Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal in 2011
Fou name	Rafael Nadal Parera
Kintra	Spain
Residence	Manacor, Majorca, Balearic Islands, Spain
Born	(1986-06-03) 3 Juin 1986 Manacor, Majorca, Balearic Islands, Spain
Hicht	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Turned pro	2001
Plays	Carrie-haunit (twa-haunit backhaun)
Coach(es)	Toni Nadal, Carlos Moyá, Francisco Roig, Marc López
Prize money	US$124,961,595  3rd aw-time leader in earnins
Singles
Career record	1080–227
Career titles	83 (4t in the Open Era)
Heichest rankin	No. 1 (18 August 2008)
Current rankin	No. 6 (8 November 2021)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	W (2009)
French Open	W (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
Wimbledon	W (2008, 2010)
US Open	W (2010, 2013, 2017, 2019)
Ither toornaments
Tour Finals	F (2010, 2013)
Olympic Gemmes	Gold medal (2008)
Doubles
Career record	142–77
Career titles	11
Heichest rankin	No. 26 (8 August 2005)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	3R (2004, 2005)
Wimbledon	2R (2005)
US Open	SF (2004)
Ither Doubles toornaments
Olympic Games	Gold medal (2016)
Team competeetions
Davis Cup	W (2004, 2008, 2009, 2011)
Medal record Representin Spain Men's Tennis 2008 Beijing Singles 2016 Rio de Janeiro Doobles
Last updatit on: 19 December 2021.

Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera (Catalan: [rəfəˈɛɫ nəˈðaɫ pəˈɾeɾə], Spaingie: [rafaˈel naˈðal paˈɾeɾa]; born 3 Juin 1986) is a Spaingie professional tennis player currently ranked warld No. 6. He is widely regardit as the greatest clay court player in history an haes been nicknamed "The King of Clay." His evolution intae an aw-court threat haes established him as ane o the greatest players in tennis, wi some considering Nadal tae be the greatest player o aw time.

Nadal haes won 15 Grand Slam singles teetles, the 2008 Olympic gowd medal in singles, a record 28 teetles ATP World Tour Masters 1000 an 17 ATP World Tour 500 tournaments. He wis a member o the winnin Spain Davis Cup team in 2004, 2008, 2009, an 2011. In 2010, he became the seivent player in history an youngest o fower in the Open Era tae achieve the Career Grand Slam. He is the seicont male player, efter Andre Agassi, tae complete the singles Career Golden Slam. In 2011, Nadal wis named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year.

Nadal an Mats Wilander is the anly twa male players in history wha haes won at least twa Grand Slam teetles on three different surfaces—haurd coort, grass, an clay. Bi winnin the 2014 French Open, Nadal became the anly male player tae win a single Grand Slam tournament nine times an the first tae win at least ane Grand Slam tournament for ten year efter ither, breakin the record o aicht year efter ither that wis skared bi Björn Borg, Pete Sampras, an Roger Federer. Nadal hauds the record for maist consecutive teetles at a pairteecular toornament efter winnin his echth straucht Monte-Carlo Masters in 2012. He haes won at least ane Masters 1000 an ane ATP 500 series toornament for 10 year efter ither.

Early life

Rafael Nadal wis born in Manacor, Balearic Islands, Spain, tae Sebastián Nadal, a businessman who ains an insurance company, a gless an windae company, Vidres Mallorca, an manages his ain restaurant, Sa Punta. His mither is Ana María Parera, a housewife. He haes a younger sister named María Isabel. His uncle, Miguel Ángel Nadal, is a retired professional footballer, who played for RCD Mallorca, FC Barcelona, an the Spanish national team. Nadal supports football clubs Real Madrid an RCD Mallorca. Recognizing that Nadal haed a naitural talent for tennis, anither uncle, Toni Nadal, a umwhile professional tennis player, introduced him tae tennis whan he wis three year auld.

At age aicht, Nadal won an unner-12 regional tennis championship at a time whan he wis an aa a promising football player. This made Toni Nadal intensify training, an at that time he encouraged Nadal tae play left-handed for a naitural advantage on the tennis court, as he noticed Nadal played forehand shots wi twa haunds. This mey be due tae the fact he is ambidextrous, playin tennis wi his left haund, an writing wi his right.

When Nadal wis 12, he won the Spanish an European tennis teetles in his age group an wis playin tennis an football aw the time. Nadal's faither made him choose atween football an tennis sae that his schuil wirk wad nae deteriorate entirely. Nadal said: "I chose tennis. Football had to stop straight away."

When he wis 14, the Spanish tennis federation requestit that he leave Mallorca an muive tae Barcelona tae continue his tennis training. Nadal's faimily turned doun this request, partly acause thay feared it wad hurt his eddication, but an aa acause 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." The decision tae stay hame meant that Nadal received less financial support frae the federation; insteid, Nadal's faither covered the costs. In Mey 2001, he defeatit umwhile Grand Slam tournament champion Pat Cash in a clay-court exhibition match.

Nadal turned professional at the age o 15, an participatit in twa events on the ITF junior circuit. In 2002, at the age o 16, Nadal reached the semifeenals o the Boy's Singles tournament at Wimbledon, in his first ITF junior event.

Bi the age o 17, he beat Roger Federer the first time thay played an acame the youngest man tae reach the third roond at Wimbledon syne Boris Becker. At 18, he helped pace Spain ower the US in the junior Davis Cup in his seicont, an feenal, appearance on the ITF junior circuit. At 19, Nadal won the French Open the first time he played it, a feat nae accomplished in Paris for mair nor 20 years. He eventually won it the first fower times he played at Roland Garros. In 2003, he haed won the ATP Newcomer of the Year Award. Early in his career, Nadal acame kent for his habit o bitin the trophies he won.

Tennis career

2002–2004

In Aprile 2002, at 15 years an 10 month, the warld No. 762 Nadal won his first ATP match, defeatin Ramón Delgado, an acame the ninth player in the Open Era tae dae sae afore the age o 16. The follaein year, Nadal won twa Challenger teetles an finished the year in the tap 50. At his Wimbledon debut in 2003, Nadal acame the youngest man tae reach the third roond syne Boris Becker in 1984.

Nadal reached the third roond o the 2004 Australian Open whaur he lost in three sets against Australian Lleyton Hewitt. Interestingly, haed he won, he wad hae faced Roger Federer in the next roond. Later that year, Nadal played his first match against warld No. 1 Roger Federer at the 2004 Miami Masters, an won in straucht sets, afore losin tae Fernando González in the fowert roond. He wis ane o the sax players who defeatit Federer that year (alang wi Tim Henman, Albert Costa, Gustavo Kuerten, Dominik Hrbatý, an Tomáš Berdych). He missed maist o the clay court saison, includin the French Open, acause o a stress fracture in his left ankle.

Nadal, at 18 years an sax month, acame the youngest player tae register a singles veectory in a Davis Cup feenal for a winning naition. Bi beatin warld No. 2 Andy Roddick, he helped Spain clinch the 2004 teetle ower the Unitit States in a 3–2 win. He finished the year ranked warld No. 51.

2005: First Grand Slam title

At the 2005 Australian Open, Nadal lost in the fowert roond tae eventual runner-up Lleyton Hewitt. Twa month later, Nadal reached the feenal o the 2005 Miami Masters, an despite bein twa pynts frae a straucht-sets veectory, he wis defeatit in five sets bi warld No. 1 Roger Federer. Baith performances war considered tae be breakthroughs for Nadal.

He then dominatit the spring clay court saison. He won 24 consecutive singles matches, which broke Andre Agassi's Open Era record o consecutive match wins for a male teenager. Nadal won the Torneo Conde de Godó in Barcelona an beat 2004 French Open runner-up Guillermo Coria in the feenals o the 2005 Monte Carlo Masters an the 2005 Rome Masters. Thir victories raised his ranking tae warld No. 5 an made him ane o the favorites at his career-first French Open. On his 19t birthday, Nadal defeatit Federer in the 2005 French Open semifeenals, bein ane o anly fower players who defeatit the tap-seedit player that year (alang wi Marat Safin, Richard Gasquet, an David Nalbandian). Twa days later, he defeatit Mariano Puerta in the feenal, acomin the seicont male player efter Mats Wilander tae win the French Open on his first attempt. He an aa acame the first teenager tae win a Grand Slam singles teetle syne Pete Sampras won the 1990 US Open at age 19. Winning the French Open improved Nadal's ranking tae warld No. 3.

Three days efter his veectory in Paris, Nadal's 24-match winning streak wis snapped in the first roond o the grass coort Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany, whaur he lost tae the German Alexander Waske. He then lost in the seicont roond o 2005 Wimbledon tae Gilles Müller o Luxembourg.

Immediately efter Wimbledon, Nadal won 16 consecutive matches an three consecutive tournaments, bringin his ranking tae warld No. 2 on 25 Julie 2005.

Nadal stairtit his North American summer haurd-court saison bi defeatin Agassi in the feenal o the 2005 Canada Masters, but lost in the first roond o the 2005 Cincinnati Masters. Nadal wis seedit seicont at the 2005 US Open, whaur he wis upset in the third roond bi warld No. 49 James Blake in fower sets.

In September, he defeatit Coria in the feenal o the China Open in Beijing an won baith o his Davis Cup matches against Italy. In October, he won his fowert ATP Masters Series teetle o the year, defeatin Ivan Ljubičić in the feenal o the 2005 Madrid Masters. He then suffered a fit injury that preventit him frae competin in the year-endin Tennis Masters Cup.

