Rafael Nadal

Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera (Catalan: [rəfəˈɛɫ nəˈðaɫ pəˈɾeɾə], Spanish: [rafaˈel naˈðal paˈɾeɾa]; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is widely regarded as the greatest clay-court player in history,^{[lower-alpha 1]} and owing to his dominance and success on the surface, he has been titled "The King of Clay".^{[lower-alpha 2]} His evolution into an all-court threat has established him as one of the greatest players in tennis history,^{[lower-alpha 3]} with some considering Nadal to be the greatest player of all time.^[26]

Nadal has won 14 Grand Slam singles titles, the 2008 Olympic gold medal in singles, 28 titles in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events,^[27]^[28]^[29] and 17 ATP World Tour 500 tournaments (a record tied with Roger Federer). He was also a member of the winning Spain Davis Cup team in 2004, 2008, 2009, and 2011. In 2010, he became the seventh player in history and youngest of four in the Open Era to achieve the Career Grand Slam at age 24. He is the second male player, after Andre Agassi, to complete the singles Career Golden Slam. In 2011, Nadal was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year.^[30] The left-hander is the sixth player in the Open Era to reach more than 100 finals on the ATP World Tour.

Nadal and Mats Wilander are the only two male players in history who have won at least two Grand Slam titles on three different surfaces—hard court, grass, and clay.^[31] By winning the 2014 French Open, Nadal became the third player to win a single Grand Slam tournament nine times (Martina Navratilova 9, Margaret Court 11) and the first to win at least one Grand Slam tournament for ten consecutive years, breaking the record of eight consecutive years previously shared by Björn Borg, Pete Sampras, and Roger Federer. Nadal holds the record after winning his eighth straight Monte-Carlo Masters in 2012 and is the only player in the open era to achieve such a feat. Nadal is the only male player in tennis history to win one Grand Slam and Masters 1000 title for ten consecutive years from 2005–2014. He equalled Guillermo Vilas's all-time record of 49 clay court titles by winning the Barcelona Open in 2016.

Early life

Rafael Nadal was born in Manacor, Balearic Islands, Spain, to Sebastián Nadal, a businessman who owns an insurance company, a glass and window company, Vidres Mallorca, and manages his own restaurant, Sa Punta. His mother is Ana María Parera, a housewife. He has a younger sister named María Isabel. His uncle, Miguel Ángel Nadal, is a retired professional footballer, who played for RCD Mallorca, FC Barcelona, and the Spanish national team.^[32] Nadal supports football clubs Real Madrid and RCD Mallorca.^[33] Recognizing that Nadal had a natural talent for tennis, another uncle, Toni Nadal, a former professional tennis player, introduced him to tennis when he was three years old.^[34]

At age eight, Nadal won an under-12 regional tennis championship at a time when he was also a promising football player.^[35] This made Toni Nadal intensify training, and at that time he encouraged Nadal to play left-handed for a natural advantage on the tennis court, as he noticed Nadal played forehand shots with two hands.^[35] This may be due to the fact he is ambidextrous, playing tennis with his left hand, and writing with his right.^[36]

When Nadal was 12, he won the Spanish and European tennis titles in his age group and was playing tennis and football all the time.^[35] Nadal's father made him choose between football and tennis so that his school work would not deteriorate entirely. Nadal said: "I chose tennis. Football had to stop straight away."^[35]

When he was 14, the Spanish tennis federation requested that he leave Mallorca and move to Barcelona to continue his tennis training. Nadal's family turned down this request, partly because they feared it would hurt his education,^[35] but also because 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."^[34] The decision to stay home meant that Nadal received less financial support from the federation; instead, Nadal's father covered the costs. In May 2001, he defeated former Grand Slam tournament champion Pat Cash in a clay-court exhibition match.^[32]

Nadal turned professional at the age of 15,^[37] and participated in two events on the ITF junior circuit. In 2002, at the age of 16, Nadal reached the semifinals of the Boy's Singles tournament at Wimbledon, in his first ITF junior event.^[38] In the same year he helped Spain defeat the USA in the final of the Junior Davis Cup in his second, and final, appearance on the ITF junior circuit.^[38]^[39]

By the age of 17, he beat Roger Federer the first time they played and became the youngest man to reach the third round at Wimbledon since Boris Becker. At 19, Nadal won the French Open the first time he played it, a feat not accomplished in Paris for more than 20 years. He eventually won it the first four times he played at Roland Garros.^[37] In 2003, he had won the ATP Newcomer of the Year Award. Early in his career, Nadal became known for his habit of biting the trophies he won.^[40]

Tennis career

Rafael Nadal Singles Ranking History Chart

Singles Ranking Composite History Chart (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic)

2002–2004

In April 2002, at 15 years and 10 months, the world No. 762 Nadal won his first ATP match, defeating Ramón Delgado, and became the ninth player in the Open Era to do so before the age of 16.^[41] The following year, Nadal won two Challenger titles and finished the year in the top 50. At his Wimbledon debut in 2003, Nadal became the youngest man to reach the third round since Boris Becker in 1984.^[42]

Nadal reached the third round of the 2004 Australian Open where he lost in three sets against Australian Lleyton Hewitt. Interestingly, had he won, he would have faced Roger Federer in the next round.^[43] Later that year, Nadal played his first match against world No. 1 Roger Federer at the 2004 Miami Masters, and won in straight sets, before losing to Fernando González in the fourth round. He was one of the six players who defeated Federer that year (along with Tim Henman, Albert Costa, Gustavo Kuerten, Dominik Hrbatý, and Tomáš Berdych). He missed most of the clay court season, including the French Open, because of a stress fracture in his left ankle.^[32]

Nadal, at 18 years and six months, became the youngest player to register a singles victory in a Davis Cup final for a winning nation.^[44] By beating world No. 2 Andy Roddick, he helped Spain clinch the 2004 title over the United States in a 3–2 win. He finished the year ranked world No. 51.

2005: First Grand Slam title

Main article: 2005 Rafael Nadal tennis season

At the 2005 Australian Open, Nadal lost in the fourth round to eventual runner-up Lleyton Hewitt. Two months later, Nadal reached the final of the 2005 Miami Masters, and despite being two points from a straight-sets victory, he was defeated in five sets by world No. 1 Roger Federer. Both performances were considered to be breakthroughs for Nadal.^[45]^[46]

He then dominated the spring clay court season. He won 24 consecutive singles matches, which broke Andre Agassi's Open Era record of consecutive match wins for a male teenager.^[47] Nadal won the Torneo Conde de Godó in Barcelona and beat 2004 French Open runner-up Guillermo Coria in the finals of the 2005 Monte Carlo Masters and the 2005 Rome Masters. These victories raised his ranking to world No. 5^[48] and made him one of the favorites at his career-first French Open. On his 19th birthday, Nadal defeated Federer in the 2005 French Open semifinals, being one of only four players who defeated the top-seeded player that year (along with Marat Safin, Richard Gasquet, and David Nalbandian). Two days later, he defeated Mariano Puerta in the final, becoming the second male player after Mats Wilander to win the French Open on his first attempt. He also became the first teenager to win a Grand Slam singles title since Pete Sampras won the 1990 US Open at age 19.^[32] Winning the French Open improved Nadal's ranking to world No. 3.^[48]

Three days after his victory in Paris, Nadal's 24-match winning streak was snapped in the first round of the grass court Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany, where he lost to the German Alexander Waske.^[49] He then lost in the second round of 2005 Wimbledon to Gilles Müller of Luxembourg.

Immediately after Wimbledon, Nadal won 16 consecutive matches and three consecutive tournaments, bringing his ranking to world No. 2 on 25 July 2005.

Nadal started his North American summer hard-court season by defeating Agassi in the final of the 2005 Canada Masters, but lost in the first round of the 2005 Cincinnati Masters. Nadal was seeded second at the 2005 US Open, where he was upset in the third round by world No. 49 James Blake in four sets.

In September, he defeated Coria in the final of the China Open in Beijing and won both of his Davis Cup matches against Italy. In October, he won his fourth ATP Masters Series title of the year, defeating Ivan Ljubičić in the final of the 2005 Madrid Masters. He then suffered a foot injury that prevented him from competing in the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup.^[50]

Both Nadal and Federer won eleven singles titles and four ATP Masters Series titles in 2005. Nadal broke Mats Wilander's previous teenage record of nine in 1983.^[51] Nine of Nadal's titles were on clay, and the remainder were on hard courts. Nadal won 79 matches, second only to Federer's 81. Nadal won the Golden Bagel Award for 2005, with eleven 6–0 sets during the year.^[52] Also, he earned the highest year-end ranking ever by a Spaniard and the ATP Most Improved Player of the Year award.

2006: Second French Open title

Main article: 2006 Rafael Nadal tennis season

Nadal in 2006

Nadal missed the Australian Open because of a foot injury.^[53] In February, he lost in the semifinals of the first tournament he played, the Open 13 tournament in Marseille, France. Two weeks later, he handed Roger Federer his first loss of the year in the final of the Dubai Duty Free Men's Open (in 2006, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray were the only two men who defeated Federer). To complete the spring hard-court season, Nadal was upset in the semifinals of the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, by James Blake, and was upset in the second round of the 2006 Miami Masters.

On European clay, Nadal won all four tournaments he entered and 24 consecutive matches. He defeated Federer in the final of the Masters Series Monte Carlo in four sets. The following week, he defeated Tommy Robredo in the final of the Open Sabadell Atlántico tournament in Barcelona. After a one-week break, Nadal won the Masters Series Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, defeating Federer in a fifth-set tiebreaker in the final, after saving two match points and equaling Björn Borg's tally of 16 ATP titles won as a teenager. Nadal broke Argentinian Guillermo Vilas's 29-year male record of 53 consecutive clay-court match victories by winning his first round match at the French Open. Vilas presented Nadal with a trophy, but commented later that Nadal's feat was less impressive than his own because Nadal's winning streak covered two years and was accomplished by adding easy tournaments to his schedule.^[54]

Nadal went on to play Federer in the final of the French Open. The first two sets of the match were hardly competitive, as the rivals traded 6–1 sets. Nadal won the third set easily and served for the match in the fourth set before Federer broke him and forced a tiebreaker. Nadal won the tiebreaker and became the first player to defeat Federer in a Grand Slam tournament final.^[55]

2006 Roland Garros champion

Nadal injured his shoulder while playing a quarterfinal match against Lleyton Hewitt at the Artois Championships, played on grass at the Queen's Club in London.^[56] Nadal was unable to complete the match, which ended his 26-match winning streak. Nadal was seeded second at Wimbledon, but was two points from defeat against American qualifier Robert Kendrick in the second round before coming back to win in five sets. In the third round, Nadal defeated world No. 20 Andre Agassi in straight sets at Agassi's last career match at Wimbledon. Nadal also won his next three matches in straight sets, which set up his first Wimbledon final, which was against Federer, who had won this tournament the three previous years. Nadal was the first Spanish man since Manuel Santana in 1966, to reach the Wimbledon final, but Federer won the match in four sets to win his fourth consecutive Wimbledon title.

