Global Sports: Rafael Nadal: The Spanish Clay Tennis Expert

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Rafael Nadal: The Spanish Clay Tennis Expert

By Matt Harmon


Rafael Nadal is a pro tennis player hailing from Manacor, Mallorca. He was born on June 3, 1986. Nick-named "The King of Clay" thanks to his strings of success on the clay court, he represents Spain and was previously the World No. 1. As of October 24, 2011, the Organisation of Tennis Execs ranked him No. 2, with Novak Djokovich earning the World No. 1 title.

He first made his mark in ATP at age 15 when he beat Ramon Delgado. He was among the nine pro tennis players to have accomplished such a feat before their 16th birthday. "The King of Clay" moniker came in 2006 when he won all his clay court matches in the entire year. That year also saw him appeared as the winner in the Grand Slam last against the then World No. 1 Roger Federer, who had never lost in a Grand Slam last before.

Apart from being a great player, Nadal is also famous for being ambidextrous. He uses his left hand while playing tennis but uses his right hand when writing. He in addition has mastered the 2 handed backhand. He started out as being right handed but his coach, who also turns out to be his uncle, encouraged him to play lefty so that he will be able to employ his right hand for the 2 handed back hand to a larger advantage.

After earning the title ATP Noobie of the Year in 2003, he made it obvious he was the one to keep an eye open for by entering the Top 50 and grabbing two Challenger titles by the year's end. The next year, a stress fracture made him particularly absent from the court but in 2005, he gained back the momentum in the Australian Open in a match against Lleyton Newitt. Since that point, the Spanish tennis player appeared irresistible.

Rafa started the year 2008 as the World's second best tennis player. So far, he had won 23 titles in three straight years and made it to the Wimbledon finals twice. By that point, there was only Roger Federer who forestalled him from becoming World No. 1. That sparked a contention which was increased by the media hype.

Rafael Nadal held on to the number 2 spot for a record-breaking 160 sequential weeks. That modified in October 18, 2008 when he ultimately became World No. 1 and held on to it till July 5, 2009. In June 7, 2010, he became No. 1 again after earning a French Open title for the 5th time. But his reign ended in July 3, 2011 when he lost to Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final.




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