Baith Nadal an Federer won eleven singles teetles an fower ATP Masters Series teetles in 2005. Nadal broke Mats Wilander's previous teenage record o nine in 1983. Nine o Nadal's teetles war on clay, an the remainder war on haurd courts. Nadal won 79 matches, seicont anly tae Federer's 81. Nadal won the Golden Bagel Award for 2005, wi eleven 6–0 sets during the year. An aa, he earned the heichest year-end ranking ever bi a Spaniard an the ATP Maist Improved Player o the Year award.

2006: Second French Open title

Nadal missed the Australian Open acause o a fit injury. In Februar, he lost in the semifeenals o the first tournament he played, the Open 13 tournament in Marseille, Fraunce. Twa weeks later, he handed Roger Federer his first loss o the year in the feenal o the Dubai Duty Free Men's Open (in 2006, Rafael Nadal an Andy Murray war the anly twa men who defeatit Federer). Tae complete the spring haurd-court saison, Nadal wis upset in the semifeenals o the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, bi James Blake, an wis upset in the seicont roond o the 2006 Miami Masters.

On European clay, Nadal won aw fower tournaments he entered an 24 consecutive matches. He defeatit Federer in the feenal o the Masters Series Monte Carlo in fower sets. The follaein week, he defeatit Tommy Robredo in the feenal o the Open Sabadell Atlántico tournament in Barcelona. Efter a ane-week break, Nadal won the Masters Series Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, defeatin Federer in a fift-set tiebreaker in the feenal, efter saving twa match pynts an equaling Björn Borg's tally o 16 ATP teetles won as a teenager. Nadal broke Argentinian Guillermo Vilas's 29-year male record o 53 consecutive clay-court match victories bi winning his first roond match at the French Open. Vilas presentit Nadal wi a trophy, but commentit later that Nadal's feat wis less impressive than his ain acause Nadal's winning streak covered twa years an wis accomplished bi adding easy tournaments tae his schedule.

Nadal went on tae play Federer in the feenal o the French Open. The first twa sets o the match war hardly competitive, as the rivals traded 6–1 sets. Nadal won the third set easily an served for the match in the fowert set afore Federer broke him an forced a tiebreaker. Nadal won the tiebreaker an acame the first player tae defeat Federer in a Grand Slam tournament feenal.

2006 Roland Garros champion

Nadal injured his shouder while playin a quarterfeenal match against Lleyton Hewitt at the Artois Championships, played on grass at the Queen's Club in Lunnon. Nadal wis unable tae complete the match, which ended his 26-match winning streak. Nadal wis seedit seicont at Wimbledon, but wis twa pynts frae defeat against American qualifier Robert Kendrick in the seicont roond afore coming back tae win in five sets. In the third roond, Nadal defeatit warld No. 20 Andre Agassi in straucht sets at Agassi's last career match at Wimbledon. Nadal an aa won his next three matches in straucht sets, which set up his first Wimbledon feenal, which wis against Federer, who haed won this tournament the three previous years. Nadal wis the first Spanish man syne Manuel Santana in 1966, tae reach the Wimbledon feenal, but Federer won the match in fower sets tae win his fowert consecutive Wimbledon teetle.

During the lead up tae the US Open, Nadal played the twa Masters Series tournaments in North Americae. He wis upset in the third roond o the Rogers Cup in Toronto an the quarterfeenals o the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati. Nadal wis seedit seicont at the US Open, but lost in the quarterfeenals tae warld No. 54 Mikhail Youzhny o Roushie in fower sets.

Nadal played anly three tournaments the remainder o the year. Joachim Johansson, ranked warld No. 690, upset Nadal in the seicont roond o the Stockholm Open. The follaein week, Nadal lost tae Tomáš Berdych in the quarterfeenals o the year's last Masters Series tournament, the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid. During the roond-robin stage o the year-endin Tennis Masters Cup, Nadal lost tae James Blake but defeatit Nikolay Davydenko an Robredo. Acause o those twa victories, Nadal qualified for the semifeenals, whaur he lost tae Federer. This wis Nadal's third loss in nine career matches wi Federer.

Nadal went on tae acome the first player syne Andre Agassi in 1994–95 tae finish the year as the warld No. 2 in consecutive years.

2007: Third French Open title

Main airticle: 2007 Rafael Nadal tennis season

Nadal stairtit the year bi playin in sax haurd-court tournaments. He lost in the semifeenals an first roond o his first twa tournaments an then lost in the quarterfeenals o the Australian Open tae eventual runner-up Fernando González. Efter anither quarterfeenal loss at the Dubai Tennis Championships, he won the 2007 Indian Wells Masters, afore Novak Djoković defeatit him in the quarterfeenals o the 2007 Miami Masters.

He haed comparatively mair success efter returning tae Europe tae play five clay-court tournaments. He won the teetles at the Masters Series Monte Carlo, the Open Sabadell Atlántico in Barcelona, an the Masters Series Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, afore losin tae Roger Federer in the feenal o 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 tae win the French Open for the third straucht year, defeatin Federer ance again in the feenal.

Atween the tournaments in Barcelona an Rome, Nadal defeatit Federer in the "Battle o Surfaces" exhibeetion match in Mallorca, Spain, wi the tennis court bein hauf grass an hauf clay.

Nadal played the Artois Championships at the Queen's Club in Lunnon for the seicont consecutive year. As in 2006, Nadal wis upset in the quarterfeenals. Nadal then won consecutive five-set matches during the third an fowert roonds o Wimbledon afore bein beaten bi Federer in the five-set feenal. This wis Federer's first five-set match at Wimbledon syne 2001.

In Julie, Nadal won the clay court Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, which proved tae be his last teetle o the year. He played three important tournaments during the North American summer haurd court saison. He wis a semifeenaleet at the Masters Series Rogers Cup in Montreal afore losin his first match at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati. He wis the seicont-seedit player at the US Open, but wis defeatit in the fowert roond bi David Ferrer.

Efter a month-lang break frae tournament tennis, Nadal played the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid an the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris. David Nalbandian upset him in the quarterfeenals an feenal o those tournaments. Tae end the year, Nadal won twa o his three roond robin matches tae advance tae the semifeenals o the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, whaur Federer defeatit him in straucht sets.

During the seicont hauf o the year, Nadal battled a knee injury suffered during the Wimbledon feenal. In addition, thare war rumors at the end o the year that the fit injury he suffered during 2005, caused lang-term damage, which war gien credence bi coach Toni Nadal's claim that the problem wis "serious". Nadal an his spokesman strangly denied this, houiver, wi Nadal himsel calling the story "totally false".

2008: French Open, Wimbledon, Olympic Gold & ascent to No. 1

Main airticle: 2008 Rafael Nadal tennis season

Nadal began the year in Indie, whaur he wis comprehensively beaten bi Mikhail Youzhny in the feenal o the Chennai Open. Nadal then reached the semifeenals o the Australian Open for the first time. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeatit Nadal in the semifeenal o 2008 Australian Open. Nadal an aa reached the feenal o the Miami Masters for the seicont time.

During the spring clay-court saison, Nadal won fower singles teetles an defeatit Roger Federer in three feenals. He beat Federer at the Masters Series Monte Carlo for the third straucht year, capturing his Open Era record fowert consecutive teetle thare. He won in straucht sets, despite Federer's holding a 4–0 lead in the seicont set. Nadal then won his fowert consecutive teetle at the Open Sabadell Atlántico tournament in Barcelona. A few weeks later, Nadal won his first teetle at the Masters Series Hamburg, defeatin Federer in the three-set feenal. He then won the French Open, acomin the fift man in the Open Era tae win a Grand Slam singles teetle wioot losin a set. He defeatit Federer in the feenal for the third straucht year, but this wis the maist lopsided o aw thair matches, as Nadal anly lost fower gemmes an gae Federer his first bagel syne 1999. This wis Nadal's fowert consecutive French teetle, tying Björn Borg's aw-time record. Nadal acame the fowert male player during Open era tae win the same Grand Slam singles tournament fower consecutive years (the others bein Borg, Pete Sampras, an Federer).

Nadal against Andreas Beck in the 2008 Wimbledon Championships first roond

Nadal then played Federer in the feenal o Wimbledon for the third consecutive year, in the maist anticipatit match o thair rivalry. Nadal entered the feenal on a 23-match winning streak, includin his first career grass-court teetle at the Artois Championships staged at the Queen's Club in Lunnon prior tae Wimbledon. Federer haed won his record fift grass-court teetle at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, an then reached the Wimbledon feenal wioot losin a set. Unlik thair previous twa Wimbledon feenals, tho, Federer wis nae the prohibitive favorite, an mony analysts picked Nadal tae win. Thay played the langest (in terms o time on coort, nae in terms o nummers o gemmes) feenal in Wimbledon history, an acause o rain delays, Nadal won the fift set 9–7 in near-darkness. The match wis widely lauded as the greatest Wimbledon feenal ever, wi some tennis critics even calling it the greatest match in tennis history.

Bi winning his first Wimbledon teetle, Nadal acame the third man in the open era tae win baith the French Open an Wimbledon in the same year, efter Rod Laver in 1969, an Borg in 1978–80, (Federer later accomplished this the follaein year) as well as the seicont Spaniard tae win Wimbledon. He an aa ended Federer's record streak o five consecutive Wimbledon teetles an 65 straucht wins on grass courts. This wis an aa the first time that Nadal won twa Grand Slam tournaments back-tae-back.