During the lead up to the US Open, Nadal played the two Masters Series tournaments in North America. He was upset in the third round of the Rogers Cup in Toronto and the quarterfinals of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati. Nadal was seeded second at the US Open, but lost in the quarterfinals to world No. 54 Mikhail Youzhny of Russia in four sets.

Nadal played only three tournaments the remainder of the year. Joachim Johansson, ranked world No. 690, upset Nadal in the second round of the Stockholm Open. The following week, Nadal lost to Tomáš Berdych in the quarterfinals of the year's last Masters Series tournament, the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid. During the round-robin stage of the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup, Nadal lost to James Blake but defeated Nikolay Davydenko and Robredo. Because of those two victories, Nadal qualified for the semifinals, where he lost to Federer. This was Nadal's third loss in nine career matches with Federer.

Nadal went on to become the first player since Andre Agassi in 1994–95 to finish the year as the world No. 2 in consecutive years.

2007: Third French Open title

Main article: 2007 Rafael Nadal tennis season

Nadal started the year by playing in six hard-court tournaments. He lost in the semifinals and first round of his first two tournaments and then lost in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open to eventual runner-up Fernando González. After another quarterfinal loss at the Dubai Tennis Championships, he won the 2007 Indian Wells Masters, before Novak Djoković defeated him in the quarterfinals of the 2007 Miami Masters.

He had comparatively more success after returning to Europe to play five clay-court tournaments. He won the titles at the Masters Series Monte Carlo, the Open Sabadell Atlántico in Barcelona, and the Masters Series Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, before losing to Roger Federer in the final of 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 to win the French Open for the third straight year, defeating Federer once again in the final.

Between the tournaments in Barcelona and Rome, Nadal defeated Federer in the "Battle of Surfaces" exhibition match in Mallorca, Spain, with the tennis court being half grass and half clay.^[57]

Nadal played the Artois Championships at the Queen's Club in London for the second consecutive year. As in 2006, Nadal was upset in the quarterfinals. Nadal then won consecutive five-set matches during the third and fourth rounds of Wimbledon before being beaten by Federer in the five-set final. This was Federer's first five-set match at Wimbledon since 2001.^[58]

In July, Nadal won the clay court Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, which proved to be his last title of the year. He played three important tournaments during the North American summer hard court season. He was a semifinalist at the Masters Series Rogers Cup in Montreal before losing his first match at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati. He was the second-seeded player at the US Open, but was defeated in the fourth round by David Ferrer.

After a month-long break from tournament tennis, Nadal played the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid and the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris. David Nalbandian upset him in the quarterfinals and final of those tournaments. To end the year, Nadal won two of his three round robin matches to advance to the semifinals of the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, where Federer defeated him in straight sets.

During the second half of the year, Nadal battled a knee injury suffered during the Wimbledon final. In addition, there were rumors at the end of the year that the foot injury he suffered during 2005, caused long-term damage, which were given credence by coach Toni Nadal's claim that the problem was "serious". Nadal and his spokesman strongly denied this, however, with Nadal himself calling the story "totally false".^[59]

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

Main article: 2008 Rafael Nadal tennis season

Nadal began the year in India, where he was comprehensively beaten by Mikhail Youzhny in the final of the Chennai Open. Nadal then reached the semifinals of the Australian Open for the first time. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated Nadal in the semifinal of 2008 Australian Open. Nadal also reached the final of the Miami Masters 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's holding a 4–0 lead in the second set.^[60] Nadal then won his fourth consecutive title at the Open Sabadell Atlántico 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 the fifth man in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam singles title without losing a set.^[61] 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.^[60] This was Nadal's fourth consecutive French title, tying Björn Borg's all-time record. Nadal became the fourth male player during Open era to win the same Grand Slam singles tournament four consecutive years (the others being Borg, Pete Sampras, and Federer).

Nadal against Andreas Beck in the 2008 Wimbledon Championships first round

Nadal then played Federer in the final of Wimbledon for the third consecutive year, in the most anticipated match of their rivalry.^[62]^[63] Nadal entered the final on a 23-match winning streak, including his first career grass-court title at the Artois Championships staged at the Queen's Club in London prior to Wimbledon. Federer had won his record fifth grass-court title at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, and then reached 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.^[63]^[64] They played the longest (in terms of time on court, not in terms of numbers of games) 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 tennis critics even calling it the greatest match in tennis history.^[65]^[66]^[67]^[68]^[69]

By winning his first Wimbledon title, Nadal became the third man in the open era to win both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year, after Rod Laver in 1969, and Borg in 1978–80, (Federer later accomplished this the following year) as well as the second Spaniard to win Wimbledon. He also ended Federer's record streak of five consecutive Wimbledon titles and 65 straight wins on grass courts. This was also the first time that Nadal won two Grand Slam tournaments back-to-back.

After Wimbledon, Nadal extended his winning streak to a career-best 32 matches. He won his second Rogers Cup title in Toronto, and then made it into the semifinals of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati. As a result, Nadal clinched the US Open Series and, combined with Federer's early-round losses in both of those tournaments, finally earned the world No. 1 ranking on 18 August, officially ending Federer's record four-and-a-half-year reign at the top.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Nadal defeated Novak Djoković in the semifinals and Fernando González of Chile in the final to win his first Olympic gold medal. Nadal became the first male player ranked in the top five to win the gold medal.^[70]

At the US Open, Nadal was the top-seeded player for the first time at a Grand Slam tournament. He did not lose a set during his first three matches, defeating qualifiers in the first and second rounds and Viktor Troicki in the third round. He then needed four sets to defeat both Sam Querrey in the fourth round and Mardy Fish in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, he lost to eventual runner up, Andy Murray. Later in the year in Madrid, Nadal helped Spain defeat the United States in the Davis Cup semifinals.

At the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid, Nadal lost in the semifinals to Gilles Simon. However, his performance at the event guaranteed that he would become the first Spaniard during the open era to finish the year as the world No. 1.^[71] On 24 October at the Campoamor theatre in Oviedo, Spain, Nadal was given the Prince of Asturias Award for Sports, in recognition of his achievements in tennis.^[72] Two weeks after the Madrid Masters at the BNP Paribas Masters in France, Nadal reached the quarterfinals, where he faced Nikolay Davydenko. Nadal lost the first set 6–1, before retiring in the second with a knee injury.^[73] The following week, Nadal announced his withdrawal from the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, citing tendinitis of the knee. On 10 November, Nadal withdrew from Spain's Davis Cup final against Argentina, as his knee injury had not healed completely.^[74]

2009: Australian Open title, loss at French Open

Main article: 2009 Rafael Nadal tennis season

Nadal at the 2009 French Open

Nadal's first official ATP tour event for the year was the 250 series Qatar Open in Doha. After his first-round match with Fabrice Santoro, Nadal was awarded the 2008 ATP World Tour Champion trophy.^[75] Nadal eventually lost in the quarterfinals to Gaël Monfils. Nadal also entered and won the tournament's doubles event with partner Marc López, defeating the world No. 1 doubles team of Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić in the final. As noted by statistician Greg Sharko, this was the first time since 1990 the world No. 1 singles player had played the world No. 1 doubles player in a final.^[76]

At the 2009 Australian Open, Nadal won his first five matches without dropping a set, before defeating compatriot Fernando Verdasco in the semifinals in the second longest match in Australian Open history at 5 hours and 14 minutes.^[77] This win set up a championship match with Roger Federer, their first meeting ever in a hard-court Grand Slam tournament and their nineteenth meeting overall. Nadal defeated Federer in five sets to earn his first hard-court Grand Slam singles title,^[78] making him the first Spaniard to win the Australian Open and the fourth male tennis player—after Jimmy Connors, Mats Wilander, and Andre Agassi—to win Grand Slam singles titles on three different surfaces. This win also made Nadal the first male tennis player to hold three Grand Slam singles titles on three different surfaces at the same time.^[79]

At the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, Nadal lost in the final to second-seeded Andy Murray in three sets. During the final, Nadal called a trainer to attend to a tendon problem with his right knee, which notably affected his play in the final set.^[80] Although this knee problem was not associated with Nadal's right knee tendonitis, it was serious enough to cause him to withdraw from the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships a week later.^[81]

In March, Nadal helped Spain defeat Serbia in a Davis Cup World Group first-round tie on clay in Benidorm, Spain. Nadal defeated Janko Tipsarević and Novak Djokovic. The win over world No. 3 Djokovic was Nadal's twelfth consecutive Davis Cup singles match win and boosted his career win–loss record against Djokovic to 11–4, including 6–0 on clay.^[82]^[83]

At the 2009 Indian Wells Masters, Nadal won his thirteenth Masters 1000 series tournament. In the fourth round, Nadal saved five match points, before defeating David Nalbandian for the first time.^[84] Nadal defeated Juan Martín del Potro in the quarterfinals and Andy Roddick in the semifinals, before defeating Murray in the final. The next ATP tour event was the 2009 Miami Masters. Nadal advanced to the quarterfinals, where he again faced Argentinian del Potro, this time losing the match. This was the first time del Potro had defeated Nadal in five career matches.^[85]

Nadal began his European clay court season at the 2009 Monte Carlo Masters, where he won a record fifth consecutive singles title there.^[86] He defeated Novak Djokovic in the final for his fifth consecutive win, a record in the open era. Nadal is the first male player to win the same ATP Master series event for five consecutive years.

Nadal then competed in the ATP 500 event in Barcelona. He advanced to his fifth consecutive Barcelona final, where he faced David Ferrer. Nadal went on to beat Ferrer to record five consecutive Barcelona victories.^[87] At the Rome Masters, Nadal reached the final, where he defeated Novak Djokovic to improve his overall record to 13–4 and clay record to 8–0 against the Serb.^[88] He became the first player to win four Rome titles.

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

After winning two clay-court Masters, he participated in the Madrid Open. He lost to Roger Federer in the final. This was the first time that Nadal had lost to Federer since the semifinals of the 2007 Tennis Masters Cup.

On 19 May, the ATP World Tour announced that Nadal was the first player out of eight to qualify for the 2009 ATP World Tour Finals, to be played at the O2 Arena in London.^[89]

By beating Lleyton Hewitt in the third round of 2009 French Open, Nadal (2005–09 French Open) set a record of 31 consecutive wins at Roland Garros, beating the previous record of 28 by Björn Borg (1978–81 French Open). Nadal had won 32 consecutive sets at Roland Garros (since winning the last 2 sets at the 2007 French Open final against Federer), the second-longest winning streak in the tournament's history behind Björn Borg's record of 41 consecutive sets. This run came to an end on 31 May 2009, when Nadal lost to eventual runner-up, Robin Söderling in the 4th round. This was Nadal's first and, until 2015, only loss at the French Open.

