Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal

Country (sports)	Spain
Residence	Manacor, Mallorca
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Turned pro	2001
Plays	Left-handed; two-handed backhand
Prize money	US$17,987,823
Singles
Career record	302 - 73
Career titles	29
Highest ranking	No. 2 (July 25, 2005)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	SF (2008)
French Open	W (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)
US Open	QF (2007)
Doubles
Career record	65 - 43
Career titles	4
Highest ranking	No. 26 (August 8, 2005)
Last updated on: June 16, 2008.

Rafael Nadal Parera (IPA: [rafaˈel naˈdal]) (born June 3, 1986, in Manacor, Mallorca) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is ranked world number two (for a record 156 consecutive weeks), is a four-time singles French Open champion (2005/06/07/08).

Nadal is undefeated at the French Open, having won all 28 matches played at that tournament. He has a storied rivalry with Roger Federer, most notably for defeating the world number one at the French Open in 2006, 2007 and 2008, so far denying Federer all four Grand Slams titles in a single calendar year. From April 2005 to May 2007, Nadal won a record 81 consecutive clay court matches before being defeated by Federer in the 2007 Hamburg Masters final. This is the longest winning streak of any male player on a single surface in the open era. These achievements have led many to regard Nadal as the greatest clay-court player in the history of the sport.

Family and early life

Rafael Nadal was born in Manacor, Mallorca to Sebastián Nadal and Ana María Parera; he has a younger sister named María Isabel. His uncle, Miguel Ángel, is a retired professional football player, having played for RCD Mallorca, FC Barcelona, and the Spanish national team. Nadal remains an avid supporter of RCD Mallorca, as well as Real Madrid. His other uncle, Toni, a professional tennis player himself, introduced him to tennis as a 3 year-old boy and has been coaching him ever since. Toni has also stated that Nadal had a natural talent playing tennis whilst Nadal himself preferred to play Football. By the time Nadal was five, he was going to the tennis club twice a week to play and at eight years of age, and a promising striker in the local football team, he won the regional tennis championships for under-12s. By the time Nadal was 12 he had won the Spanish and European tennis titles in his age group and was playing either tennis or football all the time. Then in stepped the third of the three brothers, Rafael’s father, Sebastian. Nadal's father made him choose between Football and tennis so his school work didn’t suffer. When Nadal was 14 years old, the Spanish tennis federation requested that he leave Mallorca and move to Barcelona to continue his tennis progression and training. Nadal's parents and uncles turned down these requests, meaning Nadal received less financial support to aid his development. Rafael's father Sebastian covered these costs himself. By the age of 16, Nadal was ranked in the world's top 50 players. While Nadal's upbringing and early years are largely kept private, he has stated growing up his passions were Football, Tennis and Fishing.

Career

Early years

Although Nadal plays left-handed, he is naturally right-handed. When he was younger, his coach and uncle, Toni Nadal, decided that his two-handed backhand would benefit from a strong right arm, so he taught Rafael to play with his left.

It was not until Nadal was 12 that he decided to pursue a career in tennis instead of football. In May 2001, when Nadal was 14 years old, tennis great Pat Cash played a clay-court exhibition match against him. Cash, who was originally scheduled to play Boris Becker, was reluctant to play against Nadal, taking offense to this last minute change of opponent. Cash lost the match by a close margin.

Nadal also trained at Nick Bollettieri's tennis camp in Florida for a short time during two summers in his early teens.

2002 - 2004

In 2002, the 15-year-old Nadal won his first ATP match, defeating Ramon Delgado in Mallorca to become the ninth player in the open era to win an ATP match before his 16th birthday.

In 2003, Nadal became the second-youngest player to be ranked among the world's top 100 singles players. He finished the year in the top 50, winning two Challenger titles. At his Wimbledon debut, Nadal, then 17, became the youngest male player to reach the third round since 16-year-old Boris Becker in 1984.

In 2004, Nadal was forced to miss most of the clay-court season, including the French Open, due to a stress fracture in his left ankle.

2005

Rafael Nadal in New Haven

2005 was Nadal's breakthrough year. At the Australian Open, he reached the fourth round and pushed the eventual runner-up, Lleyton Hewitt, to five sets. Two months later, he reached the final of the Miami Masters tournament, and despite being two points away from victory in straight sets, he was defeated in five sets by the world's number one player, Roger Federer.

Shifting to the clay court season, Nadal won two ATP Masters Series events in Monte Carlo and Rome. At one point in the year, Nadal won 24 consecutive matches, the longest winning streak of any teenager in the open era, topping Andre Agassi's run of 23 matches in 1988. By May 2005, Nadal had reached the top 5 in the world rankings, becoming the youngest player to break into the top 10 since Andrei Medvedev in 1993.