Efter Wimbledon, Nadal extendit his winning streak tae a career-best 32 matches. He won his seicont Rogers Cup teetle in Toronto, an then made it intae the semifeenals o the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati. As a result, Nadal clinched the US Open Series an, combined wi Federer's early-roond losses in baith o those tournaments, feenally earned the warld No. 1 ranking on 18 August, offeecially endin Federer's record fower-and-a-hauf-year reign at the tap.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Nadal defeatit Novak Djoković in the semifeenals an Fernando González o Chile in the feenal tae win his first Olympic gowd medal. Nadal acame the first male player ranked in the tap five tae win the gowd medal.

At the US Open, Nadal wis the tap-seedit player for the first time at a Grand Slam tournament. He did nae lose a set during his first three matches, defeatin qualifiers in the first an seicont roonds an Viktor Troicki in the third roond. He then needed fower sets tae defeat baith Sam Querrey in the fowert roond an Mardy Fish in the quarterfeenals. In the semifeenals, he lost tae eventual runner up, Andy Murray. Later in the year in Madrid, Nadal helped Spain defeat the Unitit States in the Davis Cup semifeenals.

At the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid, Nadal lost in the semifeenals tae Gilles Simon. Houiver, his performance at the event guaranteed that he wad acome the first Spaniard during the open era tae finish the year as the warld No. 1. On 24 October at the Campoamor theatre in Oviedo, Spain, Nadal wis gien the Prince o Asturias Awaird for Sports, in recognition o his achievements in tennis. Twa weeks efter the Madrid Masters at the BNP Paribas Masters in Fraunce, Nadal reached the quarterfeenals, whaur he faced Nikolay Davydenko. Nadal lost the first set 6–1, afore retiring in the seicont wi a knee injury. The follaein week, Nadal annoonced his widrawal frae the year-endin Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, citing tendinitis o the knee. On 10 November, Nadal widrew frae Spain's Davis Cup feenal against Argentina, as his knee injury haed nae healed completely.

2009: Australian Open title, Shocked in Paris

Main airticle: 2009 Rafael Nadal tennis season

Nadal's first offeecial ATP tour event for the year wis the 250 series Qatar Open in Doha. Efter his first-roond match wi Fabrice Santoro, Nadal wis awairdit the 2008 ATP World Tour Champion trophy. Nadal eventually lost in the quarterfeenals tae Gaël Monfils. Nadal an aa entered an won the tournament's doubles event wi pairtner Marc López, defeatin the warld No. 1 doubles team o Daniel Nestor an Nenad Zimonjić in the feenal. As notit bi statistician Greg Sharko, this wis the first time syne 1990 the warld No. 1 singles player haed played the warld No. 1 doubles player in a feenal.

At the 2009 Australian Open, Nadal won his first five matches wioot dropping a set, afore defeatin compatriot Fernando Verdasco in the semifeenals in the seicont langest match in Australian Open history at 5 oors an 14 minutes. This win set up a championship match wi Roger Federer, thair first meetin ever in a haurd-court Grand Slam tournament an thair nineteent meetin overall. Nadal defeatit Federer in five sets tae earn his first haurd-court Grand Slam singles teetle, makin him the first Spaniard tae win the Australian Open an the fowert male tennis player—efter Jimmy Connors, Mats Wilander, an Andre Agassi—tae win Grand Slam singles teetles on three different surfaces. This win an aa made Nadal the first male tennis player tae haud three Grand Slam singles teetles on three different surfaces at the same time.

At the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, Nadal lost in the feenal tae seicont-seedit Andy Murray in three sets. During the feenal, Nadal cried a trainer tae attend tae a tendon problem wi his right knee, which notably affectit his play in the feenal set. Awtho this knee problem wis nae associatit wi Nadal's right knee tendonitis, it wis serious eneuch tae cause him tae widraw frae the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships a week later.

In Mairch, Nadal helped Spain defeat Serbia in a Davis Cup World Group first-roond tie on clay in Benidorm, Spain. Nadal defeatit Janko Tipsarević an Novak Djokovic. The win ower warld No. 3 Djokovic wis Nadal's twalt consecutive Davis Cup singles match win an boostit his career win–loss record against Djokovic tae 11–4, includin 6–0 on clay.

At the 2009 Indian Wells Masters, Nadal won his thirteent Masters 1000 series tournament. In the fowert roond, Nadal saved five match pynts, afore defeatin David Nalbandian for the first time. Nadal defeatit Juan Martín del Potro in the quarterfeenals an Andy Roddick in the semifeenals, afore defeatin Murray in the feenal. The next ATP tour event wis the 2009 Miami Masters. Nadal advanced tae the quarterfeenals, whaur he again faced Argentinian del Potro, this time losin the match. This wis the first time del Potro haed defeatit Nadal in five career matches.

Nadal began his European clay court saison at the 2009 Monte Carlo Masters, whaur he won a record fift consecutive singles teetle thare. He defeatit Novak Djokovic in the feenal for his fift consecutive win, a record in the open era. Nadal is the first male player tae win the same ATP Master series event for five consecutive years.

Nadal then competit in the ATP 500 event in Barcelona. He advanced tae his fift consecutive Barcelona feenal, whaur he faced David Ferrer. Nadal went on tae beat Ferrer tae record five consecutive Barcelona victories. At the Rome Masters, Nadal reached the feenal, whaur he defeatit Novak Djokovic tae improve his overall record tae 13–4 an clay record tae 8–0 against the Serb. He acame the first player tae win fower Rome teetles.

Nadal at 2009 Sony Ericsson Open, Miami, Florida, United States

Efter winning twa clay-court Masters, he participatit in the Madrid Open. He lost tae Roger Federer in the feenal. This wis the first time that Nadal haed lost tae Federer syne the semifeenals o the 2007 Tennis Masters Cup.

On 19 Mey, the ATP World Tour annoonced that Nadal wis the first player oot o aicht tae qualify for the 2009 ATP World Tour Finals, tae be played at the O2 Arena in Lunnon.

Bi beatin Lleyton Hewitt in the third roond o 2009 French Open, Nadal (2005–09 French Open) set a record o 31 consecutive wins at Roland Garros, beatin the previous record o 28 bi Björn Borg (1978–81 French Open). Nadal haed won 32 consecutive sets at Roland Garros (syne winning the last 2 sets at the 2007 French Open feenal against Federer), the seicont-langest winning streak in the tournament's history behind Björn Borg's record o 41 consecutive sets. This run came tae an end on 31 Mey 2009, whan Nadal lost tae eventual runner-up, Robin Söderling in the 4t roond. This wis Nadal's first and, until 2015, anly loss at the French Open.

Efter his surprise defeat at Roland Garros, Nadal widrew frae the AEGON Championships. It wis confirmed that Nadal wis sufferin frae tendinitis in baith o his knees. On 19 Juin, Nadal widrew frae the 2009 Wimbledon Championship, citing his recurring knee injury. He wis the first champion nae tae defend the teetle syne Goran Ivanišević in 2001. Roger Federer went on tae win the teetle, an Nadal consequently dropped back tae warld No. 2 on 6 Julie 2009. Nadal later annoonced his widrawal frae the Davis Cup.

On 4 August, Nadal's uncle, Toni Nadal, confirmed that Nadal wad return tae play at the Rogers Cup in Montreal. Thare, in his first tournament syne Roland Garros, Nadal lost in the quarterfeenals tae Juan Martín del Potro. Wi this loss, he relinquished the No. 2 spot tae Andy Murray on 17 August 2009, ranking ootside the tap twa for the first time syne 25 Julie 2005.

In the quarterfeenals o the US Open he defeatit Fernando Gonzálezin a rain-delayed encounter. Houiver, lik his previous US Open campaign, he fell in the semifeenals, this time losin tae eventual champion Juan Martín del Potro. Despite the loss, he regained the No. 2 ranking efter Andy Murray's early exit.

At the World Tour Finals, Nadal lost aw three o his matches against Robin Söderling, Nikolay Davydenko, an Novak Djokovic respectively wioot winning a set.

In December, Nadal participatit in the seicont Davis Cup feenal o his career. He defeatit Tomáš Berdych in his first singles rubber tae gie the Spanish Davis Cup Team thair first pynt in the tie. Efter the Spanish Davis Cup team haed secured its fowert Davis Cup veectory, Nadal defeatit Jan Hájek in the first Davis Cup dead rubber o his career. The win gae Nadal his 14t consecutive singles veectory at Davis Cup (his 13t on clay).

Nadal finished the year as No. 2 for the fowert time in five years. Nadal won the Golden Bagel Award for the third time in 2009, wi nine 6–0 sets during the year. In daein sae he set a new record o Awaird wins, syne matched anly bi Novak Djokovic.

2010: Return to No. 1 and Career Grand Slam

Main airticle: 2010 Rafael Nadal tennis season

Nadal began the year bi pairteecipatin in the Capitala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi, Unitit Arab Emirates. He defeatit compatriot David Ferrer tae reach his seicont feenal in the exhibition tournament. In the feenal, Nadal defeatit Robin Söderling in straucht sets.

Nadal participatit in an Australian Open warm-up tournament, the Qatar ExxonMobil Open ATP 250 event in Doha, whaur he lost in the feenals tae Nikolay Davydenko.

In the Australian Open, Nadal defeatit Peter Luczak, Lukáš Lacko, Philipp Kohlschreiber, an Ivo Karlović. In the quarterfeenals, Nadal pulled oot at 3–0 doun in the third set against Andy Murray, haein lost the first twa sets. Efter examining Nadal's knees, doctors told him that he should tak twa weeks o rest, an then twa weeks o rehabilitation.

Nadal reached the semifeenals in singles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, whaur he wis the defendin champion; houiver, eventual champion Ivan Ljubičić defeatit him in three sets. He an countryman López won the doubles teetle, tho, as wildcard entrants against nummer ane seeds Daniel Nestor an Nenad Zimonjić. This boostit his doubles ranking 175 places tae warld nummer 66, whauras he wis 241st afore Indian Wells. Efter Indian Wells, Nadal reached the semifeenals o the Sony Ericsson Open, whaur he lost tae eventual champion Andy Roddick in three sets.