After his surprise defeat at Roland Garros, Nadal withdrew from the AEGON Championships. It was confirmed that Nadal was suffering from tendinitis in both of his knees.^[90] On 19 June, Nadal withdrew from the 2009 Wimbledon Championship, citing his recurring knee injury.^[91] He was the first champion not to defend the title since Goran Ivanišević in 2001.^[91] Roger Federer went on to win the title, and Nadal consequently dropped back to world No. 2 on 6 July 2009. Nadal later announced his withdrawal from the Davis Cup.

On 4 August, Nadal's uncle, Toni Nadal, confirmed that Nadal would return to play at the Rogers Cup in Montreal.^[92] There, in his first tournament since Roland Garros, Nadal lost in the quarterfinals to Juan Martín del Potro.^[93] With this loss, he relinquished the No. 2 spot to Andy Murray on 17 August 2009, ranking outside the top two for the first time since 25 July 2005.

In the quarterfinals of the US Open he defeated Fernando González in a rain-delayed encounter.^[94] However, like his previous US Open campaign, he fell in the semifinals, this time losing to eventual champion Juan Martín del Potro.^[95] Despite the loss, he regained the No. 2 ranking after Andy Murray's early exit.^[96]

At the World Tour Finals, Nadal lost all three of his matches against Robin Söderling, Nikolay Davydenko, and Novak Djokovic respectively without winning a set.

In December, Nadal participated in the second Davis Cup final of his career. He defeated Tomáš Berdych in his first singles rubber to give the Spanish Davis Cup Team their first point in the tie. After the Spanish Davis Cup team had secured its fourth Davis Cup victory, Nadal defeated Jan Hájek in the first Davis Cup dead rubber of his career. The win gave Nadal his 14th consecutive singles victory at Davis Cup (his 13th on clay).

Nadal finished the year as No. 2 for the fourth time in five years. Nadal won the Golden Bagel Award for the third time in 2009, with nine 6–0 sets during the year. In doing so he set a new record of Award wins, since matched only by Novak Djokovic.

2010: Return to No. 1 and Career Grand Slam

Main article: 2010 Rafael Nadal tennis season

Nadal began the year by participating in the Capitala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. He defeated compatriot David Ferrer to reach his second final in the exhibition tournament. In the final, Nadal defeated Robin Söderling in straight sets.^[97]

Nadal participated in an Australian Open warm-up tournament, the Qatar ExxonMobil Open ATP 250 event in Doha, where he lost in the finals to Nikolay Davydenko.^[98]^[98]

In the Australian Open, Nadal defeated Peter Luczak, Lukáš Lacko, Philipp Kohlschreiber, and Ivo Karlović.^[99] In the quarterfinals, Nadal pulled out at 3–0 down in the third set against Andy Murray, having lost the first two sets.^[100] After examining Nadal's knees, doctors told him that he should take two weeks of rest, and then two weeks of rehabilitation.

Nadal reached the semifinals in singles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, where he was the defending champion; however, eventual champion Ivan Ljubičić defeated him in three sets.^[101] He and countryman López won the doubles title, though, as wildcard entrants against number one seeds Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić.^[102] This boosted his doubles ranking 175 places^[103] to world number 66, whereas he was 241st before Indian Wells.^[104] After Indian Wells, Nadal reached the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open, where he lost to eventual champion Andy Roddick in three sets.^[105]

Nadal reached the final of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters in Monaco, after beating fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in the semifinals. This was Nadal's first tour final since Doha earlier in the year. He won the final in straight sets over his compatriot Fernando Verdasco. He lost 14 games throughout all five matches, the fewest he had ever lost en route to a championship, and the final was the shortest Masters 1000 final in terms of games. With this win, Nadal became the first player in the open era to win a tournament title for six straight years.^[106]

Unlike in previous years, Nadal next chose to skip the Barcelona tournament (despite being that event's five-time defending champion), and his next tournament was the 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia. He defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber, Victor Hănescu, and Stanlias Wawrinka, all in straight sets, to win his 57th straight match in April. In the semifinals, he faced a resilient Ernests Gulbis, who defeated Roger Federer earlier in the tournament and took Nadal to three sets for the first time this clay-court season. Nadal eventually prevailed in 2 hours and 40minutes. He then defeated compatriot David Ferrer in the final for his fifth title at Rome to equal Andre Agassi's record of winning 17 ATP Masters titles.

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

Nadal then entered the 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, where he had finished runner-up the previous year. Being one of the top eight seeds, he received a bye in the first round. In the second round, he defeated qualifier Alexandr Dolgopolov in straight sets. He then played the six-foot-nine-inch American John Isner. Nadal comfortably came through in straight sets. He defeated Gaël Monfils in the quarterfinals and his countryman Nicolás Almagro in the next round, who was playing in his first Masters 1000 semifinal. The first set of his match against Almagro would be just the second set he lost on clay up to this point in 2010. Nadal then defeated longtime rival Roger Federer, avenging his 2009 finals loss to Federer. The win gave him his 18th Masters title, breaking the all-time record. He became the first player to win all three clay-court Masters titles in a single year and the first player to win three consecutive Masters events. Nadal moved back to No. 2 the following day.

Entering the French Open, many were expecting another Nadal-Federer final. However, this became impossible when rival Robin Söderling defeated Federer in the quarterfinals.^[107] The failure of Federer to reach the semifinals allowed Nadal to regain the world No. 1 ranking if he were to win the tournament. Nadal advanced to the final and defeated Soderling. The win gave Nadal his seventh Grand Slam tournament title, tying him with John McEnroe, John Newcombe, and Mats Wilander on the all-time list, and allowed Nadal to reclaim the position of world No. 1, denying his biggest rival Roger Federer the all-time record for weeks at No. 1.^[108]^[109] By this win, Nadal became the first man to win the three Masters series on clay and the French Open. The victory at Roland Garros marked the second time (2008) that Nadal had won the French Open without dropping a single set (tying the record held by Björn Borg). With the win in Paris he also booked his place at the World Tour Finals in London and became the first player to win five French Open titles in six years.

In June, Nadal entered the AEGON Championships, which he had won in 2008, at the prestigious Queen's Club. He played singles and doubles at this grass court tournament as a warmup for Wimbledon. Being one of the top eight seeds, he received a bye in the first round. In the second round, where he played his first match on grass since winning Wimbledon 2008, he defeated Marcos Daniel. In the third round, he played Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan, whom he defeated to advance to the quarterfinals. However, he was defeated by compatriot Feliciano López.

At the Wimbledon Championships, Nadal beat Kei Nishikori and Robin Haase in the opening rounds. He defeated Philipp Petzschner in the third round, winning after five sets of play. During his match with Petzschner, Nadal was warned twice for allegedly receiving coaching from his coach and uncle, Toni Nadal, resulting in a $2000 fine by Wimbledon officials.^[110]^[111] He defeated Paul-Henri Mathieu of France in the round of 16 and in the quarterfinals, he beat Robin Söderling of Sweden in four sets. He defeated Andy Murray in straight sets to reach his fourth Wimbledon final.

Nadal won the 2010 Wimbledon men's title by defeating Tomáš Berdych in straight sets. After the win, Nadal said that winning Wimbledon was "more than a dream" for him, and thanked the crowd for being both kind and supportive to him and his adversary during the match and in the semifinal against Andy Murray.^[112] The win gave him a second Wimbledon title and an eighth career major title^[113] just past the age of 24.^[114] The win also gave Nadal his first "Old World Triple"; the last person to achieve this was Björn Borg in 1978 ("Old World Triple" is a term given to winning the Italian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon in the same year).

In his first hard-court tournament since Wimbledon, Nadal advanced to the semifinals of the Rogers Cup, along with No. 2 Novak Djokovic, No. 3 Roger Federer, and No. 4 Andy Murray, after coming back from a one-set deficit to defeat Philipp Kohlschreiber.^[115] In the semifinal, defending champion Murray defeated Nadal, becoming the only player to triumph over the Spaniard twice in 2010.^[116] Nadal also competed in the doubles with Djokovic in a one-time, high-profile partnership of the world No. 1 and No. 2, the first such team since the Jimmy Connors and Arthur Ashe team in 1976.^[117] However, Nadal and Djokovic lost in the first round to Canadians Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil. The next week, Nadal was the top seed at the Cincinnati Masters, losing in the quarterfinals to 2006 Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis.

At the 2010 US Open, Nadal was the top seed for the second time in three years. He defeated Teymuraz Gabashvili, Denis Istomin, Gilles Simon, number 23 seed Feliciano López, number 8 seed Fernando Verdasco, and number 12 seed Mikhail Youzhny all without dropping a set, to reach his first US Open final, becoming only the eighth man in the Open Era to reach the final of all four majors, and at age 24 the second youngest ever to do so, behind only Jim Courier. In the final, he defeated Novak Djokovic, which completed the Career Grand Slam for Nadal; he also became the second male after Andre Agassi to complete a Career Golden Slam.^[118]

Nadal's US Open victory meant that he also became the first man to win majors on clay, grass, and hard court in the same year, and the first to win the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open in the same year since Rod Laver in 1969. Nadal and Mats Wilander are the only male players to win at least two Grand Slams each on clay, grass, and hardcourts in their careers.^[31] Nadal also became the first left-handed man to win the US Open since John McEnroe in 1984.^[119] Nadal's victory also clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking for 2010, making Nadal only the third player (after Ivan Lendl in 1989 and Roger Federer in 2009; Novak Djokovic joined them in 2014) to regain the year-end number one ranking after having lost it.^[120]

Nadal serving in Tokyo

Nadal began his Asian tour at the 2010 PTT Thailand Open in Bangkok where he reached the semifinals, losing to compatriot Guillermo García-López. Nadal was able to regroup, and at the 2010 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo (debut), he defeated Santiago Giraldo, Milos Raonic, and Dmitry Tursunov. In the semifinals against Viktor Troicki, Nadal saved two match points in the deciding set tiebreaker to win it 9–7 in the end. In the final, Nadal comfortably defeated Gaël Monfils for his seventh title of the season.

