Rafael Nadal is a pro tennis player hailing from Manacor, Mallorca. He was born on June 3, 1986. Nick-named "The King of Clay" thanks to his strings of success on the clay court, he represents Spain and was previously the World No. 1. As of October 24, 2011, the Organisation of Tennis Execs ranked him No. 2, with Novak Djokovich earning the World No. 1 title.
He first made his mark in ATP at age 15 when he beat Ramon Delgado. He was among the nine pro tennis players to have accomplished such a feat before their 16th birthday. "The King of Clay" moniker came in 2006 when he won all his clay court matches in the entire year. That year also saw him appeared as the winner in the Grand Slam last against the then World No. 1 Roger Federer, who had never lost in a Grand Slam last before.
Apart from being a great player, Nadal is also famous for being ambidextrous. He uses his left hand while playing tennis but uses his right hand when writing. He in addition has mastered the 2 handed backhand. He started out as being right handed but his coach, who also turns out to be his uncle, encouraged him to play lefty so that he will be able to employ his right hand for the 2 handed back hand to a larger advantage.
After earning the title ATP Newcomer of the Year in 2003, he made it obvious he was the one to look out for by entering the Top 50 and grabbing two Challenger titles by the year's end. The next year, a stress fracture made him significantly absent from the court but in 2005, he gained back the momentum in the Australian Open in a match against Lleyton Newitt. Since that time, the Spanish tennis player looked irresistible.
Rafa started the year 2008 as the Planet's second choice tennis player. So far, he had won 23 titles in 3 straight years and made it to the Wimbledon finals twice. By then, there had been only Roger Federer who stopped him from becoming World No. 1. That sparked a rivalry which was amplified by the media hype.
Rafael Nadal held on to the number two spot for a record setting 160 successive weeks. That changed in October 18, 2008 when he finally became World No. 1 and held on to it until July 5, 2009. In June 7, 2010, he became No. 1 again after earning a French Open title for the fifth time. However , his reign climaxed in July 3, 2011 when he lost to Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon last.
He first made his mark in ATP at age 15 when he beat Ramon Delgado. He was among the nine pro tennis players to have accomplished such a feat before their 16th birthday. "The King of Clay" moniker came in 2006 when he won all his clay court matches in the entire year. That year also saw him appeared as the winner in the Grand Slam last against the then World No. 1 Roger Federer, who had never lost in a Grand Slam last before.
Apart from being a great player, Nadal is also famous for being ambidextrous. He uses his left hand while playing tennis but uses his right hand when writing. He in addition has mastered the 2 handed backhand. He started out as being right handed but his coach, who also turns out to be his uncle, encouraged him to play lefty so that he will be able to employ his right hand for the 2 handed back hand to a larger advantage.
After earning the title ATP Newcomer of the Year in 2003, he made it obvious he was the one to look out for by entering the Top 50 and grabbing two Challenger titles by the year's end. The next year, a stress fracture made him significantly absent from the court but in 2005, he gained back the momentum in the Australian Open in a match against Lleyton Newitt. Since that time, the Spanish tennis player looked irresistible.
Rafa started the year 2008 as the Planet's second choice tennis player. So far, he had won 23 titles in 3 straight years and made it to the Wimbledon finals twice. By then, there had been only Roger Federer who stopped him from becoming World No. 1. That sparked a rivalry which was amplified by the media hype.
Rafael Nadal held on to the number two spot for a record setting 160 successive weeks. That changed in October 18, 2008 when he finally became World No. 1 and held on to it until July 5, 2009. In June 7, 2010, he became No. 1 again after earning a French Open title for the fifth time. However , his reign climaxed in July 3, 2011 when he lost to Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon last.
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