Nadal reached the feenal o the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters in Monaco, efter beatin fellae Spaniard David Ferrer in the semifeenals. This wis Nadal's first tour feenal syne Doha earlier in the year. He won the feenal in straucht sets ower his compatriot Fernando Verdasco. He lost 14 gemmes throughout aw five matches, the fewest he haed ever lost en route tae a championship, an the feenal wis the shortest Masters 1000 feenal in terms o gemmes. Wi this win, Nadal acame the first player in the open era tae win a tournament teetle for sax straucht years.

Unlik in previous years, Nadal next chose tae skip the Barcelona tournament (despite bein that event's five-time defendin champion), an his next tournament wis the 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia. He defeatit Philipp Kohlschreiber, Victor Hănescu, an Stanlias Wawrinka, aw in straucht sets, tae win his 57th straucht match in Aprile. In the semis, he faced a resilient Ernests Gulbis, who defeatit Roger Federer earlier in the tournament an teuk Nadal tae three sets for the first time this clay-court saison. Nadal eventually prevailed in 2 oors an 40minutes. He then defeatit compatriot David Ferrer in the feenal for his fift teetle at Rome tae equal Andre Agassi's record o winnin 17 ATP Masters teetles.

Nadal at the 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, Madrid, Spain

Nadal then entered the 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, whaur he haed finished runner-up the previous year. Bein ane o the tap aicht seeds, he received a bye in the first roond. In the seicont roond, he defeatit qualifier Oleksandr Dolgopolov, Jr. in straucht sets. He then played the sax-fit-nine-inch American John Isner. Nadal comfortably came throu in straucht sets. He defeatit Gaël Monfils in the quarterfeenals an his countryman Nicolás Almagro in the next roond, who wis playin in his first Masters 1000 semifeenal. The first set o his match against Almagro wad be juist the seicont set he lost on clay up tae this pynt in 2010. Nadal then defeatit longtime rival Roger Federer, avenging his 2009 feenals loss tae Federer. The win gae him his 18t Masters teetle, breaking the aw-time record. He acame the first player tae win aw three clay-court Masters teetles in a single year an the first player tae win three consecutive Masters events. Nadal moved back tae No. 2 the follaein day.

Entering the French Open, mony war expecting anither Nadal-Federer feenal. Houiver, this acame impossible whan rival Robin Söderling defeatit Federer in the quarterfeenals. The failure o Federer tae reach the semifeenals allowed Nadal tae regain the warld No. 1 ranking if he war tae win the tournament. Nadal advanced tae the feenal an defeatit Soderling. The win gae Nadal his seivent Grand Slam tournament teetle, tying him wi John McEnroe, John Newcombe, an Mats Wilander on the aw-time leet, an allaed Nadal tae reclaim the poseetion o warld No. 1, denyin his biggest rival Roger Federer the aw-time record for weeks at No. 1. Bi this win, Nadal acame the first man tae win the three Masters series on clay an the French Open. The veectory at Roland Garros merked the seicont time (2008) that Nadal haed won the French Open wioot dropping a single set (tying the record held bi Björn Borg). Wi the win in Paris he an aa booked his place at the World Tour Finals in Lunnon an acame the first player tae win five French Open teetles in sax years.

In Juin, Nadal entered the AEGON Championships, which he haed won in 2008, at the prestigious Queen's Club. He played singles an doubles at this grass court tournament as a warmup for Wimbledon. Bein ane o the tap aicht seeds, he received a bye in the first roond. In the seicont roond, whaur he played his first match on grass syne winning Wimbledon 2008, he defeatit Marcos Daniel. In the third roond, he played Denis Istomin o Uzbekistan, whom he defeatit tae advance tae the quarterfeenals. Houiver, he wis defeatit bi compatriot Feliciano López.

At the Wimbledon Championships, Nadal beat Kei Nishikori an Robin Haase in the openin roonds. He defeatit Philipp Petzschner in the third roond, winning efter five sets o play. During his match wi Petzschner, Nadal wis warned twice for allegedly receivin coachin frae his coach an uncle, Toni Nadal, resultin in a $2000 fine bi Wimbledon officials. He defeatit Paul-Henri Mathieu o Fraunce in the roond o 16 an in the quarterfeenals, he beat Robin Söderling o Swaden in fower sets. He defeatit Andy Murray in straucht sets tae reach his fowert Wimbledon feenal.

Nadal won the 2010 Wimbledon men's title bi defeatin Tomáš Berdych in straucht sets. Efter the win, Nadal said that winning Wimbledon wis "more than a dream" for him, an thanked the crowd for bein baith kynd an supportive tae him an his adversary during the match an in the semifeenal against Andy Murray. The win gae him a seicont Wimbledon teetle an an aicht career major teetle juist past the age o 24. The win an aa gae Nadal his first "Old World Triple"; the last person tae achieve this wis Björn Borg in 1978 ("Old World Triple" is a term gien tae winning the Italian Open, French Open, an Wimbledon in the same year).

In his first haurd-court tournament syne Wimbledon, Nadal advanced tae the semifeenals o the Rogers Cup, alang wi No. 2 Novak Djokovic, No. 3 Roger Federer, an No. 4 Andy Murray, efter coming back frae a ane-set deficit tae defeat Philipp Kohlschreiber. In the semifeenal, defendin champion Murray defeatit Nadal, acomin the anly player tae triumph ower the Spaniard twice in 2010. Nadal an aa competit in the doubles wi Djokovic in a ane-time, heich-profile pairtnership o the warld No. 1 an No. 2, the first sic team syne the Jimmy Connors an Arthur Ashe team in 1976. Houiver, Nadal an Djokovic lost in the first roond tae Canadians Milos Raonic an Vasek Pospisil. The next week, Nadal wis the tap seed at the Cincinnati Masters, losin in the quarterfeenals tae 2006 Australian Open feenaleet Marcos Baghdatis.

At the 2010 US Open, Nadal wis the tap seed for the seicont time in three years. He defeatit Teymuraz Gabashvili, Denis Istomin, Gilles Simon, nummer 23 seed Feliciano López, nummer 8 seed Fernando Verdasco, an nummer 12 seed Mikhail Youzhny aw wioot dropping a set, tae reach his first US Open feenal, acomin anly the aicht man in the Open Era tae reach the feenal o aw fower majors, an at age 24 the seicont youngest ever tae dae sae, behind anly Jim Courier. In the feenal, he defeatit Novak Djokovic, which completit the Career Grand Slam for Nadal; he an aa acame the seicont male efter Andre Agassi tae complete a Career Golden Slam.

Nadal's US Open veectory meant that he an aa acame the first man tae win majors on clay, grass, an haurd court in the same year, an the first tae win the French Open, Wimbledon, an the US Open in the same year syne Rod Laver in 1969. Nadal an Mats Wilander are the anly male players tae win at least twa Grand Slams each on clay, grass, an hardcourts in thair careers. Nadal an aa acame the first left-handed man tae win the US Open syne John McEnroe in 1984. Nadal's veectory an aa clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking for 2010, makin Nadal anly the third player (efter Ivan Lendl in 1989 an Roger Federer in 2009) tae regain the year-end nummer ane ranking efter haein lost it.

Nadal serving in Tokyo

Nadal began his Asian tour at the 2010 PTT Thailand Open in Bangkok whaur he reached the semifeenals, losin tae compatriot Guillermo García-López. Nadal wis able tae regroup, an at the 2010 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo (debut), he defeatit Santiago Giraldo, Milos Raonic, an Dmitry Tursunov. In the semifeenals against Viktor Troicki, Nadal saved twa match pynts in the deciding set tiebreaker tae win it 9–7 in the end. In the feenal, Nadal comfortably defeatit Gaël Monfils for his seivent teetle o the saison.

Nadal next played in the 2010 Shanghai Rolex Masters in Shanghai, whaur he wis the tap seed, but lost tae warld No. 12 Jürgen Melzer in the third roond, snapping his record streak o 21 consecutive Masters quarterfeenals. On 5 November, Nadal annoonced that he wis pulling oot o the Paris Masters due tae tendinitis in his left shouder. On 21 November 2010, in Lunnon, Nadal won the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Awaird for the first time.

At the 2010 ATP Warld Tour Finals in Lunnon, Nadal defeatit Roddick in the first match, Djokovic in the seicont match, an Berdych in the third match, tae advance tae the semifeenals for the third time in his career. This wis the first time that Nadal achieved three wins in the roond-robin stage. In the semifeenal, he defeatit Murray in a haurd-focht match tae reach his first feenal at the tournament. In anly thair seicont meetin o the year, Federer beat Nadal in the feenal. Efter 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 wis a reference tae his marathon veectory ower Murray on Saturday. "I tried my best this afternoon, but Roger was simply better than me."

Nadal ended the 2010 saison haein won three Grand Slams an three Masters 1000 tournaments, an haein regained the No. 1 ranking.

Next up for Nadal wis a twa-match exhibition against Federer for the Roger Federer Foundation. The first match teuk place in Zürich on 21 December 2010, an the seicont in Madrid the next day.

2011: Sixth French Open title

Main airticle: 2011 Rafael Nadal tennis season

Nadal stairtit 2011, bi pairteecipatin in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi, Unitit Arab Emirates. He defeatit Tomáš Berdych tae reach his third feenal in the exhibition tournament. In the feenal, he won ower his main rival Roger Federer.