Nadal entered his first French Open among the favorites. He beat two of France's local hopes, Sébastien Grosjean and Richard Gasquet, to reach the semifinals. On his 19th birthday, he defeated Federer in the semifinals, preventing the Swiss from potentially achieving a career Grand Slam. Two days later, he became the fourth-youngest French Open champion in the open era, defeating Argentina's Mariano Puerta in the final. He became the seventh player to win a Grand Slam in his first appearance at the event and the first since Agassi at the 1995 Australian Open, and he is one of only two people to win at Roland Garros on their first attempt, the first being Mats Wilander in 1982. He also became the first teenager to win a Grand Slam singles title since Pete Sampras won the 1990 U.S. Open at age 19. Nadal is the first teenager to win at least six titles in a year since Agassi in 1988 at the age of 18.

Three days after his victory in Paris, his winning streak was snapped on the grass courts of Halle, Germany, where he was beaten by German Alexander Waske in the first round. He suffered another disappointment at the 2005 Wimbledon Championships, where he was eliminated in the second round by Gilles Müller of Luxembourg.

In July, at age 19 years, 1 month, and 22 days, Nadal became the third teenager to reach World No. 2 in the history of the ATP computer rankings, which began in 1973, joining Boris Becker (age 18 years, 9 months, and 17 days) and Björn Borg (age 18 years, 10 months, and 2 days) as the only teenagers to be ranked No. 2.

Nadal started his 2005 hardcourt season by defeating Agassi in the final of the Canada Masters. Nadal was seeded second at the 2005 U.S. Open but was eliminated in the third round by American James Blake in four sets. Despite the loss, his second seeding and third round performance were both career highs. After the 2005 U.S. Open, Nadal won two hard court tournaments. In September, he defeated Guillermo Coria in the final of the China Open in Beijing, and in October, he won his fourth ATP Masters Series event, defeating Ivan Ljubičić in five sets in the final of the Madrid Masters. He then suffered a foot injury that kept him out of the Tennis Masters Cup in 2005 and the start of 2006, causing him to miss the 2006 Australian Open. Overall, Nadal matched world No. 1 Roger Federer's standard in ATP titles won in a single season, eleven, and Masters Series events won, four. He won 79 matches in 2005, second only to Federer's 81.

===2006=== for real

Nadal at the 2006 French Open

The rivalry between Nadal and Roger Federer continued into 2006. In March 2006, Nadal handed Federer his first loss of the year at the final in Dubai, winning 2–6, 6–4, 6–4. Nadal defeated Federer again at the Monte Carlo Masters by a score of 6–2, 6–7, 6–3, 7–6.

The two squared off again in the Rome Masters final. There, it seemed as though Federer might finally defeat his nemesis, thereby ending Nadal's streak of consecutive clay court matches. However, Nadal fought off two match points and won 6–7, 7–6, 6–4, 2–6, 7–6.

Nadal broke Argentinian Guillermo Vilas's 29-year record of 53 consecutive clay court match victories after defeating Robin Soderling in the first round of the 2006 French Open. Following the victory, Nadal was presented with a trophy containing the cross section of the construction of a clay court. Vilas was on hand for the ceremony, although Vilas has refused to acknowledge Nadal's feat as more impressive than his own (which was accomplished in a single season).

At the French Open, Nadal reached the final for the second consecutive year, and squared off against the world's No. 1 player, Roger Federer, in a highly anticipated match. For Federer, the French Open was the missing link in a career Grand Slam and in holding all four majors simultaneously. For Nadal, the task of defending his French Open title, as well as maintaining a dominant winning record against Federer, was enormous, something that no other player had so far accomplished. Though Nadal was the favorite based on his clay court ability, Federer was the overwhelming favorite with the raucous French crowd. Everyone expected a highly competitive match, much like the ones they had played in the last three Masters Series tournaments. Yet the first two sets were hardly competitive as the rivals traded 6–1 sets. Nadal steamrolled over Federer through the third set and most of the fourth. Federer finally broke Nadal's serve deep in the fourth set as he was serving for the match and forced a tiebreak, which Nadal won. With the win, he became the first player to defeat Federer in a Grand Slam final.

With an undefeated 2006 clay court season, Nadal firmly stamped himself as the dominant clay court player in the world and as the only player able to beat Federer consistently.

In the quarterfinals of Queens Club Championships, a Wimbledon tune-up tournament, Nadal withdrew due to a shoulder injury against Lleyton Hewitt. This loss ended a winning streak of 26 matches, the last loss to Carlos Moyà in March.

Seeded No. 2 going into Wimbledon, Nadal reached the finals, securing a match against Federer by beating Marcos Baghdatis in the semifinals. During his run, Nadal was two points from defeat against American qualifier Robert Kendrick in the second round before coming back to win in five sets. Nadal also defeated Andre Agassi in the third round, in Agassi's final match at Wimbledon. All seven of the previous Nadal/Federer encounters had been played on either clay or hard courts; however, Wimbledon is played on grass, Federer's preferred surface. He had won the title three consecutive years. Though Nadal played well in the final after a sluggish start, he fell in four sets, 6–0, 7–6, 6–7, 6–3, cementing Federer's position at the top of the world rankings. Despite the loss, Nadal well exceeded most expectations by reaching the finals, winning more matches at Wimbledon (six) than he had ever won on grass in his entire career. Prior to the 2006 tennis season, Nadal's record on grass courts stood at three wins and three losses, and even the most optimistic predictions suggested that he would be several years away from being a contender on grass.

