Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal Parera (born June 3, 1986 in Manacor, Majorca) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He has been ranked World No. 2 for a record 158 consecutive weeks but will become World No. 1 on 18 August 2008.
Nadal has won five Grand Slam singles titles: the last four French Opens and Wimbledon in 2008. He is the only man other than Björn Borg to have won four consecutive French Open titles, one of only three men in the open era who won both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same calendar year, and only the second male Spaniard to have won Wimbledon. He won a gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Nadal is already regarded by some tennis critics and top players as the greatest clay-court player ever.
He has a 22-1 record in clay court tournament finals and is undefeated in over 40 best-of-five-set matches on clay.
In each of the last four years, he has won both the French Open and two of the three clay court Masters Series tournaments. He also owns the longest single-surface winning streak in the open era, having won 81 consecutive matches on clay from April 2005 to May 2007.
Nadal has won 12 of his 18 matches against rival Roger Federer, including four of their six Grand Slam finals.
As of August 9, Nadal has a 61-8 win-loss record and has won seven singles titles, including the French Open and Wimbledon. He also had a career-best 32 match winning streak during which he captured five titles and secured the World No. 1 ranking for the first time.
He began the year by reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open for the first time. He also reached the final of the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida for the second time.
During the spring clay court season, Nadal won four singles titles and defeated Roger Federer in three finals. He beat Federer at the Masters Series Monte Carlo for the third straight year, capturing his open era record fourth consecutive title there. He won in straight sets, despite Federer holding a 4-0 lead in the second set.
He then won his fourth consecutive title at the Open Sabadell Atlantico tournament in Barcelona. A few weeks later, Nadal won his first title at the Masters Series Hamburg, defeating Federer in the three-set final. He then won the French Open, becoming only the fifth man in the open era to win a Grand Slam singles title without losing a set.
He defeated Federer in the final for the third straight year, but this was the most lopsided of all their matches, as Nadal only lost four games and gave Federer his first bagel since 1999.This was Nadal's fourth consecutive French title, tying Björn Borg's all-time record.
He then played Federer in the final of Wimbledon for the third consecutive year, in the most anticipated match of their rivalry.
Nadal entered the final on a 23 match winning streak, including his first career grass court title at the Artois Championships, staged at Queen's Club in London prior to Wimbledon. Federer was also on a roll, having won his record fifth grass court title at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle without facing a break point and then reaching the Wimbledon final without losing a set. Unlike their previous two Wimbledon finals, though, Federer was not the prohibitive favorite, and many analysts picked Nadal to win.
They played the longest final in Wimbledon history, and because of rain delays, Nadal won the fifth set 9-7 in near-darkness. The match was widely lauded as the greatest Wimbledon final ever, with some long-time tennis critics even calling it the greatest match ever.
By winning his first Wimbledon title, Nadal became only the third man in the open era to win both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year and only the second Spaniard to win Wimbledon. He also ended Federer's record streaks of five consecutive Wimbledon titles and 65 straight wins on grass.
After Wimbledon, Nadal extended his winning streak to a career-best 32 matches. He won his second Rogers Cup title in Toronto and then lost in the semifinals of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio. These results combined with Federer's early round losses in both of those tournaments guaranteed Nadal the World No. 1 ranking on August 18th, officially ending Federer's record four-and-a-half year reign at the top.
At the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, Nadal defeated Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the semifinals 6–4, 1–6, 6–4, and went on to defeat Fernando González of Chile in the final to win his first Olympic Gold Medal, becoming the first player in the top five to win the gold medal ever.
Per August 18 2008, Rafael Nadal will be number one in the ATP ranking.
Nadal's playing style is best tailored for clay courts, although currently his tennis is suited to all court surfaces. In past years Nadal has been called a clay court specialist, but he has adapted 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, consistency and accuracy, 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.
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 due to 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.
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.
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 quickly up to the net to return any drop shot made by his opponent.
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.
Equipment
Nadal uses a Babolat AeroPro Drive racquet without the newly added cortex system. 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 53 and 55 pounds.
His clothing sponsor is Nike and he known for his unconventional wear, turning up in sleeveless tops and Capri pants in a variety of colours. He also wears the Nike Air Max Breathe Cage II shoes which have been customized for him with the famous "Vamos Rafa" slogan 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 head on the other.