Nadal next played in the 2010 Shanghai Rolex Masters in Shanghai, where he was the top seed, but lost to world No. 12 Jürgen Melzer in the third round, snapping his record streak of 21 consecutive Masters quarterfinals. On 5 November, Nadal announced that he was pulling out of the Paris Masters owing to tendinitis in his left shoulder.^[121] On 21 November 2010, in London, Nadal won the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for the first time.^[122]

At the 2010 ATP World Tour Finals in London, Nadal defeated Roddick^[123] in the first match, Djokovic in the second match, and Berdych in the third match, to advance to the semifinals for the third time in his career. This was the first time that Nadal achieved three wins in the round-robin stage. In the semifinal, he defeated Murray in a hard-fought match to reach his first final at the tournament. In only their second meeting of the year, Federer beat Nadal in the final. After 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 was a reference to his marathon victory over Murray on Saturday. "I tried my best this afternoon, but Roger was simply better than me."^[124]

Nadal ended the 2010 season having won three Grand Slams and three Masters 1000 tournaments, and having regained the No. 1 ranking.

Next up for Nadal was a two-match exhibition against Federer for the Roger Federer Foundation. The first match took place in Zürich on 21 December 2010, and the second in Madrid the next day.

2011: Sixth French Open title

Main article: 2011 Rafael Nadal tennis season

Nadal started 2011, by participating in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. He defeated Tomáš Berdych to reach his third final in the exhibition tournament. In the final, he won over 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, and Ernests Gulbis, citing fever as the primary reason for his poor performance. He fell in straight sets to a resurgent Nikolay Davydenko in the semifinals.^[125] He and countryman López won the doubles title by defeating the Italian duo Daniele Bracciali and Andreas Seppi.^[126]

Nadal at the 2011 Australian Open

In the first round of the Australian Open, Nadal defeated Marcos Daniel. In the second round, he beat upcoming qualifier Ryan Sweeting. In the third round, he was tested by emerging player Bernard Tomic of Australia, but Nadal was victorious in straight sets. He went on to defeat Marin Čilić of Croatia, in the fourth round. He suffered an apparent hamstring injury against fellow Spaniard David Ferrer early in the pair's quarterfinal match and ultimately lost in straight sets, thus ending his effort to win four major tournaments in a row.^[127]

On 7 February 2011, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Nadal won the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for the first time, ahead of footballer Lionel Messi, Sebastian Vettel, Spain's Andrés Iniesta, Lakers basketball player Kobe Bryant, and Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao.^[128]

In March, Nadal helped Spain defeat Belgium in a 2011 Davis Cup World Group first-round tie on hard indoor courts in the Spiroudome in Charleroi, Belgium. Nadal defeated Ruben Bemelmans.^[129] After Spain's victory in three matches, Nadal won a second dead rubber against Olivier Rochus.^[130]

At the 2011 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Nadal defeated upcoming qualifier Rik de Voest in his first match. In the third round, he beat qualifier Ryan Sweeting. He then defeated qualifier Somdev Devvarman in the fourth round. In the quarterfinals, Nadal had a hard time against Croatian Ivo Karlović, and in the semifinals he met Juan Martín del Potro. The last three confrontations between the players were in favor of del Potro, but despite some difficulties, Nadal won in straight sets. He reached his third final at Indian Wells, and lost against Novak Djokovic.^[131] The next day, Nadal and Djokovic played a friendly match in Bogotá, Colombia, which Nadal won.^[132]

Nadal started the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open with a win over Kei Nishikori then met his compatriot Feliciano López in the third round, whom he defeated. In the fourth round, he defeated Alexandr Dolgopolov. In the quarterfinals, Nadal had the first real test of the tournament when he met the world No. 7 Tomáš Berdych, who he defeated in three sets. In the semifinals, Nadal met his main rival Roger Federer, their first meeting in a semifinal since the 2007 Masters Cup. Nadal won in straight sets. For the second time in two weeks, Nadal faced Novak Djokovic in the final. As in the Indian Wells tournament, Nadal won the first set, and Djokovic the second. The third set ended in a tiebreak, with Djokovic winning.^[133] This was the first time Nadal reached the finals of Indian Wells and Miami in the same year.

Nadal began his clay-court season by winning the 2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters with the loss of just one set. Nadal defeated Jarkko Nieminen, Richard Gasquet, Ivan Ljubičić, and Andy Murray to reach his seventh consecutive final in Monte Carlo. In the final, Nadal avenged his defeat by David Ferrer in the quarterfinals of the 2011 Australian Open. He became the first man to win the same tournament seven times in a row at the ATP level in the open era.^[134] Nadal chalked up his 37th straight win at the clay-court event, where he has not lost since the 2003 Monte Carlo Masters. It was his 44th career title and 19th at a Masters event.^[135] It was his first title since winning the Japan Open. Nadal shares third place with Björn Borg and Manuel Orantes in the list of players with the most titles on clay.^[136]

Just a week later, Nadal won his sixth Barcelona Open crown, winning the 2011 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell final against Ferrer in straight sets. In doing so, Nadal became the first man in the open era to have won two tournaments at least six times each. Nadal was then the leader in terms of matches won in the year, with 29. He did not gain any points for this victory, however, as only four ATP 500 tournaments can be counted towards a players ranking at one time, but they will go into effect 8 August 2011, when the result of the 2010 Legg Mason Tennis Classic expires.^[137]

At the 2011 Mutua Madrid Open in May, he defeated Marcos Baghdatis, had a walkover against Juan Martín del Potro, and defeated Michaël Llodra and Roger Federer, before losing the final to Novak Djokovic in two sets.^[138]

Nadal again lost in straight sets to Novak Djokovic in the Rome Masters final.^[139] This marked the first time that Nadal has lost twice on clay to the same player in a single season.^[140] However, Nadal retained his No. 1 ranking during the clay-court season and won his sixth French Open title by defeating Roger Federer.^[141]

During the first three rounds of Wimbledon, Nadal beat Michael Russell, Ryan Sweeting, and Gilles Müller. He then faced Juan Martín del Potro in the fourth round and Mardy Fish in the quarterfinals, defeating both players in four sets. His semifinal opponent was world No. 4 Andy Murray. Nadal lost the first set, then won the next three. This set up a final against world No. 2 Novak Djokovic, who had beaten Nadal in all four of their matches in 2011 (all in Masters finals). After dropping the third set, Djokovic defeated Nadal in the fourth. This was the first Grand Slam tournament final that Nadal had lost to someone other than Roger Federer and his first loss at Wimbledon since his five-set loss to Federer in the 2007 final. The loss ended Nadal's winning streak in Grand Slam finals at seven, preventing him from tying the Open-Era record of eight victories in a row set by Pete Sampras. Djokovic's success at the tournament also meant that the Serb ascended to world No. 1 for the first time, breaking the dominance of Federer and Nadal on the position, which one of them had held for every week since 2 February 2004. Nadal fell to world No. 2 in the rankings for the first time since June 2010.

After resting for a month from a foot injury sustained during Wimbledon, he contested the 2011 Rogers Cup, where he was shocked by Croatian Ivan Dodig in a third-set tiebreak. He next played in the 2011 Cincinnati Masters, where he lost to Mardy Fish in the quarterfinals.

At the 2011 US Open, Nadal defeated Andrey Golubev in straight sets and advanced to the third round after Frenchman Nicolas Mahut retired. After defeating David Nalbandian on 4 September, Nadal collapsed in his post-match press conference owing to severe cramps.^[142] Nadal lost to Novak Djokovic in the final in four sets.

After the US Open, Nadal made the final of the Japan Open Tennis Championships. Nadal, who was the 2010 champion, was defeated by Andy Murray. At the Shanghai Masters, Nadal was top seed with the absence of Novak Djokovic, but was upset in the third round by No. 23 ranked Florian Mayer in straight sets. At the 2011 ATP World Tour Finals, Nadal was defeated by Roger Federer in the round-robin stage, in one of the quickest matches between the two, lasting just 60 minutes. In the following match, Nadal was defeated by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and was eliminated from the tournament.

In the Davis Cup final in December, Nadal had a quick straight-set win over Juan Mónaco in his first match. In his second match against Juan Martín del Potro, Nadal did not win a single service game in the first set but came back to win the match.^[143]

Nadal ended his tennis season with the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, an exhibition tournament not affiliated with the ATP. The tournament, normally held in early January, was held from 29 to 31 December 2011. Nadal had a bye into the semifinals and played against David Ferrer, who defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinals.^[144] Ferrer won the match in straight sets.^[145] Nadal was then relegated to the third place match against Roger Federer. Nadal won in straight sets.

2012: Seventh French Open title

Main article: 2012 Rafael Nadal tennis season

Nadal during the finals of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters

Nadal began his ATP World Tour season at the Qatar Open. He beat Philipp Kohlschreiber and qualifier Denis Gremelmayr in rounds one and two and then won against seventh-seeded Mikhail Youzhny.^[146] In the semifinal he lost to Gaël Monfils in two sets.^[147]

In the Australian Open Nadal began the tournament by breezing past qualifier Alex Kuznetsov of United States.^[148] The second round against Tommy Haas, who has never won a set against Rafael, was tighter, but Nadal again advanced in three straight sets.^[149] He defeated Feliciano López in the fourth round, then won in his quarterfinal and semifinal matches against Tomáš Berdych and Roger Federer respectively. By doing so, he has reached the finals of all four majors consecutively. In the final, on 29 January, he was beaten by Novak Djokovic in a five-set match that lasted 5 hours and 53 minutes, the longest ever match for a Grand Slam title. The pair set a new world record, breaking the latest longest major singles final between Mats Wilander and Ivan Lendl, which lasted 4 hours and 54 minutes, at the US Open in 1988.^[150]

Nadal made it to the semifinals in Indian Wells, where he was beaten in straight sets by eventual champion Roger Federer. He also made the semifinals in Miami, but withdrew because of knee problems.

As the clay court season started, Nadal was seeded 2nd at the 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. He defeated Jarkko Nieminen, Mikhael Kukushkin, Stanislas Wawrinka, and Gilles Simon before topping world No. 1 Novak Djokovic to win his 8th consecutive Monte Carlo trophy. This ended a streak of seven straight final losses to Djokovic, which began at the 2011 Indian Wells Masters final.

A day after the Monte Carlo Masters Final, Nadal traveled to Barcelona where he received a bye in the first round. His tremendous record on clay continued as he beat compatriot David Ferrer in a hard fought final to clinch his seventh title in eight years at the Barcelona Open.

The Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open did not go very well for Nadal. He beat Nikolay Davydenko, one of the few players to hold a positive head to head record over Nadal, in straight sets. He then lost to Fernando Verdasco, who he held a 13–0 record against in the third round 7–5 in the third, after blowing a 4–0 final set lead. Nadal stated that he was very unhappy with the new blue-colored clay and threatened not to attend in the future if the surface was not changed back to red clay. Several other players (such as Novak Djokovic) voiced similar criticism.^[151]

In the last tournament before the French Open, Nadal went to the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. He advanced to his 7th final after defeating Florian Mayer, Marcel Granollers, Tomáš Berdych, and David Ferrer all in straight sets, setting up another finals showdown with World number one Novak Djokovic. Nadal defeated Djokovic in a tight straight sets encounter. This was his second victory over Novak Djokovic in 2012 and his third title of the season, as well as his 6th Rome title overall.