With their finals appearance, Nadal and Federer became the only pair of men in the open era to reach the Wimbledon final after having both played in the French Open final just a month prior. There have been several men to reach the Wimbledon final after making the French Open final, but never had the same two men accomplished such a feat at the same time. They repeated this feat in 2007 and 2008.

At the 2006 U.S. Open Nadal reached the quarterfinals, his best result at the tournament to date. He lost to Mikhail Youzhny of Russia in four sets. Nadal failed, however, to reach the third round of his next tournament, the Stockholm Open, where he lost to Joachim Johansson 6–4, 7–6. Nadal also lost in the quarterfinals of the Madrid Masters, where he was defeated by Tomáš Berdych 6–3, 7–6 for the third time. After the tournament, Nadal blamed mental and physical exhaustion for his recent losses.

During the round robin stage of the Tennis Masters Cup, Nadal lost to James Blake, but defeated Nikolay Davydenko and Tommy Robredo. Nadal reached the semifinals as the second place finisher in his group, where he lost to Federer 6–4, 7–5. This was Nadal's third loss in nine career matches with Federer. He and Federer played an exhibition match in Seoul, Korea, the week after the Master's Cup, which Federer won in three sets.

2007

Nadal during his final versus Federer at the 2007 French Open.

Nadal started 2007 by reaching the semifinals of the Chennai Open in India, where he lost to Xavier Malisse 6–4, 7–6. At his next tournament in Sydney, Australia, Nadal retired from his first match against Chris Guccione with a groin injury. At the Australian Open, Nadal defeated Andy Murray 6–7(3), 6–4, 4–6, 6–3, 6–1 to reach the quarterfinals, where he lost to Fernando González 6–2, 6–4, 6–3.

In the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships, Nadal lost to Mikhail Youzhny 7–6, 6–2. After that loss, he played at the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, defeating Novak Đjoković 6–2, 7–5 in the final. However, at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, Nadal was defeated in the quarterfinals by tenth seeded and eventual winner Đjoković 6–3, 6–4.

Nadal defeated Federer in the final of the Monte Carlo Masters 6–4, 6–4. This was Nadal's third consecutive title in the principality, the first player since Ilie Năstase in 1971-73 to accomplish that feat. He followed that hat-trick with another one at the Open Seat in Barcelona, Spain, defeating Guillermo Cañas in the final. At the Rome Masters, Nadal continued his hat-trick streak, beating Fernando González in the final 6–2, 6–2 to become the first man to win in Rome three consecutive years. At the Hamburg Masters, Nadal lost the final to Federer 2–6, 6–2, 6–0. The loss ended Nadal's clay court winning streak at 81, which is the male open-era record for most consecutive victories on a single surface. He thus surpassed John McEnroe's 75-match streak record on indoor carpet.

On May 2, 2007, the "Battle of Surfaces," an exhibition event, took place at the Palma Arena in Mallorca. Nadal and Federer met on a tennis court that is half grass and half clay. Nadal won 7–5, 4–6, 7–6(10).

Nadal and Federer would meet in the final of the French Open for the second consecutive year, and in the latter stages of the tournament for the third time in a row. Nadal prevailed in four sets, 6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4, winning his third straight championship at Roland Garros. With this victory, he became the first player to win the French Open in three consecutive years since Björn Borg in 1978-81. He once again prevented Roger Federer from achieving the career Grand Slam and holding all four major titles simultaneously.

In preparation for Wimbledon, Nadal played the grass court Queen's Club Championships, losing in the quarterfinals to Frenchman Nicolas Mahut 7–5, 7–6(0).

In Wimbledon, Nadal reached his second final in a row, having been beaten by Federer in the final there in 2006. Nadal's road to the final proved difficult — he was pushed to the limit both in the third and fourth round, ultimately prevailing in tough five-set matches on each occasion. In his fourth round match against the talented Russian Mikhail Youzhny, Nadal's mental strength was key in enabling him to win. Having been outplayed in the first two sets, Nadal immediately bounced back to seal an impressive victory 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2. Numerous rain delays also kept him on the court for seven straight days. In the quarterfinals, Nadal defeated Tomáš Berdych in straight sets, and was awarded victory in his semifinal when fourth seed Novak Đoković retired injured. However, he was defeated 7–6(7), 4–6, 7–6(3), 2–6, 6–2 in the final by Federer, giving the Swiss his fifth straight triumph at Wimbledon. While leading 4–1 in the fourth set, Nadal had to take some time out to have an ailing knee taped, and although he exhibited no apparent ill effects, the direction of the match then turned in Federer's favour. Early in the fifth set, Nadal failed to convert four break point chances at 15-40 in two consecutive Federer service games.