At the Qatar ExxonMobil Open ATP 250 event in Doha, Qatar, Nadal barely struggled past his first three opponents, Karol Beck, Lukáš Lacko, an Ernests Gulbis, citin fiver as the primary reason for his puir performance. He fell in straicht sets tae a resurgent Nikolay Davydenko in the semifeenals. He an countryman López won the doubles teetle bi defeatin the Italian duo Daniele Bracciali an Andreas Seppi.

Nadal at the 2011 Australian Open

In the first roond o the Australian Open, Nadal defeatit Marcos Daniel. In the seicont roond, he beat upcoming qualifier Ryan Sweeting. In the third roond, he wis testit bi emergin player Bernard Tomic o Australie, but Nadal wis victorious in straucht sets. He went on tae defeat Marin Čilić o Croatie, in the fowert roond. He suffered an apparent hamstring injury against felloae Spaniard David Ferrer early in the pair's quarterfeenal match an ultimately lost in straicht sets, sicweys endin his effort tae win fower major tournaments in a row.

On 7 Februar 2011, in Abu Dhabi, Unitit Arab Emirates, Nadal won the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for the first time, ahead o footballer Lionel Messi, Sebastian Vettel, Spain's Andres Iniesta, Lakers basketball player Kobe Bryant, an Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao.

In Mairch, Nadal helped Spain defeat Belgium in a 2011 Davis Cup World Group first-roond tie on haurd indoor courts in the Spiroudome in Charleroi, Belgium. Nadal defeatit Ruben Bemelmans. Efter Spain's veectory in three matches, Nadal won a seicont dead rubber against Olivier Rochus.

At the 2011 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Nadal defeatit upcoming qualifier Rik de Voest in his first match. In the third roond, he beat qualifier Ryan Sweeting He then defeatit qualifier Somdev Devvarman in the fowert roond. In the quarterfeenals, Nadal haed a haurd time against Croatian Ivo Karlović, an in the semifeenals he met Juan Martín del Potro. The last three confrontations atween the players war in favor o del Potro, but despite some difficulties, Nadal won in straucht sets. He reached his third feenal at Indian Wells, an lost against Novak Djokovic. The next day, Nadal an Djokovic played a friendly match in Bogotá, Colombia, which Nadal won.

Nadal stairtit the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open wi a win ower Kei Nishikori then met his compatriot Feliciano López in the third roond, whom he defeatit. In the fowert roond, he defeatit Alexandr Dolgopolov. In the quarterfeenals, Nadal haed the first real test o the tournament whan he met the warld No. 7 Tomáš Berdych, who he defeatit in three sets. In the semifeenals, Nadal met his main rival Roger Federer, thair first meetin in a semifeenal syne the 2007 Masters Cup. Nadal won in straucht sets. For the seicont time in twa weeks, Nadal faced Novak Djokovic in the feenal. As in the Indian Wells tournament, Nadal won the first set, an Djokovic the seicont. The third set ended in a tiebreak, wi Djokovic winning. This wis the first time Nadal reached the feenals o Indian Wells an Miami in the same year.

Nadal began his clay-court saison bi winning the 2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters wi the loss o juist ane set. Nadal defeatit Jarkko Nieminen, Richard Gasquet, Ivan Ljubičić, an Andy Murray tae reach his seivent consecutive feenal in Monte Carlo. In the feenal, Nadal avenged his defeat bi David Ferrer in the quarterfeenals o the 2011 Australian Open. He acame the first man tae win the same tournament seiven times in a row at the ATP level in the open era. Nadal chalked up his 37th straucht win at the clay-court event, whaur he haes nae lost syne the 2003 Monte Carlo Masters. It wis his 44th career teetle an 19t at a Masters event. It wis his first teetle syne winning the Japan Open. Nadal shares third place wi Björn Borg an Manuel Orantes in the leet o players wi the maist teetles on clay.

Juist a week later, Nadal won his saxt Barcelona Open crown, winning the 2011 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell feenal against Ferrer in straucht sets. In daein sae, Nadal acame the first man in the open era tae hae won twa tournaments at least sax times each. Nadal wis then the leader in terms o matches won in the year, wi 29. He did nae gain ony pynts for this veectory, houiver, as anly fower ATP 500 tournaments can be countit towards a players ranking at ane time, but thay will gang intae effect 8 August 2011, whan the result o the 2010 Legg Mason Tennis Classic expires.

At the 2011 Mutua Madrid Open in Mey, he defeatit Marcos Baghdatis, haed a walkover against Juan Martín del Potro, an defeatit Michaël Llodra an Roger Federer, afore losin the feenal tae Novak Djokovic in twa sets.

Nadal again lost in straucht sets tae Novak Djokovic in the Rome Masters final. This merked the first time that Nadal haes lost twice on clay tae the same player in a single saison. Houiver, Nadal retained his No. 1 rankin during the clay-coort saison an won his saxt French Open teetle bi defeatin Roger Federer.

During the first three roonds o Wimbledon, Nadal beat Michael Russell, Ryan Sweeting, an Gilles Müller. He then faced Juan Martín del Potro in the fowert roond an Mardy Fish in the quarterfeenals, defeatin baith players in fower sets. His semifeenal opponent wis warld No. 4 Andy Murray. Nadal lost the first set, then won the next three. This set up a feenal against warld No. 2 Novak Djokovic, who haed beaten Nadal in aw fower o thair matches in 2011 (aw in Masters feenals). Efter dropping the third set, Djokovic defeatit Nadal in the fowert. This wis the first Grand Slam tournament feenal that Nadal haed lost tae someone ither than Roger Federer an his first loss at Wimbledon syne his five-set loss tae Federer in the 2007 feenal. The loss ended Nadal's winning streak in Grand Slam feenals at seiven, preventin him frae tying the Open-Era record o aicht victories in a row set bi Pete Sampras. Djokovic's success at the tournament an aa meant that the Serb ascended tae warld No. 1 for the first time, breaking the dominance o Federer an Nadal on the poseetion, which ane o them haed held for every week syne 2 Februar 2004. Nadal fell tae warld No. 2 in the rankings for the first time syne Juin 2010.

Efter restin for a month frae a fit injury sustained during Wimbledon, he contestit the 2011 Rogers Cup, whaur he wis shocked bi Croatian Ivan Dodig in a third-set tiebreak. He next played in the 2011 Cincinnati Masters, whaur he lost tae Mardy Fish in the quarterfeenals.

At the 2011 US Open, Nadal defeatit Andrey Golubev in straicht sets an advanced tae the third roond efter Frenchman Nicolas Mahut retired. Efter defeatin David Nalbandian on 4 September, Nadal collapsed in his post-match press conference due tae severe cramps. Nadal lost tae Novak Djokovic in the feenal in fower sets.

Efter the US Open, Nadal made the feenal o the Japan Open Tennis Championships. Nadal, who wis the 2010 champion, wis defeatit bi Andy Murray. At the Shanghai Masters, Nadal wis tap seed wi the absence o Novak Djokovic, but wis upset in the third roond bi No. 23 ranked Florian Mayer in straucht sets. At the 2011 ATP World Tour Finals, Nadal wis defeatit bi Roger Federer in the roond-robin stage, in ane o the quickest matches atween the twa, lasting juist 60 minutes. In the follaein match, Nadal wis defeatit bi Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, an wis eliminatit frae the tournament.

In the Davis Cup feenal in December, Nadal haed a quick straucht-set win ower Juan Mónaco in his first match. In his seicont match against Juan Martín del Potro, Nadal did nae win a single service gemme in the first set but came back tae win the match.

Nadal ended his tennis saison wi the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, an exhibeetion tournament nae affiliatit wi the ATP. The tournament, normally held in early Januar, wis held frae 29 tae 31 December 2011. Nadal haed a bye intae the semifeenals an played against David Ferrer, who defeatit Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfeenals. Ferrer won the match in straucht sets. Nadal wis then relegatit tae the third place match against Roger Federer. Nadal won in straucht sets.

2012: Seventh French Open title

Main airticle: 2012 Rafael Nadal tennis season

Nadal during the finals of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters

Nadal began his ATP World Tour saison at the Qatar Open. He beat Philipp Kohlschreiber an qualifier Denis Gremelmayr in roonds ane an twa an then won against seivent-seedit Mikhail Youzhny. In the semifeenal he lost tae Gaël Monfils in twa sets.

In the Australian Open Nadal began the tournament bi breezing past qualifier Alex Kuznetsov o Unitit States. The seicont roond against Tommy Haas, who haes never won a set against Rafael, wis tighter, but Nadal again advanced in three straucht sets. He defeatit Feliciano López in the fowert roond, then won in his quarterfeenal an semifeenal matches against Tomáš Berdych an Roger Federer respectively. Bi daein sae, he haes reached the feenals o aw fower majors consecutively. In the feenal, on 29 Januar, he wis beaten bi Novak Djokovic in a five-set match that lastit 5 oors an 53 minutes, the langest ever match for a Grand Slam teetle. The pair set a new warld record, breaking the latest langest major singles feenal atween Mats Wilander an Ivan Lendl, which lastit 4 oors an 54 minutes, at the US Open in 1988.

Nadal made it tae the semifeenals in Indian Wells, whaur he wis beaten in straucht sets bi eventual champion Roger Federer. He an aa made the semifeenals in Miami, but widrew acause o knee problems.

As the clay court saison stairtit, Nadal wis seedit 2nt at the 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. He defeatit Jarkko Nieminen, Mikhael Kukushkin, Stanislas Wawrinka, an Gilles Simon afore topping warld No. 1 Novak Djokovic tae win his 8t consecutive Monte Carlo trophy. This ended a streak o seiven straucht feenal losses tae Djokovic, which began at the 2011 Indian Wells Masters feenal.

