was 12, his uncle encouraged him to adopt a more conventional left-handed style. Nadal stuck with his two-handed backhand but switched to what became his signature one-handed forehand, the stroke that was credited with lifting him into the sport's upper echelons.

      Nadal, who officially turned professional in 2001, appeared in only one Grand Slam tournament as a junior competitor, when he reached the semifinals at the 2002 All-England championships (Wimbledon). He began his professional career in earnest the next year, breaking into the top 50 in the world. In 2004 he played a crucial role as Spain defeated the United States 3–2 in the Davis Cup final. Toppling Andy Roddick—then number two in the world—in a four-set opening-day singles clash, Nadal became the youngest player (at 18 years 6 months) in the history of the prestigious international team competition to win a singles match for a victorious country.

      That Davis Cup title set the stage for a wide range of successes. Driving his forehand with a devastatingly potent heavy topspin and covering the court with alacrity, Nadal quickly became fully engaged in a stirring rivalry with world number one Roger Federer, toppling his Swiss adversary in 8 of their first 13 meetings, beginning with the 2004 ATP Masters Series Miami. In 2005 Nadal set a record for a teenage male player by chalking up 11 tournament victories, including a triumph at his French Open debut, when he upset Federer in the semifinals. The next year, Nadal secured five more titles on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tour, including his second straight French Open win—this time eclipsing Federer in the final. He also reached his first final on the grass at Wimbledon before falling to Federer. In 2007 Nadal extended his victories on clay surfaces to a record 81 consecutive matches before losing to Federer on May 20 in the final of the ATP Masters Series Hamburg. After bouncing back to win his third title at Roland Garros, Nadal lost again to Federer in a grueling 3-hour 45-minute five-set Wimbledon final. He fared poorly at the U.S. Open, losing in the fourth round as he struggled with apparent knee problems. Nadal finished the year still ranked number two, however, with career winnings of more than $12 million.

Steve Flink

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▪ Spanish tennis player

in full  Rafael Nadal Parera , byname  Rafa Nadal 

born June 3, 1986, Manacor, Mallorca, Spain

 

 Spanish tennis player who emerged in the early 21st century as one of the game's leading competitors, especially noted for his performance on clay. From 2005 to 2008 he won four consecutive French Open championships.

      Nadal grew up in a sports-minded family; his uncle Miguel Angel Nadal was a professional association football (soccer) player who competed in the 2002 World Cup. Rafael began playing tennis at age four, guided by another uncle, Toni Nadal, who remained his coach on the professional tour. In his early years, Nadal (who wrote with his right hand) played left-handed tennis with both a two-handed forehand and backhand. When he was 12, however, his uncle encouraged him to adopt a more conventional left-handed style. Nadal stuck with his two-handed backhand but switched to what became his signature one-handed forehand, the stroke that was credited with lifting him into the sport's upper echelons.

      Nadal, who officially turned professional in 2001, had appeared in only one grand slam tournament as a junior competitor when he reached the semifinals at the 2002 Wimbledon (Wimbledon Championships) championships. He began his professional career in earnest the next year, breaking into the top 50 in the world. In 2004 he played a crucial role in Spain's defeat of the United States in the Davis Cup final. Toppling Andy Roddick—then number two in the world—in a four-set opening-day singles clash, Nadal became the youngest player (at 18 years 6 months) in the history of the international team competition to win a singles match for a victorious country.

 Driving his forehand with a devastatingly potent heavy topspin and covering the court with alacrity, Nadal quickly became one of the top players on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tour. He also developed a rivalry with world number one Roger Federer (Federer, Roger). In 2005 Nadal set a record for a teenage male player by registering 11 tournament victories, including a triumph at his French Open (Roland Garros) debut, when he upset Federer in the semifinals. The next year, Nadal secured five more titles on the ATP tour, including his second straight French Open win—this time besting Federer in the final. He also reached his first final on the grass at Wimbledon before falling to Federer.

      In 2007 Nadal extended his victories on clay surfaces to a record 81 consecutive matches before losing to Federer on May 20 in the final of the ATP Masters Series Hamburg (Ger.). After bouncing back to win his third title at Roland Garros, Nadal lost to Federer in a grueling five-set Wimbledon final lasting 3 hours 45 minutes. The two met once again in the 2008 French Open final, where Nadal overpowered Federer to win his fourth straight tournament title, tying Björn Borg (Borg, Björn)'s record for consecutive French Open wins. Nadal and Federer met in a third consecutive Wimbledon final in 2008. This time Nadal won his fifth career grand slam title—in a five-set match lasting 4 hours 48 minutes, the longest men's singles final in Wimbledon history—and thus became the first man since Borg (1980) to collect both the French Open and the Wimbledon title in the same year. In August 2008 Nadal won the men's singles gold medal at the Olympic Games in Beijing, and he took over the number one world ranking from Federer in the same month. In 2009 he won his first Australian Open championship after he again bested Federer in a dramatic five-set final match.

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