Despite this loss, Nadal remained the only active player with a winning record (8–6) against Federer after five matches or more. Nadal is 6–1 on clay, 2–3 on hard courts, and 0–2 on grass against Federer. With his achievement in Wimbledon 2007, Nadal is also both the first player that has forced Federer to a fifth set in a Grand Slam (tennis) final, and the first to take Federer to a fifth set at Wimbledon since his 2001 fourth round encounter with Pete Sampras.

At the clay-court tournament in Stuttgart, his first tournament since Wimbledon, Nadal defeated comeback player Stanislas Wawrinka in the final to win his second title there in three years (he did not participate in 2006). It was his 23rd title.

Nadal then played the Canada Masters tournament, an event he won in 2005. He reached the semifinal, where he lost to the eventual winner Novak Đjoković 7–5, 6–3. The following week, at the Cincinnati Masters, Nadal retired from his first match (a second-round encounter with Juan Mónaco who was leading 7–6, 4–1). Although Nadal had been struggling with a knee injury, it was a problem with his forearm that caused him to retire.

At the 2007 U.S. Open, Nadal was defeated in the fourth round by countryman David Ferrer in four sets, 6–7, 6–4, 7–6, 6–2. He also lost in the 2007 Madrid Masters quarterfinals. He lost to eventual titlist David Nalbandian 6–1, 6–2. At the 2007 Paris Masters, Nadal reached the semifinals where he slimly defeated Marcos Baghdatis. He faced David Nalbandian in the final again, and lost again, 6–4, 6–0. By reaching the final of the Paris Masters, the Cincinnati Masters becomes the only ATP Masters Series event to which Nadal has not reached the title match.

Nadal participated in the Tennis Masters Cup,defeating Richard Gasquet 3–6, 6–3, 6–4 in the first match of round-robin contention. He then lost to David Ferrer 4–6 6–4 6–3, followed by a 6–4, 6–4 victory in the match against Novak Đoković. Nadal's advance to the semifinals was guaranteed after Richard Gasquet of France lost 6–1, 6–1, to David Ferrer. The semifinal proved to be the last match of the season as he was beaten 6–4 6–1 by Roger Federer.

During the close season a very serious problem with his foot, that might hinder his career, was raised by his coach. However Nadal himself and his doctor denied this: they both claimed he was in perfect health.

2008

Nadal started his year as the top seed at the Chennai Open. In the semifinals, Nadal defeated fellow countryman Carlos Moyà in 3 hours, 54 minutes, 6–7(3), 7–6(8), 7–6(1). This match equaled the record for the longest three set match in ATP tour history that Andrei Cherkasov and Andrea Gaudenzi previously held. In the final, Nadal was defeated by Mikhail Youzhny 6–0, 6–1.

At the 2008 Australian Open, Nadal defeated Jarkko Nieminen in the quarterfinals and thereby reached the semifinals for the first time. He was defeated by unseeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6–2, 6–3, 6–2 despite having not lost a set in his previous five matches.

In Rotterdam, he was upset by Andreas Seppi, who defeated him 3–6, 6–3, 6–4 in the second round. At the Dubai Tennis Championships, Nadal reached the quarter finals where he lost to the eventual champion, Andy Roddick in straight sets 7–6, 6–2. At the 2008 Pacific Life Open, Nadal, the defending champion, fell to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals 6–2, 6–3, after three set wins against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and James Blake.

In the next week, in the 2008 Sony Ericsson Open, Nadal fell to Nikolay Davydenko in the final 4–6 2–6. Nadal followed this up with a fourth straight Monte Carlo Masters victory, defeating Roger Federer, 7–5, 7–5, coupled with a 6–3, 6–3, 6-2 triumph in the doubles partnering Tommy Robredo. He thereby became only the second player in history to win both the singles and doubles of a Masters Series tournament, the other being Jim Courier at the 1991 Indian Wells tournament.

Nadal followed this up a week later with his 25th career ATP title in Barcelona, his fourth win in a row there, by beating his compatriot David Ferrer in three sets. This improved his record to 20–1 in clay court finals, and he has won 103 of his last 104 matches on clay.

At the 2008 Rome Masters, Nadal, affected by his painful right foot , was upset by fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero in the second round in straight sets 7-5, 6-1. It was only his second loss in his last 105 clay court matches, and his first-ever loss in Rome.

At the 2008 Hamburg Masters, Nadal defeated Novak Djokovic 7–5, 2–6, 6–2 in a semi final lasting more than three hours. On May 18, Nadal went on capture his 11th ATP Masters Series crown after defeating Roger Federer in the final 7–5, 6–7, 6–3. He thereby became only the third player since 1990 to have captured all three clay-court Masters Series titles (Monte Carlo, Rome and Hamburg) in his career, the other two being Gustavo Kuerten and Marcelo Rios.