A day efter the Monte Carlo Masters Final, Nadal traveled tae Barcelona whaur he received a bye in the first roond. His tremendous record on clay continued as he beat compatriot David Ferrer in a haurd focht feenal tae clinch his seivent teetle in aicht years at the Barcelona Open.

The Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open did nae gang very well for Nadal. He beat Nikolay Davydenko, ane o the few players tae haud a positive heid tae heid record ower Nadal, in straucht sets. He then lost tae Fernando Verdasco, who he held a 13–0 record against in the third roond 7–5 in the third, efter blowing a 4–0 feenal set lead. Nadal statit that he wis very unhappy wi the new blue-coloured clay an threatened nae tae attend in the future if the surface wis nae changed back tae red clay. Several ither players (sic as Novak Djokovic) voiced seemilar criticism.

In the last tournament afore the French Open, Nadal went tae the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. He advanced tae his 7t feenal efter defeatin Florian Mayer, Marcel Granollers, Tomáš Berdych, an David Ferrer aw in straucht sets, setting up anither feenals showdown wi World nummer ane Novak Djokovic. Nadal defeatit Djokovic in a tight straucht sets encounter. This wis his seicont veectory ower Novak Djokovic in 2012 an his third teetle o the saison, as well as his 6t Rome teetle overall.

At the 2012 French Open, Nadal dropped anly 30 gemmes against his first five opponents, wioot losin a set. In the semifeenal he faced a friend an compatriot in David Ferrer. Unlik thair previous twa encounters in Barcelona an Rome, Nadal showed awmaist no flaws, dismantling Ferrer tae set up anither championship teetle fecht wi warld No. 1 Novak Djokovic. This merked the first time whaur twa opposing players faced ilk ither in fower consecutive Grand Slam tournament feenals. Thay an aa acame the anly players tae hae faced the same opponent in the feenals o aw fower Majors. Nadal won the first twa sets afore Djokovic claimed the third. Play wis suspended in the fowert set due tae rain. When the match resumed the follaein day, Nadal won whan Djokovic dooble faultit on match pynt, sealing a record 7t Roland Garros teetle for Nadal. Throughout the tournament, Nadal lost anly ane set, occurring in the feenal. Bi winning his seivent teetle at Roland Garros, Nadal surpassed Borg's overall teetles record tae acome the maist successfu tennis player in French Open history. Nadal anly lost a tot o three sets in the 2012 clay court saison.

In his first grass court tournament o the saison at Halle, Nadal advanced tae quarterfeenals, whaur he lost tae Philipp Kohlschreiber. At Wimbledon, Nadal beat Thomaz Bellucci in the first roond. He then met Lukáš Rosol in the seicont roond, a player who wis then ranked 100th in the warld an haed never advanced beyond the first qualifying roond in his five previous Wimbledons. In ane o the biggest upsets in Grand Slam history, Rosol defeatit Nadal in five sets. This wis the first time syne the Wimbledon 2005 championships that Nadal haed failed tae progress past the 2nt roond o a Grand Slam tournament.

In Julie 2012, Nadal widrew frae the 2012 Olympics due tae tendinitis in his knee, which subsequently an aa led tae him pulling oot o baith the Rogers Cup an Cincinnati Masters. On 15 August, Nadal annoonced his widrawal frae the US Open in New York, as he felt he still wis nae healthy eneuch tae compete. On 11 September 2012, Nadal fell tae a warld No. 4 ranking, his lowest syne 2010, as 2012 US Open winner Andy Murray climbed tae No. 3. Nadal ended 2012 ranked No. 4 in the warld, the first time in aicht years that he haes nae been ranked 1st or 2nt at the end o the year.

2013: Eighth French Open, second US Open title, return to No. 1

Main airticle: 2013 Rafael Nadal tennis season

Twa weeks prior tae the 2013 Australian Open, Nadal offeecially widrew frae the tournament citing a painch virus. Nadal's widrawal subsequently saw him drop oot o the ATP's Tap Four for the first time syne 2005.

Playin in his first tournaments in South Americae syne 2005, Nadal made his comeback at the Latin American Golden Swing, stairtin his 2013 saison at the 2013 VTR Open in Chile, whaur he advanced tae the feenal wioot dropping a set but wis beaten bi Argentine warld No. 73 journeyman Horacio Zeballos. He an aa lost in the doubles feenal (wi Juan Mónaco). At the 2013 Brasil Open, at São Paulo, Nadal struggled in the openin roonds, dropping sets tae Berlocq an qualifier Alund. Despite the poor clay surface, which wis the subject o player complaints, he reached the feenal, whaur he defeatit David Nalbandian. In the teetle match o the 2013 Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco, Nadal defeatit warld No. 4 David Ferrer, losin juist twa gemmes in the match.

Nadal then returned tae the American haurd courts efter a year, playin the Indian Wells Masters as the fift seed. He lost anly ane set, an defeatit warld No. 2 Roger Federer an warld No. 6 Tomáš Berdych in the matches leadin up tae the feenal. Nadal recovered frae bein ane set doun in the feenal, tae defeat Juan Martín del Potro. This wis his third Indian Wells Masters teetle an his first hardcourt teetle syne October 2010, an made Nadal the player wi the maist Masters 1000s wins.

Efter widrawing frae Miami, Nadal attemptit tae defend his teetle at the 2013 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, but, despite reachin the feenal for the ninth consecutive year, he wis beaten bi Djokovic in straucht sets. He then won at the 2013 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell ower Almagro, in straucht sets. This wis his 8t veectory thare, makin him the first man tae win twa different tournaments aicht or mair times each. It wis an aa his fowert teetle o the saison, an his saxt consecutive feenal.

Nadal won his 23rd ATP Masters 1000 tournament at the 2013 Mutua Madrid Open, beatin Wawrinka, despite previously haein been twa pynts frae defeat in his quarterfeenal against David Ferrer. The blue clay that haed troubled him the previous year thare haed been exchanged for the traditional red clay. In Mey, he won his record 24t Masters 1000 teetle, beatin Roger Federer for his 7t championship at the 2013 Rome Masters. It wis his 6t teetle o the saison an his aicht consecutive feenal. Thir victories raised his ranking tae warld No. 4.

Nadal won the 2013 French Open efter beatin Djokovic in the semifinal an Ferrer in the feenal. His match wi Djokovic wis widely considered ane o the greatest clay court matches ever played, as Nadal came back frae doun a break in the fift set tae tak oot a haurd-focht 4-oor, 37-minute veectory. Houiver, acause o the nuances o how rankings are calculatit (includin an improvement in performance bi the then warld No. 5 David Ferrer at the French Open), Nadal's warld ranking dropped frae No. 4 tae No. 5, wi Ferrer replacing him at No. 4.

Nadal then lost his first-roond match at the 2013 Wimbledon Championships in straucht sets tae unseedit Belgian Steve Darcis (ranked No. 135), makin it the seicont time in a row he failed tae reach the third roond at Wimbledon an the first ever time Nadal haed lost in the first roond o a Grand Slam. Darcis is the lowest-ranked player ever tae beat Nadal in a Grand Slam tournament.

In August 2013, Nadal won the semifeenal match in Montreal, denying Djokovic his fowert Rogers Cup teetle. Nadal proceeded tae win the teetle efter beatin Milos Raonic in the feenal in straucht sets. This wis Nadal's 25t Masters 1000 teetle an third teetle at the Canadian Open. He won his 26t ATP Masters 1000 in Cincinnati on Sunday 18 August efter beatin John Isner in the feenal. Nadal concluded a brilliant North American haurd court saison wi his 4t haurd court teetle o the year, defeatin Djokovic at the 2013 US Open feenal in fower sets, bringin his Slam count tae 13 an giein Nadal a male tennis record paycheck o $3.6 million.

Later in September, Nadal helped Spain secure thair Davis Cup World Group Playoff spot for 2014, wi a veectory against Sergiy Stakhovsky an a doubles win wi Marc Lopez. In October, he reached the feenal o the China Open, guaranteeing he wad acome warld nummer ane for the third time efter losin it in Julie 2011. In the feenal, he wis beaten bi Djokovic in straucht sets. At the 2013 Shanghai Rolex Masters, Nadal reached the semi-feenals but wis defeatit bi Del Potro.

In November 2013, Nadal played his feenal event o the saison in Lunnon at the 2013 ATP Warld Tour Finals whaur he secured the year end Warld Nummer Ane spot. Nadal beat David Ferrer, Stanislas Wawrinka an Tomáš Berdych in the Roond Robin stage tae set up a semi feenal an veectory ower Roger Federer. Nadal met Djokovic in the feenal, losin in straicht sets.

2014: Ninth French Open title & struggles with form

Main airticle: 2014 Rafael Nadal tennis season

Nadal during a press conference at the 2014 Internazionali BNL d'Italia

Rafael Nadal began his 2014 saison at the Qatar Open in Doha, defeatin Lukáš Rosol in the first roond an he won the teetle efter defeatin Gaël Monfils in the feenal. It wis annoonced in Februar 2014 that "After compiling one of the greatest comeback seasons on the ATP World Tour in 2013, World No. 1 Rafael Nadal is a contender to be nominated for the Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award."