At the 2012 French Open, Nadal dropped only 30 games against his first five opponents, without losing a set. In the semifinal he faced a friend and compatriot in David Ferrer. Unlike their previous two encounters in Barcelona and Rome, Nadal showed almost no flaws, dismantling Ferrer to set up another championship title fight with world No. 1 Novak Djokovic. This marked the first time where two opposing players faced each other in four consecutive Grand Slam tournament finals. They also became the only players to have faced the same opponent in the finals of all four Majors. Nadal won the first two sets before Djokovic claimed the third. Play was suspended in the fourth set owing to rain. When the match resumed the following day, Nadal won when Djokovic double faulted on match point, sealing a record 7th Roland Garros title for Nadal.^[152] Throughout the tournament, Nadal lost only one set, occurring in the final. By winning his seventh title^[153] at Roland Garros, Nadal surpassed Borg's overall titles record^[154] to become the most successful tennis player in French Open history.^[155] Nadal only lost a total of three sets in the 2012 clay court season.

In his first grass court tournament of the season at Halle, Nadal advanced to quarterfinals, where he lost to Philipp Kohlschreiber.^[156] At Wimbledon, Nadal beat Thomaz Bellucci in the first round. He then met Lukáš Rosol in the second round, a player who was then ranked 100th in the world and had never advanced beyond the first qualifying round in his five previous Wimbledons. In one of the biggest upsets in Grand Slam history, Rosol defeated Nadal in five sets. This was the first time since the Wimbledon 2005 championships that Nadal had failed to progress past the 2nd round of a Grand Slam tournament.^[157]

In July 2012, Nadal withdrew from the 2012 Olympics owing to tendinitis in his knee, which subsequently also led to him pulling out of both the Rogers Cup and Cincinnati Masters. Prior to his withdrawal, Nadal had been touted as the favourite to successfully defend the Gold Medal he won in Beijing four years earlier, despite his early loss at Wimbledon.^[158] On 15 August, Nadal announced his withdrawal from the US Open in New York, as he felt he still was not healthy enough to compete.^[159]^[160] On 11 September 2012, Nadal fell to a world No. 4 ranking, his lowest since 2010, as 2012 US Open winner Andy Murray climbed to No. 3.^[161] Nadal ended 2012 ranked No. 4 in the world, the first time in eight years that he has not been ranked 1st or 2nd at the end of the year.

2013: Eighth French Open, second US Open, five masters and return to No. 1

Main article: 2013 Rafael Nadal tennis season

Two weeks prior to the 2013 Australian Open, Nadal officially withdrew from the tournament citing a stomach virus.^[162] Nadal's withdrawal subsequently saw him drop out of the ATP's Top Four for the first time since 2005.^[163]

Playing in his first tournaments in South America since 2005, Nadal made his comeback at the Latin American Golden Swing, starting his 2013 season at the 2013 VTR Open in Chile,^[164] where he advanced to the final without dropping a set but was beaten by Argentine world No. 73 journeyman Horacio Zeballos. He also lost in the doubles final (with Juan Mónaco). At the 2013 Brasil Open, at São Paulo, Nadal struggled in the opening rounds, dropping sets to Berlocq and qualifier Alund. Despite the poor clay surface, which was the subject of player complaints, he reached the final, where he defeated David Nalbandian.^[165] In the title match of the 2013 Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco, Nadal defeated world No. 4 David Ferrer, losing just two games in the match.

Nadal then returned to the American hard courts after a year, playing the Indian Wells Masters as the fifth seed. He lost only one set, and defeated world No. 2 Roger Federer and world No. 6 Tomáš Berdych in the matches leading up to the final. Nadal recovered from being one set down in the final, to defeat Juan Martín del Potro. This was his third Indian Wells Masters title and his first hardcourt title since October 2010, and made Nadal the player with the most Masters 1000s wins.

After withdrawing from Miami, Nadal attempted to defend his title at the 2013 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, but, despite reaching the final for the ninth consecutive year, he was beaten by Djokovic in straight sets. He then won at the 2013 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell over Almagro, in straight sets. This was his 8th victory there, making him the first man to win two different tournaments eight or more times each. It was also his fourth title of the season, and his sixth consecutive final.

Nadal won his 23rd ATP Masters 1000 tournament at the 2013 Mutua Madrid Open, beating Wawrinka, despite previously having been two points from defeat in his quarterfinal against David Ferrer. The blue clay that had troubled him the previous year there had been exchanged for the traditional red clay. In May, he won his record 24th Masters 1000 title, beating Roger Federer for his 7th championship at the 2013 Rome Masters. It was his 6th title of the season and his eighth consecutive final. These victories raised his ranking to world No. 4.

Nadal won the 2013 French Open after beating Djokovic in the semifinal and Ferrer in the final, breaking the record for the most match wins in the tournament in the process with his 59th match victory.^[166] His match with Djokovic was widely considered one of the greatest clay court matches ever played, as Nadal came back from down a break in the fifth set to take out a hard-fought 4-hour, 37-minute victory. However, because of the nuances of how rankings are calculated (including an improvement in performance by the then world No. 5 David Ferrer at the French Open), Nadal's world ranking dropped from No. 4 to No. 5, with Ferrer replacing him at No. 4.

Nadal then lost his first-round match at the 2013 Wimbledon Championships in straight sets to unseeded Belgian Steve Darcis (ranked No. 135), making it the second time in a row he failed to reach the third round at Wimbledon and the first ever time Nadal had lost in the first round of a Grand Slam.

In August 2013, Nadal won the semifinal match in Montreal, denying Djokovic his fourth Rogers Cup title.^[167] Nadal proceeded to win the title after beating Milos Raonic in the final in straight sets. This was Nadal's 25th Masters 1000 title and third title at the Canadian Open.^[168] He won his 26th ATP Masters 1000 in Cincinnati on Sunday 18 August after beating John Isner in the final.^[27] Nadal concluded a brilliant North American hard court season with his 4th hard court title of the year, defeating Djokovic at the 2013 US Open final in four sets, bringing his Slam count to 13 and giving Nadal a male tennis record paycheck of $3.6 million.^[169]^[170]

Later in September, Nadal helped Spain secure their Davis Cup World Group Playoff spot for 2014, with a victory against Sergiy Stakhovsky and a doubles win with Marc Lopez. In October, he reached the final of the China Open, guaranteeing he would become world number one for the third time after losing it in July 2011.^[171] In the final, he was beaten by Djokovic in straight sets.^[172] At the 2013 Shanghai Rolex Masters, Nadal reached the semifinals but was defeated by Del Potro.

In November 2013, Nadal played his final event of the season in London at the 2013 ATP World Tour Finals where he secured the year end World Number One spot. Nadal beat David Ferrer, Stanislas Wawrinka and Tomáš Berdych in the Round Robin stage to set up a semifinal and victory over Roger Federer. Nadal met Djokovic in the final, losing in straight sets.

2014: Ninth French Open, masters record & struggle with injury

Main article: 2014 Rafael Nadal tennis season

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

Rafael Nadal began his 2014 season at the Qatar Open in Doha, defeating Lukáš Rosol in the first round^[173] and he won the title after defeating Gaël Monfils in the final.^[174] It was announced in February 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."^[175]

At the Australian Open, he defeated Roger Federer to reach his third Australian Open final, improving his career record against Federer to 23–10. This marked Nadal's 11th consecutive victory in a Major semifinal (second only to Borg's all-time record of 14), and advanced him to his 19th Major final, tying him with Lendl for second all-time behind Federer's 24. It also marked Nadal's sixth consecutive victory over Federer in a Major. In the final, he faced Stanislas Wawrinka, against whom he entered the match with a 12–0 record, having won all of their previous 26 sets. After losing the first set, Nadal suffered a back injury down 2–0 in the second set, and although he won a set, he lost the match in four sets. The first tournament he played after that was the inaugural Rio Open which he won after defeating Alexandr Dolgopolov in the final extending his record of ATP 500 titles to 15. However, at the Indian Wells Masters, Dolgopolov would avenge his loss, defeating Nadal in three sets in the third round. He reached the final of the Miami Masters before falling to Novak Djokovic in straight sets.

Nadal began his clay court season with a quarterfinal loss to David Ferrer in the Monte-Carlo Masters. He was stunned by Nicolas Almagro in the quarterfinals of the Barcelona Open. Nadal won his 27th masters (a record at the time) at the Madrid Open after Kei Nishikori retired in the third set.^[29] On 8 June 2014, Nadal defeated Novak Djokovic in the Men's Singles French Open final to win his 9th French Open title and a 5th straight win at Roland Garros. Nadal dropped the first set but came back in the game to win the next three sets to lift the trophy. Nadal equaled Pete Sampras' total of 14 Grand Slam wins, the second highest number of single Grand Slam titles after Roger Federer.^[176] Nadal lost in the second round of the Halle Open to Dustin Brown the following week.^[177]

Nadal then entered the Wimbledon Championships in a bid to win the tournament for the third time and to win his 15th Grand Slam title overall. In the first three rounds he faced Martin Kližan, Lukáš Rosol (to whom he suffered a shock defeat at the same stage of the tournament two years earlier) and Mikhail Kukushkin. In each of these matches he lost the first set before taking command and winning them in four sets. In the fourth round he faced Australian teenager Nick Kyrgios (ranked 143 places lower than Nadal) and again lost the first set, but despite winning the second set, he was unable to turn the tide and eventually lost in four sets.^[178]

Nadal withdrew from the American swing owing to a wrist injury.^[179] He made his return at the 2014 China Open but was defeated in the quarterfinals by Martin Klizan in three sets.^[180] At the 2014 Shanghai Rolex Masters, he was suffering from appendicitis. He lost his opening match to Feliciano Lopez in straight sets.^[181] Later, he was upset by Borna Ćorić at the quarterfinals of the 2014 Swiss Indoors. After the loss, he announced that he would skip the rest of the season to undergo surgery for his appendix.^[182]

2015: Continued struggle with form and fall in rankings

Main article: 2015 Rafael Nadal tennis season

Nadal began the year as the defending Champion at Qatar, but suffered a shocking three set defeat to Michael Berrer in round one of the Qatar Open.^[183] He won the doubles title with Juan Mónaco. At the Australian Open, Nadal beat Mikhail Youzhny in the first round in straight sets, before prevailing in a tough five-setter against American Tim Smyczek in the second round, despite being visibly unwell at times during the game. He then beat Dudi Sela and Kevin Anderson in straight sets to advance to his 28th career quarterfinal. Nadal lost in straight sets to Tomáš Berdych in the quarterfinal, thus ending a 17-match winning streak against the seventh-seeded Czech.^[184]