At the 2008 French Open, Nadal won his first round match in straight sets by beating Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci 7-5, 6-3, 6-1. In his second round match, Nadal beat Frenchman Nicolas Devilder 6-4, 6-0, 6-1. In his fourth straight day on the court, he disposed of the Finn Jarkko Nieminen 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 in the third round. In the fourth round, Nadal beat Spaniard and 22nd seed, Fernando Verdasco 6-1, 6-0, 6-2. This was Nadal's 4th straight left hander in the French Open. In the quarterfinals, Nadal beat another Spaniard, the 19th seed Nicolas Almagro, 6-1, 6-1, 6-1. He had dropped just 25 games to this point (a record for fewest games lost through the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam event in the Open Era), an average of five per match. In his semifinal, Nadal overcame third seed Novak Djokovic, 6-4 6-2 7-6(3), to book a place in the final against Roger Federer. He is the third player in history (after Bjorn Borg and Ivan Lendl) to play four consecutive French Open finals. Nadal won the final match over Federer 6-1 6-3 6-0, tying Bjorn Borg's record of four consecutive Roland Garros singles titles. He won the tournament without dropping a set, thereby becoming only the 5th player to have completed this feat, after Bjorn Borg, Ken Rosewall, Ilie Nastase, and Roger Federer during the open era. Nadal paid respectful tribute to opponent Roger Federer after his victory. This was the first time since 1999 that someone had won a 6–0 set against Federer.

At the Queen's Club Championships, he overcame Ivo Karlović's 35 aces and won the quaterfinals, 6–7(5), 7–6(5), 7–6(4). He defeated the four-time and defending champion Andy Roddick in the semifinals, 7–5, 6–4. He then went on to defeat Novak Djokovic in the final, 7-6(6), 7-5 to capture his first ATP title on grass. With the win, Nadal became the first Spanish player to win a Grass Court Event (Queens) during the open era, and the second player in the Open era (after Ilie Nastase) to win this tournament as reigning French Open champion.

After winning the 2008 Queen's Club Championships, beating Novak Djokovic 7–6(6), 7–5, Nadal entered the 2008 Wimbledon Championships. In the first round Nadal met Andreas Beck winning 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(0) and eased into the second round to face Ernests Gulbis. In a surprise 4 set match Nadal overcame Gulbis 5-7, 6-2, 7-6(2), 6-3. In round 3, Nicolas Kiefer was the next player eliminated by Nadal losing 7-6 (3), 6-2, 6-3 giving Nadal a 4th round tie against Russian Mikhail Youzhny. Once again Nadal cruised to a straight sets win over Youzhny winning 6-3, 6-3, 6-1. After progressing into the quarter finals, Nadal was matched against British number 1 Andy Murray in one of the most anticipated matches of the tournament. Nadal defeated Murray in straight sets 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to book a place in the 2008 Wimbledon Championships semifinal against Rainer Schuettler. Nadal will once again meet world number one Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final after beating Schuettler 6-1 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 in the semifinal. Nadal then went on to beat Roger Federer 3-2 in sets to win the 2008 wimbledon final.

Playing style

Nadal at the 2006 Cincinnati Masters.

Nadal's playing style is best tailored for clay courts; although currently his tennis is suited to all courts. In past years Nadal has been called a clay court specialist, but he has suited his game for grass and hard courts in the last 2 years. Playing with a strong two-handed backhand, well-angled topspin heavy strokes, fast mobility on the court, excellent defense and a preference to play from the deep court, he has developed into one of the best clay court players in the history of the game, if not the single, greatest, clay player to have ever lived. He uses a full western grip forehand, which allows him to hit heavy, powerful topspin forehands giving him a bigger margin of error because of the height at which he clears the net and the speed at which the ball drops because of the topspin that is applied to the ball. His heavy topspin makes the ball kick up high in the air, which makes it extremely difficult to return. However, these types of shots are returned short in length but the spin kicks it up so high that this kind of play is sufficient on clay. He is naturally right-handed, but he plays left-handed, and uses his dominant hand as an anchor for his two-handed backhand which he can flatten out or hit topspin like his forehand. In addition, being naturally right handed allows him to be balanced regardless of which foot he is putting his weight on, an exceptional talent when one tries to hit the ball after starting a move in the wrong direction. Known for his excellent defense, Nadal hits on the run well and creates many winners from seemingly defensive positions. Rafael Nadal is extremely athletic, and tends to go after every shot, even apparent winners from his opponents. However, he has been criticized by players for taking an extraordinary amount of time between points.

Nadal's serve was not considered one of his strengths, compared to other players. However, it has become more of a weapon over the years; currently a highly effective first serve and a moderate second serve. Usually employing a hard lefty slice towards most of his opponents' backhands (right-handed opponents), his serve can be relied upon for consistency and also for some short-point wins such as Aces and bad service-returns. With excellent accuracy, power, and consistency, his topspin ground strokes are his main assets.

Another one of Nadal's strengths is the mental aspect of his tennis game. His ability to come back from behind in a match greatly assists him. He also has good footwork, which helps him to prepare for tennis strokes and get around the court efficiently. In addition, he can put away short balls and comes to the net quite often. Rafael Nadal has an under-emphasized net game. He is able to volley deep, but his main strength at the net is his touch and feel. Nadal is good at angling volleys away from his opponents and can hit drop volleys well after running extremely quick up to the net to return any drop shot given by his opponents.