Nadal has won five Grand Slam singles titles: the last four French Opens and Wimbledon in 2008. He is the only man other than Björn Borg to have won four consecutive French Open titles, one of only three men in the open era who won both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same calendar year, and only the second male Spaniard to have won Wimbledon. He won a gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Nadal is already regarded by some tennis critics and top players as the greatest clay-court player ever.
He has a 22-1 record in clay court tournament finals and is undefeated in over 40 best-of-five-set matches on clay.
In each of the last four years, he has won both the French Open and two of the three clay court Masters Series tournaments. He also owns the longest single-surface winning streak in the open era, having won 81 consecutive matches on clay from April 2005 to May 2007.
Nadal has won 12 of his 18 matches against rival Roger Federer, including four of their six Grand Slam finals.
As of August 9, Nadal has a 61-8 win-loss record and has won seven singles titles, including the French Open and Wimbledon. He also had a career-best 32 match winning streak during which he captured five titles and secured the World No. 1 ranking for the first time.
He began the year by reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open for the first time. He also reached the final of the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida for the second time.
During the spring clay court season, Nadal won four singles titles and defeated Roger Federer in three finals. He beat Federer at the Masters Series Monte Carlo for the third straight year, capturing his open era record fourth consecutive title there. He won in straight sets, despite Federer holding a 4-0 lead in the second set.
He then won his fourth consecutive title at the Open Sabadell Atlantico tournament in Barcelona. A few weeks later, Nadal won his first title at the Masters Series Hamburg, defeating Federer in the three-set final. He then won the French Open, becoming only the fifth man in the open era to win a Grand Slam singles title without losing a set.
He defeated Federer in the final for the third straight year, but this was the most lopsided of all their matches, as Nadal only lost four games and gave Federer his first bagel since 1999.This was Nadal's fourth consecutive French title, tying Björn Borg's all-time record.
He then played Federer in the final of Wimbledon for the third consecutive year, in the most anticipated match of their rivalry.
Nadal entered the final on a 23 match winning streak, including his first career grass court title at the Artois Championships, staged at Queen's Club in London prior to Wimbledon. Federer was also on a roll, having won his record fifth grass court title at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle without facing a break point and then reaching the Wimbledon final without losing a set. Unlike their previous two Wimbledon finals, though, Federer was not the prohibitive favorite, and many analysts picked Nadal to win.
They played the longest final in Wimbledon history, and because of rain delays, Nadal won the fifth set 9-7 in near-darkness. The match was widely lauded as the greatest Wimbledon final ever, with some long-time tennis critics even calling it the greatest match ever.
By winning his first Wimbledon title, Nadal became only the third man in the open era to win both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year and only the second Spaniard to win Wimbledon. He also ended Federer's record streaks of five consecutive Wimbledon titles and 65 straight wins on grass.
After Wimbledon, Nadal extended his winning streak to a career-best 32 matches. He won his second Rogers Cup title in Toronto and then lost in the semifinals of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio. These results combined with Federer's early round losses in both of those tournaments guaranteed Nadal the World No. 1 ranking on August 18th, officially ending Federer's record four-and-a-half year reign at the top.
At the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, Nadal defeated Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the semifinals 6–4, 1–6, 6–4, and went on to defeat Fernando González of Chile in the final to win his first Olympic Gold Medal, becoming the first player in the top five to win the gold medal ever.
Per August 18 2008, Rafael Nadal will be number one in the ATP ranking.
Nadal's playing style is best tailored for clay courts, although currently his tennis is suited to all court surfaces. In past years Nadal has been called a clay court specialist, but he has adapted 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, consistency and accuracy, 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.
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 due to 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.
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.
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 quickly up to the net to return any drop shot made by his opponent.
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.
Equipment
Nadal uses a Babolat AeroPro Drive racquet without the newly added cortex system. 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 53 and 55 pounds.
His clothing sponsor is Nike and he known for his unconventional wear, turning up in sleeveless tops and Capri pants in a variety of colours. He also wears the Nike Air Max Breathe Cage II shoes which have been customized for him with the famous "Vamos Rafa" slogan 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 head on the other.
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