Nadal at the 2015 Aegon Championships in London

In February, Nadal lost in the semifinals to Fabio Fognini at the Rio Open,^[185] before going on to win his 46th career clay-court title against Juan Mónaco at the Argentina Open.^[186] Nadal then participated at the Indian Wells and Miami Open but suffered early defeats to Milos Raonic and Fernando Verdasco, in the quarterfinals and third round respectively.^[187]^[188] Nadal then began his summer clay season at the Monte Carlo Masters and reached the semifinals where he lost to Novak Djokovic in straight sets.^[189] After losing to Fognini again at the Barcelona Open quarterfinals,^[190] Nadal entered the Madrid Open as the two-time defending champion but lost in the final to Andy Murray in straight sets, resulting in his dropping out of the top five for the first time since 2005.^[191]^[192] He then lost in the quarterfinals of the Rome Masters to Stan Wawrinka in straight sets.^[193]

Nadal lost to eventual runner-up Djokovic in the quarterfinals of the French Open, ending his winning streak of 39 consecutive victories in Paris since his defeat by Robin Söderling in 2009.^[194] Nadal went on to win the 2015 Mercedes Cup against Serbian Viktor Troicki, his first grass court title since he won at Wimbledon in 2010.^[195] He was unable to continue his good form on grass as he lost in the first round of the Aegon Championships to Alexandr Dolgopolov in three sets.^[196] Nadal's struggles continued when he lost in the second round of Wimbledon to Dustin Brown.^[197]

In early September, Nadal once again faced Fognini, and again was defeated by the player from Italy, losing in the third round at Arthur Ashe Stadium. In that match, Nadal won the first two sets, and previously had been 151-0 in Grand Slam matches that he led two sets to none. Earning 70 winners, Fognini ended up beating Nadal in five sets.^[198] Consequently, the early exit in Flushing Meadows ended Nadal's record 10-year streak of winning at least one major, and leaving him one year short of the record 11-year streak of reaching at least one major final (shared by Lendl and Sampras).

2016: 28th Masters title and second Olympic Gold medal

Main article: 2016 Rafael Nadal tennis season

Nadal started the year winning Mubadala Title defeating Milos Raonic in straight sets. After that, he entered the tournament in Doha, Qatar, where he reached the finals, losing to Djokovic in straight sets. This was their 47th match and Djokovic now leads the rivalry with 24 matches won. At the Australian Open, Nadal was defeated in five sets by compatriot Fernando Verdasco in the first round, in a match that echoed memories of their marathon five-set semifinal from 2009. The defeat marked just his second first round exit from a Grand Slam tournament, and his first at the Australian Open.^[199]

In April he won his 28th Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo.^[200] He went on to win his 17th ATP 500 in Barcelona, winning the trophy for the ninth time in his career; this was his 49th clay-court title, which put him level with Guillermo Vilas as the player with the most clay-court titles in the Open Era.^[201] Nadal continued the clay court season in Madrid, where he defeated Andrey Kuznetsov, Querrey and Sousa before falling to Murray in the semifinal. It was only the second time that Murray has won over Nadal on clay, the first one being in 2015 Madrid final.^[202]

In the following week, Nadal played in Rome Masters where he reached the quarterfinal. Nadal was again defeated by Djokovic in straight sets, 7:5 7:6(4), although he had break advantage in both sets and served to win the second.^[203]

Following Federer's withdrawal due to injury, Nadal was named the fourth seed at Roland Garros.^[204] On 26 May, he became only the eighth male player in tennis history to record 200 Grand Slam match wins, as he defeated Facundo Bagnis in straight sets in the second round of the Slam.^[205] Following the victory, however, Nadal had to withdraw from competition owing to an injury to his left wrist suffered during the tournament, handing Marcel Granollers a walk-over into the fourth round.^[206] On 9 June, Nadal announced that the same wrist injury that forced him to withdraw from the French Open needed more time to heal, and that he would not play at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships.^[207] At the Rio 2016 Olympics, Nadal achieved 800 career wins with his quarter-final victory over Thomaz Bellucci. Also, on 12 August, he along with Marc Lopez won the gold medal in men's doubles event for Spain beating Romania's Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau.^[208] This makes Nadal only the second man in the open era to have won gold medals in both singles and doubles. Nadal also advanced to the bronze medal match in the men's singles but was defeated by Japan's Kei Nishikori.

At the US Open Nadal was seeded #4 and advanced to the fourth round but was defeated by 24th seed Lucas Pouille in 5 sets, the defeat means that 2016 is the first year since 2004 in which Nadal, 30, has failed to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final. ^[209]

2017

Nadal is scheduled to open his season by playing the Brisbane International.^[210]

Rivalries

Nadal vs. Federer

Main article: Federer–Nadal rivalry

Nadal and Federer during the 2006 Wimbledon Championships final

Federer and Nadal have been playing each other since 2004, and their rivalry is a significant part of both men's careers.^[65]^[211]^[212] They held the top two rankings on the ATP Tour from July 2005 until 14 August 2009, when Nadal fell to world No. 3 (Andy Murray became the new No. 2).^[213] They are the only pair of men to have ever finished four consecutive calendar years at the top.^[214]^[215] Nadal ascended to No. 2 in July 2005 and held this spot for a record 160 consecutive weeks before surpassing Federer in August 2008.^[216]

They have played 34 times, and Nadal leads their head-to-head series 23–11 overall and 9–2 in Grand Slam tournaments. Federer has a winning record on grass (2–1) and indoor hard courts (5–1) while Nadal leads the outdoor hard courts by 8–2 and clay by 13–2.^[217]

As tournament seedings are based on rankings, 21 of their matches have been in tournament finals, including an all-time record eight Grand Slam tournament finals.^[218] From 2006 to 2008, they played in every French Open and Wimbledon final, and also met in the title match of the 2009 Australian Open and the 2011 French Open.^[218] Nadal won six of the eight, losing the first two Wimbledon finals. Three of these matches were five-set matches (2007 and 2008 Wimbledon, 2009 Australian Open), and the 2008 Wimbledon final has been lauded as the greatest match ever by many long-time tennis analysts.^[66]^[219]^[220]^[221] Nadal is the only player who has competed and won against Federer in the final of a Grand Slam on all three surfaces (grass, hard, and clay), losing to Federer only on grass.

Nadal vs. Djokovic

Main article: Djokovic–Nadal rivalry

Novak Djokovic and Nadal have met 49 times (more than any other pair in the Open Era) and Nadal currently trails at 23–26.^[167]^[222]^[223] Nadal leads on grass 2–1 and clay 14–7, but Djokovic leads on hard courts 18–7.^[167]^[223] In 2009, this rivalry was listed as the third greatest of the previous 10 years by ATPworldtour.com.^[224] Djokovic is one of only two players to have at least ten match wins against Nadal (the other being Federer) and the only person to defeat Nadal seven consecutive times and two times consecutively on clay. The two earlier shared the record for the longest match played in a best of three sets (4 hours and 3 minutes) at the 2009 Mutua Madrid Open semifinals until the match between Roger Federer and Juan Martín del Potro in the London 2012 Olympics Semifinal, which is the longest best-of-three-set match by time (at 4 hours and 26 minutes).^[225]^[226] They have also played in a record 12 Masters Series finals.

In the 2011 Wimbledon final, Djokovic won in four sets for his first Grand Slam final over Nadal.^[227] Djokovic also defeated Nadal in the 2011 US Open Final. In 2012, Djokovic defeated Nadal in the Australian Open final for a third consecutive Grand Slam final win over Nadal. This is the longest Grand Slam tournament final in Open era history at 5 hours, 53 minutes.^[228] Nadal won their last three 2012 meetings in the final of the Monte Carlo Masters, Rome Masters and French Open in April, May, and June 2012, respectively.^[229] In 2013, Djokovic defeated Nadal in straight sets in the final at Monte Carlo, ending Nadal's record eight consecutive titles there, but Nadal got revenge at the French Open in an epic five-setter 9–7 in the fifth. In August 2013, Nadal won in Montreal, denying Djokovic his fourth Rogers Cup title.^[167] Nadal also defeated Djokovic in the 2013 US Open Final. In their third clash of 2014 Nadal defeated Djokovic in the 2014 French Open final. Since the 2014 French Open Final, Djokovic has won seven consecutive meetings including a win in straight sets in the quarterfinals of the 2015 French Open which ended Nadal's 39-match win streak at Roland Garros and an opportunity for a sixth consecutive title, with Djokovic becoming only the second player after Robin Söderling to defeat Nadal at the event.

Nadal vs. Murray

Main article: Murray–Nadal rivalry

Nadal and Murray in Tokyo

Nadal and Andy Murray have met on 24 occasions since 2007, with Nadal leading 17–7. Nadal leads 7–2 on clay, 3–0 on grass, and 7–5 on hard courts (including 4–4 on outdoor courts, but Nadal leads 3–1 on indoor hard courts), but trails 0–3 in finals. The pair once met regularly at Grand Slam level, with nine out of their 23 meetings coming in Grand Slams, with Nadal leading 7–2 (3–0 at Wimbledon, 2–0 at the French Open, 1–1 at the Australian Open, and 1–1 at the US Open).^[230] Seven of these nine appearances have been at quarterfinal and semifinal level, making the rivalry an important part of both men's careers. They have never met in a Grand Slam final, however, Murray leads 3–1 in ATP finals, with Nadal winning at Indian Wells in 2009^[231] and Murray winning in Rotterdam the same year,^[232] Tokyo^[233] in 2011, and Madrid in 2015. Nadal defeated Murray in three consecutive Grand Slam semifinals in 2011 from the French Open to the US Open.

Playing style

Nadal's forehand

Nadal generally plays an aggressive, behind-the-baseline game founded on heavy topspin groundstrokes, consistency, speedy footwork and tenacious court coverage, thus making him an aggressive counterpuncher.^[234] Known for his athleticism and speed around the court, Nadal is an excellent defender^[235] who hits well on the run, constructing winning plays from seemingly defensive positions. He also plays very fine dropshots, which work especially well because his heavy topspin often forces opponents to the back of the court.^[236]

Nadal playing on clay

Nadal employs a semi-western grip forehand, often with a "lasso-whip" follow through, where his left arm hits through the ball and finishes above his left shoulder – as opposed to a more traditional finish across the body or around his opposite shoulder.^[237]^[238] Nadal's forehand groundstroke form allows him to hit shots with heavy topspin – more so than many of his contemporaries.^[239]

San Francisco tennis researcher John Yandell used a high-speed video camera and special software to count the average number of revolutions of a tennis ball hit full force by Nadal. While Nadal's shots tend to land short of the baseline, the characteristically high bounces his forehands achieve tend to mitigate the advantage an opponent would normally gain from capitalizing on a short ball.^[240] Although his forehand is based on heavy topspin, he can hit the ball deep and flat with a more orthodox follow through for clean winners.