Overall, Nadal is an aggressive counterpuncher, forcing his opponents to make errors with his powerful topspin ground strokes, his speed and overall athleticism, his mental fortitude, and his ability to put away short balls.

He's known for a number of quirks on the playing field including "ultra-precise drink bottle positioning on changeovers", obsessive toweling off between points" and equally obsessive wiping of the lines between points with a trainer sole, even when those lines are already clean." Most notable, perhaps, is his "backward grab at the seat of his tennis shorts," which he himself attributes to his "bottom" being: "A little bigger than usual."

Equipment

Nadal uses a Babolat AeroPro Drive without cortex. Despite common belief that he uses the string "Babolat Pro Hurricane Tour 16", he actually uses the string "Babolat Duralast". This model's handle is (L2 grip= 4 1/4)) with no replacement grip, instead Nadal wraps 2 over grips, and the racquet strung between 55 and 65 pounds. His clothing sponsor is Nike. Nadal is known for his unconventional wear, turning up in sleeveless tops and Capri pants in a variety of colours. He wears the Nike Air Max Breathe Cage II shoes which have been customized for him with the famous "Vamos Rafa" written on the back of them. Currently, his shoes display his nickname "Rafa" on one shoe and a logo specifically designed by Nike featuring a stylistic bull's head on the other.

Career statistics

Grand Slam singles finals (7)

Wins (5)

Year	Championship	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
2005	French Open	Mariano Puerta	6–7 (6), 6–3, 6–1, 7–5
2006	French Open (2)	Roger Federer	1–6, 6–1, 6–4, 7–6 (4)
2007	French Open (3)	Roger Federer	6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4
2008	French Open (4)	Roger Federer	6–1, 6–3, 6–0

Runner-ups (2)

Year	Championship	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
2006	Wimbledon	Roger Federer	6–0, 7–6 (5), 6–7 (2), 6–3
2007	Wimbledon (2)	Roger Federer	7–6 (7), 4–6, 7–6 (3), 2–6, 6–2

ATP Masters Series singles finals (15)

Wins (11)

Year	Championship	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
2005	Monte Carlo	Guillermo Coria	6–3, 6–1, 0–6, 7–5
2005	Rome	Guillermo Coria	6–4, 3–6, 6–3, 4–6, 7–6 (6)
2005	Montréal	Andre Agassi	6–3, 4–6, 6–2
2005	Madrid	Ivan Ljubičić	3–6, 2–6, 6–3, 6–4, 7–6 (3)
2006	Monte Carlo (2)	Roger Federer	6–4, 6–7 (2), 6–3, 7–6 (5)
2006	Rome (2)	Roger Federer	6–7 (0), 7–6 (5), 6–4, 2–6, 7–6 (5)
2007	Indian Wells	Novak Đoković	6–2, 7–5
2007	Monte Carlo (3)	Roger Federer	6–4, 6–4
2007	Rome (3)	Fernando González	6–2, 6–2
2008	Monte Carlo (4)	Roger Federer	7–5, 7–5
2008	Hamburg	Roger Federer	7–5, 6–7(3), 6–3

Runner-ups (4)

Year	Championship	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
2005	Miami	Roger Federer	2–6, 6–7, 7–6, 6–3, 6–1
2007	Hamburg	Roger Federer	2–6, 6–2, 6–0
2007	Paris	David Nalbandian	6–4, 6–0
2008	Miami (2)	Nikolay Davydenko	6–4, 6–2

All finals (43)

Singles (36)

Wins (28)

Legend Grand Slam (4) Tennis Masters Cup (0) ATP Masters Series (11) ATP Tour (13)