At the Australian Open, he defeatit Roger Federer tae reach his third Australian Open feenal, improving his career record against Federer tae 23–10. This merked Nadal's 11t consecutive veectory in a Major semifeenal (seicont anly tae Borg's aw-time record o 14), an advanced him tae his 19t Major feenal, tyin him wi Lendl for seicont aw-time behind Federer's 24. It an aa merked Nadal's saxt consecutive veectory ower Federer in a Major. In the feenal, he faced Stanislas Wawrinka, against whom he entered the match wi a 12-0 record, haein won aw o thair previous 26 sets. Efter losin the first set, Nadal suffered a back injury doun 2-0 in the seicont set, an awtho he won a set, he lost the match in fower sets. The first tournament he played efter that wis the inaugural Rio Open which he won efter defeatin Alexandr Dolgopolov in the feenal extendin his record o ATP 500 teetles tae 15. Houiver, at the Indian Wells Masters, Dolgopolov wad avenge his loss, defeatin Nadal in three sets in the third roond. He reached the feenal o the Miami Masters afore fawin tae Novak Djokovic in straucht sets.

Nadal began his clay court saison wi a quarterfeenal loss tae David Ferrer in the Monte-Carlo Masters. He wis stunned bi Nicolas Almagro in the quarterfeenals o the Barcelona Open. Nadal won the Madrid Open efter Kei Nishikori retired in the third set. On 8 Juin 2014, Nadal defeatit Novak Djokovic in the Men's Singles French Open final tae win his 9t French Open teetle an a 5t straicht win at Roland Garros. Nadal dropped the first set but came back in the gemme tae win the next three sets tae lift the trophy. Nadal equaled Pete Sampras' tot o 14 Grand Slam wins, the seicont heichest nummer o single Grand Slam titles efter Roger Federer. Nadal lost in the seicont roond o the Halle Open tae Dustin Brown the follaein week.

Nadal then entered the Wimbledon Championships in a bid tae win the tournament for the third time an tae win his 15t Grand Slam teetle overall. In the first three roonds he faced Martin Kližan, Lukáš Rosol (tae whom he suffered a shock defeat at the same stage o the tournament twa years earlier) an Mikhail Kukushkin. In each o thir matches he lost the first set afore takin command an winnin them in fower sets. In the fowert roond he faced Australian teenager Nick Kyrgios (ranked 143 places lawer than Nadal) an again lost the first set, but despite winning the seicont set, he wis unable tae turn the tide an eventually lost in fower sets.

Nadal widrew frae the American swing due tae a wrist injury. He made his return at the 2014 China Open. He wis defeatit bi Martin Klizan in three sets. At the 2014 Shanghai Rolex Masters, he suffered frae appendicitis, therefore he eventually went doun bi Feliciano Lopez in straucht sets. Later, he wis upset bi Borna Coric at the quarterfeenals o the 2014 Swiss Indoors. Efter the loss, he annoonced that he will skip the rest o the saison.

2015: King of Clay Dethroned

Main airticle: 2015 Rafael Nadal tennis season

Nadal began the year as the defendin Champion at Qatar, but suffered a shocking three set defeat tae Michael Berrer in roond ane o the Qatar Open. He won the doubles teetle wi Juan Monaco. At the Australian Open, Nadal beat Mikhail Youzhny in the first roond in straucht sets, afore prevailing in a tough five-setter against American Tim Smyczek in the seicont roond, despite bein visibly unwell at times during the gemme. He then beat Dudi Sela an Kevin Anderson in straucht sets tae advance tae his 28t career quarterfeenal. Nadal lost in straucht sets tae Tomáš Berdych in the quarterfeenal, sicweys endin a 17-match winning streak against the seivent-seedit Czech.

Nadal lost in the semifeenal tae Fabio Fognini at the Rio Open, afore going on tae win his 46th career clay-court teetle against Juan Monaco at the Argentina Open. In Mey, Nadal lost in the quarterfeenals o the Rome Masters tae Stan Wawrinka in straucht sets.

On Juin 3rd, his 29t birthday, Nadal lost tae Novak Djokovic in the quarterfeenals o the French Open, endin his winning streak o 39 consecutive victories in Paris syne his defeat bi Robin Söderling in 2009. Efter the tournament, Nadal will drop tae nummer 10 in the ATP-rankings, his lowest ranking in ower a decade.

Rivalries

Relatit page: Big Four (tennis)

Nadal vs. Federer

Main airticle: Federer–Nadal rivalry

Nadal an Federer during the 2006 Wimbledon Championships final

Federer an Nadal hae been playin ilk ither syne 2004, an thair rivalry is a significant pairt o baith men's careers. Thay held the tap twa rankings on the ATP Tour frae Julie 2005 until 14 August 2009, whan Nadal fell tae warld No. 3 (Andy Murray acame the new No. 2). Thay are the anly pair o men tae hae ever finished fower consecutive calendar years at the tap. Nadal ascended tae No. 2 in Julie 2005 an held this spot for a record 160 consecutive weeks afore surpassing Federer in August 2008.

Thay hae played 33 times, an Nadal leads thair heid-tae-heid series 23–10 overall an 9–2 in Grand Slam tournaments. Fifteen o thair matches hae been on clay, which is statistically Nadal's best surface. Federer haes a winning record on grass (2–1) an indoor haurd courts (4–1) while Nadal leads the outdoor haurd courts bi 8–2 an clay bi 13–2.

As tournament seedings are based on rankings, 20 o thair matches hae been in tournament feenals, includin an aw-time record 8 Grand Slam tournament feenals. Frae 2006 tae 2008, thay played in every French Open an Wimbledon feenal, an an aa met in the teetle match o the 2009 Australian Open an the 2011 French Open. Nadal won sax o the aicht, losin the first twa Wimbledon feenals. Three o thir matches war five set-matches (2007 an 2008 Wimbledon, 2009 Australian Open), an the 2008 Wimbledon feenal haes been lauded as the greatest match ever bi mony lang-time tennis analysts.

Nadal vs. Djokovic

Main airticle: Djokovic–Nadal rivalry

Novak Djokovic an Nadal hae met 43 times (mair nor ony ither players in the Open Era) wi Nadal haein a 23–20 advantage. Nadal leads on grass 2–1 an clay 14–5, but Djokovic leads on haurd courts 14–7. In 2009, this rivalry wis listit as the third greatest o the previous 10 years bi ATPwarldtour.com. Djokovic is ane o anly twa players tae hae at least ten match wins against Nadal (the ither bein Federer) an the anly person tae defeat Nadal seiven consecutive times an twa times consecutively on clay. The twa earlier shared the record for the langest match played in a best o three sets (4 oors an 3 minutes) at the 2009 Mutua Madrid Open semifeenals until the match atween Roger Federer an Juan Martín del Potro in the London 2012 Olympics Semifinal, which is the langest best-of-three-set match bi time (at 4 oors an 26 minutes). Thay hae an aa played in a record 12 Masters Series feenals.

In the 2011 Wimbledon feenal, Djokovic won in fower sets for his first Slam feenal ower Nadal. Djokovic an aa defeatit Nadal in the 2011 US Open Final. In 2012, Djokovic defeatit Nadal in the Australian Open feenal for a third consecutive Slam feenal win ower Nadal. This wis the langest Grand Slam tournament feenal in Open era history at 5 hrs, 53 mins. Nadal won thair last three 2012 meetins in the feenal o Monte Carlo Masters, Rome Masters an French Open in Aprile, in Mey an in Juin 2012, respectively. In 2013, Djokovic defeatit Nadal in straucht sets in the feenal at Monte Carlo, endin Nadal's record aicht consecutive teetles thare, but Nadal got revenge at the French Open in an epic five-setter 9–7 in the fift. In August 2013, Nadal won in Montreal, denying Djokovic his fowert Rogers Cup teetle. Nadal an aa defeatit Djokovic in the 2013 US Open Final. In thair third clash o 2014 Nadal defeatit Djokovic in the 2014 French Open feenal.

Nadal vs. Murray

Main airticle: Murray–Nadal rivalry

Nadal an Murray in Tokyo

Nadal an Andy Murray hae met on 21 occasions syne 2007, wi Nadal leadin 15–6. Nadal leads 6–1 on clay, 3–0 on grass an 6–5 on haurd courts (includin 5–3 in outdoor courts, but Murray leads 2–1 on indoor haurd courts). The pair ance met regularly at Grand Slam level, wi aicht oot o thair twinty-ane meetins coming in slams, wi Nadal leadin 6–2 (3–0 at Wimbledon, 1–0 at the French Open, 1–1 at the Australian Open & 1–1 at the US Open). Seiven o thir aicht appearances hae been at quarterfeenal an semifeenal level, makin the rivalry an important pairt o baith men's careers. Thay hae never met in a Slam feenal, houiver, Murray leads 3–1 in ATP feenals, wi Nadal winning at Indian Wells in 2009 an Murray winnin in Rotterdam the same year, Tokyo in 2011, an Madrid in 2015.

Murray lost three consecutive Grand Slam semifeenals tae Nadal in 2011 frae the French Open tae the US Open. Remarkably, o the past 19 Grand Slam drawsheets, thay hae been drawn in the same hauf 16 times. The pair did nae meet in 2012, haein been scheduled tae meet in the semifeenal o the Miami Masters afore Nadal widrew wi injury.

Playing style

Nadal's forehand

Nadal generally plays an aggressive, behind-the-baseline gemme foondit on hivy topspin groundstrokes, consistency, speedy footwork an tenacious coort coverage, sicweys makin him an aggressive counterpuncher. Kent for his athleticism an speed aroond the court, Nadal is an excellent defender who hits well on the run, biggin winning plays frae seemingly defensive poseetions. He an aa plays very fine dropshots, which wirk especially well acause his hivy topspin eften forces opponents tae the back o the court.