“	"The first guys we did were Sampras and 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.^[241]

Nadal's serve was initially considered a weak point in his game, although his improvements in both first-serve points won and break points saved since 2005 have allowed him to consistently compete for and win major titles on faster surfaces. Nadal relies on the consistency of his serve to gain a strategic advantage in points, rather than going for service winners.^[242] However, before the 2010 US Open, he altered his service motion, arriving in the trophy pose earlier and pulling the racket lower during the trophy pose. Before the 2010 U.S. Open, Nadal modified his service grip to a more continental one. These two changes in his serve increased his average speed by around 10 mph during the 2010 US Open, maxing out at 135 mph (217 km), allowing him to win more free points on his serve.^[243] However, since the 2010 US Open, Nadal's serve speed has dropped to previous levels and has again been cited as a need for improvement.^[244]^[245]^[246]

Nadal is a clay court specialist in the sense that he has been extremely successful on that surface. Since 2005, he won nine times at Roland Garros, nine times at Monte Carlo and seven at Rome. However, Nadal has shed that label owing to his success on other surfaces, including holding simultaneous Grand Slam tournament titles on grass, hard courts, and clay on two separate occasions, winning eight Masters series titles on hardcourt, and winning the Olympic gold medal on hardcourt.^[234]^[247]

Despite praise for Nadal's talent and skill, some have questioned his longevity in the sport, citing his build and playing style as conducive to injury.^[248] Nadal himself has admitted to the physical toll hard courts place on ATP Tour players, calling for a reevaluated tour schedule featuring fewer hard court tournaments.^[249]

Public image

Equipment and endorsements

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

Nadal has been sponsored by Kia Motors since 2006. He has appeared in advertising campaigns for Kia as a global ambassador for the company. In May 2008, Kia released a claymation viral ad featuring Nadal in a tennis match with an alien.^[250] In May 2015, Nadal extended his partnership with Kia for another five years.^[251]

Nike serves as Nadal's clothing and shoe sponsor. Nadal's signature on-court attire entailed a variety of sleeveless shirts paired with 3/4 length capri pants.^[252] For the 2009 season, Nadal adopted more-traditional on-court apparel. Nike encouraged Nadal to update his look in order to reflect his new status as the sport's top player at that time^[253] and associate Nadal with a style that, while less distinctive than his "pirate" look, would be more widely emulated by consumers.^[254]^[255] At warmup tournaments in Abu Dhabi and Doha, Nadal played matches in a polo shirt specifically designed for him by Nike,^[256] paired with shorts cut above the knee. Nadal's new, more conventional style carried over to the 2009 Australian Open, where he was outfitted with Nike's Bold Crew Men's Tee^[257] and Nadal Long Check Shorts.^[258]^[259]^[260] Nadal wears Nike's Air CourtBallistec 2.3 tennis shoes,^[261] bearing various customizations throughout the season, including his nickname "Rafa" on the right shoe and a stylized bull logo on the left.

He became the face of Lanvin's L'Homme Sport cologne in April 2009.^[262] Nadal uses an AeroPro Drive racquet with a 4 ¹⁄₄-inch L2 grip. As of the 2010 season, Nadal's racquets are painted to resemble the new Babolat AeroPro Drive with Cortex GT racquet in order to market a current model which Babolat sells.^[263]^[264] Nadal uses no replacement grip, and instead wraps two overgrips around the handle. He used Duralast 15L strings until the 2010 season, when he switched to Babolat's new, black-colored, RPM Blast string. Nadal's rackets are always strung at 55 lb (25 kg), regardless of which surface or conditions he is playing on.

As of January 2010, Nadal is the international ambassador for Quely, a company from his native Mallorca that manufactures biscuits, bakery and chocolate coated products; he has consumed their products ever since he was a young child.^[265]

In 2010, luxury watchmaker Richard Mille announced that he had developed an ultra-light wristwatch in collaboration with Nadal called the Richard Mille RM027 Tourbillon watch.^[266] The watch is made of titanium and lithium and is valued at US$525,000; Nadal was involved in the design and testing of the watch on the tennis court.^[266] During the 2010 French Open, Men's Fitness reported that Nadal wore the Richard Mille watch on the court as part of a sponsorship deal with the Swiss watchmaker.^[267]

Nadal replaced Cristiano Ronaldo as the new face of Emporio Armani Underwear and Armani Jeans for the spring/summer 2011 collection.^[268] This was the first time that the label has chosen a tennis player for the job; association football has ruled lately prior to Ronaldo, David Beckham graced the ads since 2008.^[269] Armani said that he selected Nadal as his latest male underwear model because "...he is ideal as he represents a healthy and positive model for youngsters".^[268]

In June 2012, Nadal joined the group of sports endorsers of the PokerStars online poker cardroom.^[270] In December 2013, Nadal won a charity poker tournament against retired Brazilian football player Ronaldo and four other competitors.^[271]

In popular culture

In February 2010, Rafael Nadal was featured in the music video of Shakira's "Gypsy".^[272] and part of her album release She Wolf. In explaining why she chose Nadal for the video, Shakira was quoted as saying in an interview with 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."^[273]^[274]

Asteroid

128036 Rafaelnadal is a main belt asteroid discovered in 2003 at the Observatorio Astronómico de Mallorca and named after Nadal.^[275]

Off the court

Involvement in football

Nadal is an avid fan of association football club Real Madrid. On 8 July 2010, it was reported that he had become a shareholder of RCD Mallorca, his local club by birth, in an attempt to assist the club from debt.^[276] Nadal reportedly owns 10 percent and was offered the role of vice president, but he rejected that offer.^[277] His uncle Miguel Ángel Nadal, became assistant coach under 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 after acquiring his interest in Mallorca, Nadal called out UEFA for apparent hypocrisy in ejecting the club from the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League for excessive debts, saying through 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."^[278]

He is a fervent supporter of the Spanish national team, one of only six people not affiliated with the team or the national federation allowed into the team's locker room immediately following Spain's victory in the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final.^[278]

Philanthropy

Nadal took part in Thailand's "A Million Trees for the King" project, planting a tree in honour of King Bhumibol Adulyadej on a visit to 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."^[279]

Fundación Rafa Nadal

The creation of the Fundación Rafa Nadal took place in November 2007, and its official presentation was in February 2008, at the Manacor Tennis Club in Mallorca, Spain. The foundation will focus on social work and development aid particularly on childhood and youth.^[280] On deciding why to start 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 was inspired by the Red Cross benefit match against malaria with 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 mother, Ana Maria Parera, chairs the charitable organization and father Sebastian is vice-chairman. Coach and uncle Toni Nadal and his agent, former tennis player Carlos Costa, are also involved. Roger Federer has given Nadal advice on getting involved in philanthropy. Despite the fact that poverty in India struck him particularly hard, Nadal wants to start by helping "people close by, in the Balearic Islands, in Spain, and then, if possible, abroad".^[281]

On 16 October 2010, Nadal traveled to India for the first time to visit his tennis academy for underprivileged children at Anantapur Sports Village, in the Anantapur City, Andhra Pradesh. His foundation has also worked in the Anantapur Educational Center project, in collaboration with the Vicente Ferrer Foundation.^[282]^[283]

Personal life

Nadal lived with his parents and younger sister Maria Isabel in a five-story apartment building in their hometown of Manacor, Mallorca. In June 2009, Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, and then The New York Times, reported that his parents, Ana Maria and Sebastian, had separated. This news came after weeks of speculation in Internet posts and message boards over Nadal's personal issues as the cause of his setback.^[284]

Nadal has revealed himself to be agnostic.^[285] As a young boy, he would run home from school to watch Goku in his favorite Japanese anime, Dragon Ball. CNN released an article about Nadal's childhood inspiration, and called him "the Dragon Ball of tennis" owing to his unorthodox style "from another planet".^[286]

In addition to tennis and football, Nadal enjoys golf and also poker.^[287] In April 2014 he played the world's number 1 female poker player, Vanessa Selbst, in a poker game in Monaco.^[288] Nadal's autobiography, Rafa (Hyperion, 2012, ISBN 1401310923), written with assistance from John Carlin, was published in August 2011.^[289]

Career statistics

Main article: Rafael Nadal career statistics

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline

To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through 2016 Wimbledon.

Tournament	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	SR	W–L	Win %
Australian Open	A	3R	4R	A	QF	SF	W	QF	QF	F	A	F	QF	1R	1 / 11	45–10	81.8
French Open	A	A	W	W	W	W	4R	W	W	W	W	W	QF	3R	9 / 12	72–2	97.3
Wimbledon	3R	A	2R	F	F	W	A	W	F	2R	1R	4R	2R	A	2 / 11	40–9	81.6
US Open	2R	2R	3R	QF	4R	SF	SF	W	F	A	W	A	3R	4R	2 / 12	46–10	82.1
Win–Loss	3–2	3–2	13–3	17–2	20–3	24–2	15–2	25–1	23–3	14–2	14–1	16–2	11–4	6–2	14 / 46	204–31	86.81

Finals: 20 (14 titles, 6 runners-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	2005	French Open	Clay	Mariano Puerta	6–7^(6–8), 6–3, 6–1, 7–5
Winner	2006	French Open (2)	Clay	Roger Federer	1–6, 6–1, 6–4, 7–6^(7–4)
Runner-up	2006	Wimbledon	Grass	Roger Federer	0–6, 6–7^(5–7), 7–6^(7–2), 3–6
Winner	2007	French Open (3)	Clay	Roger Federer	6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4
Runner-up	2007	Wimbledon (2)	Grass	Roger Federer	6–7^(7–9), 6–4, 6–7^(3–7), 6–2, 2–6
Winner	2008	French Open (4)	Clay	Roger Federer	6–1, 6–3, 6–0
Winner	2008	Wimbledon	Grass	Roger Federer	6–4, 6–4, 6–7^(5–7), 6–7^(8–10), 9–7
Winner	2009	Australian Open	Hard	Roger Federer	7–5, 3–6, 7–6^(7–3), 3–6, 6–2
Winner	2010	French Open (5)	Clay	Robin Söderling	6–4, 6–2, 6–4
Winner	2010	Wimbledon (2)	Grass	Tomáš Berdych	6–3, 7–5, 6–4
Winner	2010	US Open	Hard	Novak Djokovic	6–4, 5–7, 6–4, 6–2
Winner	2011	French Open (6)	Clay	Roger Federer	7–5, 7–6^(7–3), 5–7, 6–1
Runner-up	2011	Wimbledon (3)	Grass	Novak Djokovic	4–6, 1–6, 6–1, 3–6
Runner-up	2011	US Open	Hard	Novak Djokovic	2–6, 4–6, 7–6^(7–3), 1–6
Runner-up	2012	Australian Open	Hard	Novak Djokovic	7–5, 4–6, 2–6, 7–6^(7–5), 5–7
Winner	2012	French Open (7)	Clay	Novak Djokovic	6–4, 6–3, 2–6, 7–5
Winner	2013	French Open (8)	Clay	David Ferrer	6–3, 6–2, 6–3
Winner	2013	US Open (2)	Hard	Novak Djokovic	6–2, 3–6, 6–4, 6–1
Runner-up	2014	Australian Open (2)	Hard	Stan Wawrinka	3–6, 2–6, 6–3, 3–6
Winner	2014	French Open (9)	Clay	Novak Djokovic	3–6, 7–5, 6–2, 6–4