Titles by Surface Hard (5) Clay (22) Grass (1) Carpet (0)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score
1.	15 August 2004	Sopot, Poland	Clay	José Acasuso	6–3, 6–4
2.	20 February 2005	Costa do Sauípe, Brazil	Clay	Alberto Martín	6–0, 6–7(2), 6–1
3.	27 February 2005	Acapulco, Mexico	Clay	Albert Montañés	6–1, 6–0
4.	17 April 2005	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Clay	Guillermo Coria	6–3, 6–1, 0–6, 7–5
5.	24 April 2005	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Juan Carlos Ferrero	6–1, 7–6(4), 6–3
6.	8 May 2005	Rome, Italy	Clay	Guillermo Coria	6–4, 3–6, 6–3, 4–6, 7–6(6)
7.	5 June 2005	French Open, Paris, France	Clay	Mariano Puerta	6–7(6), 6–3, 6–1, 7–5
8.	10 July 2005	Båstad, Sweden	Clay	Tomáš Berdych	2–6, 6–2, 6–4
9.	24 July 2005	Stuttgart, Germany	Clay	Gastón Gaudio	6–3, 6–3, 6–4
10.	14 August 2005	Montréal, Canada	Hard	Andre Agassi	6–3, 4–6, 6–2
11.	18 September 2005	Beijing, China	Hard	Guillermo Coria	5–7, 6–1, 6–2
12.	23 October 2005	Madrid, Spain	Hard*	Ivan Ljubičić	3–6, 2–6, 6–3, 6–4, 7–6(3)
13.	4 March 2006	Dubai, UAE	Hard	Roger Federer	2–6, 6–4, 6–4
14.	23 April 2006	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Clay	Roger Federer	6–2, 6–7(2), 6–3, 7–6(5)
15.	30 April 2006	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Tommy Robredo	6–4, 6–4, 6–0
16.	14 May 2006	Rome, Italy	Clay	Roger Federer	6–7(0), 7–6(5), 6–4, 2–6, 7–6(5)
17.	11 June 2006	French Open, Paris, France	Clay	Roger Federer	1–6, 6–1, 6–4, 7–6(4)
18.	18 March 2007	Indian Wells, California, U.S.	Hard	Novak Djokovic	6–2, 7–5
19.	22 April 2007	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Clay	Roger Federer	6–4, 6–4
20.	29 April 2007	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Guillermo Cañas	6–3, 6–4
21.	13 May 2007	Rome, Italy	Clay	Fernando González	6–2, 6–2
22.	10 June 2007	French Open, Paris, France	Clay	Roger Federer	6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4
23.	22 July 2007	Stuttgart, Germany	Clay	Stanislas Wawrinka	6–4, 7–5
24.	27 April 2008	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Clay	Roger Federer	7–5, 7–5
25.	4 May 2008	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	David Ferrer	6–1, 4–6, 6–1
26.	18 May 2008	Hamburg, Germany	Clay	Roger Federer	7–5, 6–7(3), 6–3
27.	8 June 2008	French Open, Paris, France	Clay	Roger Federer	6-1, 6-3, 6-0
28.	15 June 2008	London/Queen's Club, England	Grass	Novak Djokovic	7-6(6), 7-5

Runners-up (8)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score
1.	18 January 2004	Auckland, New Zealand	Hard	Dominik Hrbatý	4–6 6–2 7–5
2.	3 April 2005	Miami, USA	Hard	Roger Federer	2–6, 6–7(4), 7–6(5), 6–3, 6–1
3.	9 July 2006	Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom	Grass	Roger Federer	6–0, 7–6(5), 6–7(2), 6–3
4.	20 May 2007	Hamburg, Germany	Clay	Roger Federer	2–6, 6–2, 6–0
5.	8 July 2007	Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom	Grass	Roger Federer	7–6(7), 4–6, 7–6(3), 2–6, 6–2
6.	4 November 2007	Paris, France	Hard*	David Nalbandian	6–4, 6–0
7.	6 January 2008	Chennai, India	Hard	Mikhail Youzhny	6–0, 6–1
8.	6 April 2008	Miami, USA	Hard	Nikolay Davydenko	6–4, 6–2

Doubles (7)

Wins (4)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partnering	Opponents in the final	Score
1.	27 July 2003	Umag, Croatia	Clay	Álex López Morón	Todd Perry Thomas Shimada	6–1, 6–3
2.	11 January 2004	Chennai, India	Hard	Tommy Robredo	Jonathan Erlich Andy Ram	7–6(3), 4–6, 6–3
3.	9 January 2005	Doha, Qatar	Hard	Albert Costa	Andrei Pavel Mikhail Youzhny	6–3, 4–6, 6–3
4.	27 April 2008	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Clay	Tommy Robredo	Mahesh Bhupathi Mark Knowles	6–3, 6–3

Runner-ups (3)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partnering	Opponents in the final	Score
1.	24 April 2005	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Feliciano López	Leander Paes Nenad Zimonjić	6–3, 6–3
2.	8 January 2007	Chennai, India	Hard	Tomeu Salvà	Xavier Malisse Dick Norman	7–6(4), 7–6(4)
3.	30 April 2007	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Tomeu Salvà	Andrei Pavel Alexander Waske	6–3, 7–6(1)

(*) = Indoor

Performance timeline

Singles

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 Queen's Club Championships, which ended on June 15, 2008.

