Tennis player Rafael Nadal: biography, achievements

Rafael Nadal is a Spanish sportsman, one of the most successful tennis players in history, judging by the number of awards won and the awards received.

Biography of the athlete

Future tennis player Rafael Nadal was born June 3, 1986 in Manacor. He is not the only child in the family. The parents of the tennis player were always far from the sport, nevertheless they supported the aspirations of the son. Father - Sebastian Nadal - a successful businessman, the owner of the restaurant and insurance company. Mother is a housewife. Love for tennis little Rafael instilled by his uncle Tony. He was also his first coach. Rafael's second uncle is formerly famous footballer Miguel Angel Nadal, who played for Mallorca and Barcelona. Rafael Nadal himself in his interviews repeatedly stated that he is a fan of Madrid "Real" and "Mallorca".

Early career years

In his childhood Rafael Nadal also played football. But doing both sports at the same time was harmful to the education of a young athlete. Then the father put the boy before the choice, and Rafael chose tennis.

At 15 he was already a professional player. And at that age he got his first victory. Thus, Nadal becomes the ninth player in the account, who managed to do it, not reaching 16 years.

In 2002, Nadal becomes a member of the youthful Wimbledon and enters the semi-finals.

In 2003 he is among the 50 best tennis players of the planet.

Already at the age of 18 he was part of the Spanish youth team, the winner of the Davis Cup Junior. After that, the quarry quickly goes up.

In 2004, Rafael Nadal played for the main team in the Davis Cup. This tournament the Spaniards won, and Nadal became the youngest player who could become the winner of this match. At the time he was 18.

Rafael Nadal: matches that are remembered

1. The victory over Andy Roddick (at that time - the first racket of the world) in the Davis Cup 2004. This was the final match, which decided who will get the trophy - the Spaniards or the Americans. The victory of Nadal allowed in the end to celebrate the success of the Spanish team with a total score of 3: 2.
2. The victory over Roger Federer in 2006, in the finals of the tournament in Dubai. In that season only two people could beat the Swiss. They were Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray.
3. Victory over Federer in the final of the French Open. This game was very difficult. The Spaniard only managed to beat Roger on a tiebreak and thus became the first: he managed to beat Federer in the final match of the Grand Slam tournament.

Separate attention deserves a match against Federer in the final of Wimbledon. This game was called by many the greatest fight in history. Both athletes came to a meeting in great shape. The game lasted a very long time, and already in the dark, Nadal won only in the fifth set.

Fights in the semifinals and finals of the 2008 Olympics are also significant in the career of a tennis player. They were defeated Novak Djokovic and Fernanado Gonzalez respectively. Thus, Nadal was the first Olympic champion. After this victory, Rafael Nadal for the first time in his career topped the world ranking.

The worst enemy of Nadal on the tennis court is Roger Federer. For a long time, tennis players shared the first line of the world ranking. But it should be noted that rivals always treated each other with great respect.

In the career of the tennis player was a large number of wonderful matches. But unfortunately, Nadal often gets injured - he has problems with his knees. If it were not for the traumatism of the athlete, perhaps he would have become the best tennis player in the history of this sport. Nevertheless, he is already one of the strongest.

Nadal Raphael: rating

In the world ratings Nadal never left the top ten since the moment he hit it. For a long time he headed the top of the strongest tennis players in the world.

At some time, only Nadal and Federer really claimed the first line. But when he gained experience in big tournaments Novak Djokovic, he was able to interrupt the hegemony of the Spaniard and the Swiss. Last time, Nadal headed the rating in 2013, after winning the US Open, and after the China Open final.

Personal life of the tennis player and interesting facts about him

When Rafael was still a child, his parents divorced. Divorce boy experienced hard, but the sport helped him to cope with this trouble.

Once he was asked about faith in God, and he replied that he would like to believe in the existence of the Almighty, but he does not get it.

The tennis player is the owner of the shares of the Mallorca football club. He owns 10 percent. He even received an offer to become vice-president of the club, but the tennis player refused.

Nadal was one of six lucky ones who managed to get to the locker room of the Spanish national football team after winning the 2010 World Cup.

The tennis player is an official person of the company "Nike" and always appears in the clothes of this particular company. On his right sneaker flaunts the inscription Rafa, and on the left - the bull's logo.

Is Rafael Nadal married? The personal life of the tennis player has not yet become public. But the less everyone knows that he has met the girl since school years. Her name is Maria Perello Pascual. It is believed that she played an important role in the formation of Nadal as an individual.

Participation in large tournaments

• Olympics 2008;
• Participant in all Grand Slam tournaments;
• US Open;
• Roland Garros;
• The Davis Cup.

Achievements

• Two wins at Wimbledon.
• Two wins at US OPEN.
• Victory at the Open Australian Championship (2009).
• The greatest number of wins in the Masters series, in the history - 27.
• Four victories in the Davis Cup in the national team.
• He holds the record for the number of fights won on one cover (ground) - 81.
• Nine-time winner of Roland Garros.
• The owner of the Golden Helmet.