Nadal playin on clay

Nadal employs a semi-wastren grip forehand, eften wi a "lasso-whip" follae throu, whaur his left arm hits throu the baw andfinishes abuin his left shouder – as opposed tae a mair traditional finish athort the body or aroond his opposite shouder. Nadal's forehand groundstroke form allows him tae hit shots wi hivy topspin – mair sae than mony o his contemporaries.

San Francisco tennis researcher John Yandell uised a heich-speed video camera an special software tae count the average nummer o revolutions o a tennis ball hit full force bi Nadal. While Nadal's shots tend tae land short o the baseline, the characteristically heich bounces his forehands achieve tend tae mitigate the advantage an opponent wad normally gain frae capitalizing on a short ball. Awtho his forehand is based on hivy topspin, he can hit the ball deep an flat wi a mair orthodox follae throu for clean winners.

“ "The first guys we did were Sampras an 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." ” — John Yandell, San Francisco-based tennis researcher.

Nadal's serve wis initially considered a waik pynt in his gemme, awtho his improvements in baith first-serve pynts won an break pynts saved syne 2005 hae allowed him tae consistently compete for an win major teetles on faster surfaces. Nadal relies on the consistency o his serve tae gain a strategic advantage in pynts, rather than going for service winners. Houiver, afore the 2010 US Open, he altered his service motion, arrivin in the trophy pose earlier an pullin the racket lawer during the trophy pose. Afore the 2010 U.S. Open, Nadal modified his service grip tae a mair continental ane. Thir twa changes in his serve increased his average speed bi aroond 10 mph during the 2010 US Open, maxing oot at 135 mph (217 km), allouin him tae win mair free pynts on his serve. Houiver, syne the 2010 US Open, Nadal's serve speed haes dropped back doun tae previous levels an haes again been citit as a need for improvement.

Nadal is a clay court specialeet in the sense that he haes been extremely successfu on that surface. Syne 2005, he won nine times at Roland Garros, aicht times at Monte Carlo an seiven at Rome. Houiver, Nadal haes shed that label due tae his success on ither surfaces, includin holding simultaneous Grand Slam tournament teetles on grass, haurd courts, an clay on twa separate occasions, winning aicht Masters series teetles on hardcourt, an winning the Olympic gowd medal on hardcourt.

Despite praise for Nadal's talent an skill, some hae questioned his longevity in the sport, citing his big an playin style as conducive tae injury. Nadal himsel haes admittit tae the physical toll haurd courts place on ATP Tour players, calling for a reevaluatit tour schedule featurin fewer haurd court tournaments.

Public image

Equipment and endorsements

Nike sleeveless shirt wi matching headband & wrist bands and Babolat AeroPro Drive GT at Roland Garros 2007

Nadal haes been sponsored bi Kia Motors syne 2006. He haes appeared in advertising campaigns for Kia as a global ambassador for the company. In Mey 2008, Kia released a claymation viral ad featurin Nadal in a tennis match wi an alien. In Mey 2015, Nadal extendit his partnership wi Kia for anither five years.

Nike serves as Nadal's clothing an shae sponsor. Nadal's signature on-court attire entailed a variety o sleeveless shirts paired wi 3/4 lenth capri pants. For the 2009 saison, Nadal adoptit mair-traditional on-court apparel. Nike encouraged Nadal tae update his leuk in order tae reflect his new status as the sport's tap player at that time an associate Nadal wi a style that, while less distinctive than his "pirate" leuk, wad be mair widely emulatit bi consumers. At warmup tournaments in Abu Dhabi an Doha, Nadal played matches in a polo shirt specifically designed for him bi Nike, paired wi shorts cut abuin the knee. Nadal's new, mair conventional style carried ower tae the 2009 Australian Open, whaur he wis outfittit wi Nike's Bold Crew Men's Tee an Nadal Lang Check Shorts. Nadal wears Nike's Air CourtBallistec 2.3 tennis shuin, bearing various customizations throughout the saison, includin his nickname "Rafa" on the right shae an a stylized bull logo on the left.

He acame the face o Lanvin's L'Homme Sport cologne in Aprile 2009. Nadal uses an AeroPro Drive racquet wi a 4​¹⁄₄-inch L2 grip. As of the 2010 season, Nadal's racquets are paintit tae resemble the new Babolat AeroPro Drive wi Cortex GT racquet in order tae mercat a current model which Babolat sells. Nadal uses no replacement grip, an insteid wraps twa overgrips aroond the haundle. He uised Duralast 15L strings until the 2010 saison, whan he switched tae Babolat's new, black-coloured, RPM Blast string. Nadal's rackets are ayeweys strung at 55 lb (25 kg), regairdless o which surface or conditions he is playin on.^{[citation needit]}

As o  2010, Nadal is the international ambassador for Quely, a company frae his native Mallorca that manufactures biscuits, bakery an chocolate coatit products; he haes consumed thair products ever syne he wis a young bairn.

In 2010, luxury watchmaker Richard Mille annoonced that he haed developed an ultra-licht wristwatch in collaboration wi Nadal cried the Richard Mille RM027 Tourbillon watch. The watch is made o titanium an lithium an is valued at US$525,000; Nadal wis involved in the design an testin o the watch on the tennis court. During the 2010 French Open, Men's Fitness reportit that Nadal wore the Richard Mille watch on the court as pairt o a sponsorship deal wi the Swiss watchmaker.

Nadal replaced Cristiano Ronaldo as the new face o Emporio Armani Underwear an Armani Jeans for the spring/summer 2011 collection. This wis the first time that the label haes chosen a tennis player for the job; association football haes ruled lately prior tae Ronaldo, David Beckham graced the ads syne 2008. Armani said that he selectit Nadal as his latest male unnerwear model acause "...he is ideal as he represents a healthy and positive model for youngsters."

In Juin 2012, Nadal jynt the group o sports endorsers o the PokerStars online poker cardroom. In December 2013, Nadal won a charity poker tournament against retired Brazilian football player Ronaldo an fower ither competitors.

In popular culture

In Februar 2010, Rafael Nadal wis featurt in the muisic video o Shakira's "Gypsy". an pairt o her album release She Wolf. In expleenin why she chose Nadal for the video, Shakira wis quotit as saying in an interview wi 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."

Asteroid

128036 Rafaelnadal is a main belt asteroid discovered in 2003 at the Observatorio Astronómico de Mallorca an named efter Nadal.

Off the court

Involvement in football

Nadal is an avid fan o association football club Real Madrid. On 8 Julie 2010, it wis reportit that he haed acome a shareholder o RCD Mallorca, his local club bi birth, in an attempt tae assist the club frae debt. Nadal reportedly ains 10 percent an wis offered the role o vice preses, but he rejectit that offer. His uncle Miguel Ángel Nadal, acame assistant coach unner Michael Laudrup. Nadal 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 efter acquiring his interest in Mallorca, Nadal cried oot UEFA for apparent hypocrisy in ejecting the club frae the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League for excessive debts, saying throu 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."

He is a fervent supporter o the Spanish national team, ane o anly sax people nae affiliatit wi the team or the national federation allowed intae the team's locker room immediately follaein Spain's veectory in the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final.

Philanthropy

Nadal teuk pairt in Thailand's "A Million Trees for the King" project, planting a tree in honour o Keeng Bhumibol Adulyadej on a veesit tae 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."

Fundación Rafa Nadal

The creation o the Fundación Rafa Nadal teuk place in November 2007, an its offeecial presentation wis in Februar 2008, at the Manacor Tennis Club in Mallorca, Spain. The foundation will focus on social wirk an development aid parteecularly on childhood an youth. On deciding why tae stairt a foundation, Nadal said "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 wis inspired bi the Red Cross benefit match against malaria wi 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."

Nadal's mither, Ana Maria Parera, chairs the charitable organisation an faither Sebastian is vice-chairman. Coach an uncle Toni Nadal an his agent, umwhile tennis player Carlos Costa, are an aa involved. Roger Federer haes gien Nadal advice on getting involved in philanthropy. Despite the fact that poverty in Indie struck him parteecularly haurd, Nadal wants tae stairt bi helpin "people close by, in the Balearic Islands, in Spain, and then, if possible, abroad."

On 16 October 2010, Nadal traveled tae Indie for the first time tae veesit his tennis academy for unnerprivileged childer at Anantapur Sports Village, in the Anantapur City, Andhra Pradesh. His foundation haes an aa worked in the Anantapur Educational Center project, in collaboration wi the Vicente Ferrer Foundation.

Personal life

Nadal lived wi his parents an younger sister Maria Isabel in a five-story apartment biggin in thair hometown o Manacor, Mallorca. In Juin 2009, Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, an then The New York Times, reportit that his parents, Ana Maria an Sebastian, haed separated. This news came efter weeks o speculation in Internet posts an message boards ower Nadal's personal issues as the cause o his setback.

Nadal haes revealed himsel tae be agnostic. As a young boy, he wad run home frae schuil tae watch Goku in his favorite Japanese anime, Dragon Ball. CNN released an article aboot Nadal's childhood inspiration, an cried him "the Dragon Ball of tennis" due tae his unorthodox style "from another planet."

In addition tae tennis an football, Nadal enjoys golf an an aa poker. In Aprile 2014 he played the warld's nummer 1 female poker player, Vanessa Selbst, in a poker gemme in Monaco. Nadal's autobiography, Rafa (Hyperion, 2012, ISBN 1401310923), written wi assistance frae John Carlin, wis published in August 2011.

Freemit airtins

• Offeecial wabsteid
• Rafael Nadal on Twitter
• Rafael Nadal on Facebook
• Rafael Nadal at the Association o Tennis Professionals
• Rafael Nadal at the Internaitional Tennis Federation
• Rafael Nadal at the Davis Cup