Tournament	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	Career SR	Career W-L
Grand Slams
Australian Open	A	A	3R	4R	A	QF	SF	0 / 4	14-4
French Open	A	A	A	W	W	W	W	4 / 4	28-0
Wimbledon*	A	3R	A	2R	F	F		0 / 4	15-4
U.S. Open	A	2R	2R	3R	QF	4R		0 / 5	11-5
Grand Slam SR	0 / 0	0 / 2	0 / 2	1 / 4	1 / 3	1 / 4	1 / 4	4 / 17	N/A
Grand Slam Win-Loss	0-0	3-2	3-2	13-3	17-2	20-3	12-1	N/A	68-13
Year-End Championship
Tennis Masters Cup	A	A	A	A	SF	SF		0 / 2	4–4
ATP Masters Series
Indian Wells Masters	A	A	3R	A	SF	W	SF	1 / 4	16-3
Miami Masters	A	A	4R	F	2R	QF	F	0 / 5	14–5
Monte Carlo Masters	A	3R	A	W	W	W	W	4 / 5	24-1
Rome Masters	A	A	A	W	W	W	2R	3 / 4	17-1
Hamburg Masters	A	3R	A	A	A	F	W	1 / 3	11–2
Canada Masters	A	A	1R	W	3R	SF		1 / 4	11-3
Cincinnati Masters	A	A	1R	1R	QF	2R		0 / 4	3–4
Madrid Masters	A	1R	2R	W	QF	QF		1 / 5	10-4
Paris Masters	A	LQ	A	A	A	F		0 / 1	4–1
ATP Tournaments Played	1	11	18	21	16	18	12	N/A	97
ATP Finals Reached	0	0	2	12	6	9	7	N/A	36
ATP Tournaments Won	0	0	1	11	5	6	6	N/A	29
Hard Win-Loss	0–0	1–2	14-10	28-6	25-10	31-12	22-6	N/A	121-46
Clay Win-Loss	1–1	11-6	14-3	50-2	26-0	31-1	22-1	N/A	155-14
Grass Win-Loss	0–0	2–1	0–0	1–2	8–2	8–2	5-0	N/A	24-7
Carpet Win-Loss	0–0	0–2	2–4	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	N/A	2–6
Overall Win-Loss	1-1	14-11	30-17	79-10	59-12	70-15	49-7	N/A	302-73
Win (%)	50%	56%	64%	89%	83%	82%	88%	N/A	81%
Year End Ranking	200	49	51	2	2	2		N/A	N/A

A = did not participate in the tournament

LQ = lost in qualifying rounds

SR = the ratio of the number of singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played

(*) = in game

Davis Cup and World Team Cup matches are included in the statistics.

ATP Tour career earnings

Year	Majors	ATP wins	Total wins	Earnings ($)	Money list rank
2002	0	0	0	23,975	345
2003	0	0	0	243,238	87
2004	0	1	1	447,758	50
2005	1	10	11	3,874,751	2
2006	1	4	5	3,746,360	2
2007	1	5	6	5,646,935	2
2008*	1	4	5	4,003,949	1
Career*	4	24	28	17,987,823	10

* As of June 16th, 2008.

Davis Cup

Nadal was on Spain's victorious 2004 Davis Cup team.

First round versus the Czech Republic

• Singles: Nadal lost to Jiří Novák 7–6, 6–3, 7–6.
• Doubles: Nadal and Tommy Robredo lost to Jiří Novák and Radek Štěpánek 6–4, 7–6(6), 6–3.
• Singles: Nadal defeated Radek Štěpánek 7–6, 7–6, 6–3.

Quarterfinal versus the Netherlands

• Doubles: Nadal and Robredo lost to John van Lottum and Martin Verkerk 3–6, 2–6, 6–3, 6–2, 6–2.

Semifinal versus France

• Singles: Nadal defeated Arnaud Clément 6–4, 6–1, 6–2.
• Doubles: Nadal and Robredo defeated Arnaud Clément and Michaël Llodra 7–6(4), 4–6, 6–2, 2–6, 6–3.

Final versus the United States

• Singles: Nadal defeated Andy Roddick 6–7, 6–2, 7–6, 6–2.

Challengers and futures finals

Singles wins (8)

Legend

Challengers (2)

Futures (6)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score
1.	15 July 2002	Alicante, Spain	Clay	Marc Fornell	7–5, 3–6, 6–3
2.	19 August 2002	Vigo, Spain	Clay	Antonio Pastorino	4–6, 7–6(4), 6–4
3.	23 September 2002	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Marc Fornell	6–4, 6–3
4.	30 September 2002	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Guillermo García-López	6–3, 7–6(1)
5.	25 November 2002	Gran Canaria, Spain	Clay	Marc Fornell	6–2, 6–3
6.	2 December 2002	Gran Canaria, Spain	Hard (i)	Florian Mayer	7–6(3), 6–4
7.	31 March 2003	Barletta, Italy	Clay	Albert Portas	6–2, 7–6(2)
8.	4 August 2003	Segovia, Spain	Hard	Tomáš Zíb	6–2, 7–6(1)

Singles runner-ups (4)

• 2003: Hamburg Challenger (lost to Mario Ančić)
• 2003: Cherbourg Challenger (lost to Sergio Roitman)
• 2003: Cagliari Challenger (lost to Filippo Volandri)
• 2003: Aix-en-Provence Challenger (lost to Mariano Puerta)

Sponsorships

Rafael Nadal is the global ambassador for Kia Motors, and has appeared in Kia's global advertising campaigns in TV and print media. In May 2008, Kia released a video called Nadal vs Alien featuring Rafael Nadal in a tennis match against an alien.

See also

• List of Grand Slam Men's Singles champions

External links

• Rafael Nadal's Official Site
• Rafael Nadal at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Nadal Recent Match Results
• Nadal World Ranking History
• Rafael Nadal at the Davis Cup

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