Year-end Championship performance timeline

Tournament	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	SR	W–L	Win %
Year-End Championship Tournaments
YEC	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	A	SF	SF	A	RR	F	RR	A	F	A	SF	A	0 / 7	16–12	57.1

Finals: 2 (2 runners-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	2010	ATP World Tour Finals	Hard (i)	Roger Federer	3–6, 6–3, 1–6
Runner-up	2013	ATP World Tour Finals (2)	Hard (i)	Novak Djokovic	3–6, 4–6

Olympic Games

Finals: 2 (2 gold medals: singles 2008, doubles 2016)
Third Place Match: 1 (no medal: singles 2016)

Singles Finals: 1 (1–0)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner (Gold)	2008	Summer Olympics (Beijing)	Hard	Fernando González	6–3, 7–6^(7–2), 6–3

Singles Third Place Matches: 1 (0–1)

Outcome	Year	Third Place Match	Surface	Opponent	Score
Fourth Place	2016	Summer Olympics (Rio)	Hard	Kei Nishikori	2–6, 7–6^(7–1), 3–6

Doubles Finals: 1 (1–0)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Winner (Gold)	2016	Summer Olympics (Rio)	Hard	Marc Lopez	Florin Mergea Horia Tecău	6–2, 3–6, 6-4

Records

Main article: List of career achievements by Rafael Nadal

All-time tournament records

Tournament	Since	Record accomplished	Players matched
Grand Slam	1877	9 Men's Singles titles at one Major	Stands alone
Grand Slam	1877	10 consecutive years of winning 1+ title (2005 - 2014)	Stands alone
Grand Slam	1877	Winning titles on 3 different surfaces in a calendar year	Stands alone
Grand Slam	1877	3 consecutive titles on 3 different surfaces	Stands alone
ATP Masters 1000	1970	10 consecutive years of winning 1+ title (2005 - 2014)	Stands alone
ATP Masters 1000	1970	21 consecutive quarterfinals (2008 - 2010)	Stands alone
French Open	1925	9 Men's Singles titles	Stands alone
Monte Carlo Masters	1897	9 Men's Singles titles	Stands alone
Barcelona Open	1953	9 Men's Singles titles	Stands alone
Rome Masters	1930	7 Men's Singles titles	Stands alone

Open Era records

These records were attained in the Open Era of tennis.
Records in bold indicate peer-less achievements.
Records in italics are currently active streaks.
^ Denotes consecutive streak.

Time span	Selected Grand Slam tournament records	Players matched	Refs
2005 French Open — 2010 US Open	Career Golden Slam	Andre Agassi	^[118]
2005 French Open — 2010 US Open	Career Grand Slam	Rod Laver Andre Agassi Roger Federer Novak Djokovic	^[290]
2005 French Open — 2010 US Open	Youngest to achieve a Career Grand Slam (24)	Stands alone	^[290]^[291]
2005 French Open — 2010 US Open	2+ titles on grass, clay and hard courts	Mats Wilander	^[290]
2005 French Open — 2014 French Open	9 titles at a single Major	Stands alone
2005–2014	10 consecutive years winning 1+ title	Stands alone	^[292]
2010 French Open — 2010 US Open	Winner of Majors on clay, grass and hard court in calendar year	Stands alone	^[293]
2007 French Open — 2012 French Open	5 finals reached without losing a set^{[lower-alpha 4]}	Stands alone	^[154]^[296]
2008 French Open — 2009 Australian Open	Simultaneous holder of Majors on clay, grass and hard court	Roger Federer	^[297]
2008 French Open— 2009 Australian Open	Simultaneous holder of Olympic singles gold medal and Majors on clay, grass and hard court	Stands alone	^[298]
2011 Wimbledon — 2012 Australian Open	3 consecutive runners-up finishes	Stands alone	^[299]^[300]

Grand Slam tournaments	Time Span	Records at each Grand Slam tournament	Players matched	Refs
French Open	2005–2014	9 titles overall	Stands alone	^[301]
French Open	2010–2014	5 consecutive titles	Stands alone	^[301]
French Open	2005–2014	9 finals overall	Stands alone	^[302]
French Open	2010–2014	5 consecutive finals	Stands alone	^[303]
French Open	2005–2014	9 semifinals overall	Stands alone	^[301]
French Open	2005–2016	72 match wins overall	Stands alone	^[304]
French Open	2010–2014	35 consecutive match wins	Stands alone	^[301]
French Open	2005–2016	97.2% (72–2) match winning percentage	Stands alone	^[305]
French Open	2008, 2010	2 titles won without losing a set	Björn Borg	^[301]
French Open	2005	Won title on the first attempt	Mats Wilander	^[306]
French Open—Wimbledon	2008, 2010	Accomplished a "Channel Slam": Winning both tournaments in the same year	Rod Laver Björn Borg Roger Federer	^[307]

Time span	Other selected records	Players matched	Refs
ATP Masters 1000 records
2005–2016	42 combined Championship Masters Series^{[lower-alpha 5]} finals	Roger Federer Novak Djokovic
2013	4 consecutive Masters 1000 titles	Novak Djokovic
2005–2013	All 9 Masters 1000 finals reached	Roger Federer Novak Djokovic
2010	Accomplished a "Clay Slam"^{[lower-alpha 6]}	Stands alone	^[308]
2005–2016	9 Monte-Carlo Masters titles^	Stands alone
2005–2013	7 Rome Masters titles	Stands alone
Other records
2004–2016	49 clay court titles	Guillermo Vilas	^[309]
2005–2007	81 consecutive clay court match victories	Stands alone	^[310]^[311]
2004–2016	67 outdoor titles	Stands alone	^[309]
2004–2013	19 match wins against world No. 1 players^{[lower-alpha 7]}	Boris Becker
2002–2014	92.98% (318–24) clay court match winning percentage	Stands alone	^[314]
2002–2014	85.83% (639–106) outdoor court match winning percentage	Stands alone	^[315]
2005–2013	7+ titles at 4 different tournaments	Stands alone	^[154]^[316]
2005–2012	8 consecutive titles at a single tournament (Monte Carlo)	Stands alone	^[317]
2004–2006	16 titles won as a teenager	Björn Borg	^[318]

Notes

↑ See^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]
↑ See^[12]^[13]^[14]^[15]^[16]^[17]
↑ See^[18]^[19]^[20]^[21]^[22]^[23]^[24]^[25]
↑ The finals Nadal reached without losing a set were the 2007,^[294] 2008, 2010 & 2012 French Open and the 2010 US Open.^[295]
↑ The term "combined Championship Masters Series" encompasses the Grand Prix Championship Series (1970–1989), ATP Masters Series (1990–2008) and ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (2009–present).
↑ The "Clay Slam" consists of winning the Monte Carlo Masters, Rome Masters, Madrid Masters and French Open in the same year.^[308]
↑ The world No. 1 players who Nadal defeated were Roger Federer (13 times)^[312] and Novak Djokovic (6 times).^[313]

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↑ "RIVALRIES OF THE DECADE". Retrieved 19 August 2011.
↑ Walker, Randy (3 August 2012). "Roger Federer's History-Making Olympic Epic Over Juan Martin del Potro". World Tennis Magazine. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
↑ "Federer edges epic encounter". London2012.com. 3 August 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
↑ Clarey, Christopher (3 July 2011). "Djokovic Overwhelms Nadal for Wimbledon Title". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
↑ Paul Gittings (29 January 2012). "Djokovic beats Nadal in marathon classic to win Australian Open". CNN. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
↑ "Rafael Nadal". Retrieved 21 May 2012.
↑ "Nadal v Murray Head to Head". atpworldtour.com. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
↑ "Nadal blows Murray away in final". BBC Sport. 22 March 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
↑ "Murray beats Nadal to take title". BBC Sport. 15 February 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
↑ "Andy Murray defeats Rafael Nadal in Japan Open final". BBC Sport. 9 October 2011. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
1 2 "Nadal Has Improved Virtually Every Aspect of His Game". ESPN. 3 July 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
↑ Cooper, Jeff. "Rafael Nadal – Game Profile". Retrieved 30 July 2007.
↑ "Rafael Nadal's Drop Volley". Tennis Magazine. 27 March 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
↑ "How To Hold A Tennis Racket". Retrieved 19 January 2015.
↑ "Essential Tennis – Rafael Nadal's Forehand Grip Revealed". Retrieved 19 January 2015.
↑ Clarey, Christopher (27 June 2006). "More and More Players Deliver Slap to Classic Forehand". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
↑ "The Forehand of Rafael Nadal". Tennis Magazine. 15 December 2006. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
↑ Gorney, Cynthia (17 June 2009). "Ripped. (Or Torn Up?)". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
↑ White, Clive (6 July 2008). "Rafael Nadal Determined to Keep One Step Ahead of Roger Federer". The Daily Telegraph. UK. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
↑ Tony Kurdzuk/The Star-Ledger. "12 September 2010". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
↑ Timothy Rapp (30 January 2012). "Rafael Nadal: Rafa Must Improve Serve to Beat Novak Djokovic". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
↑ Thomas Skuzinski (22 August 2011). "Rafael Nadal's Serve, and 7 Other Weak Shots Among the Top 8 Men". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
↑ Naharnet Newsdesk (13 September 2011). "Beaten Nadal Vows to Turn Tables on Djokovic". Naharnet. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
↑ "No limit to what Nadal can accomplish". ESPN. 1 February 2009. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
↑ "Style of play catching up with Rafa?". ESPN. 30 August 2007. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
↑ "Oz Champ Nadal Wants Changes in Tennis Schedule". Tennis Magazine. 2 February 2009. Retrieved 2 February 2009.
↑ Kia Nadal versus Alien Video.
↑ "Rafael Nadal and Kia Motors double up for another five years". Hyundai Motor Group. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
↑ "The Beefcake in the Backcourt". New York. 17 August 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
↑ "Rafa Needs More Than a New Look". ESPN. 17 January 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
↑ "Rafael Nadal to Launch New, More Traditional Image at US Open". Sports Business Daily. 1 August 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
↑ "Nadal's Wardrobe Malfunction". CNBC. 26 January 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
↑ "Fashion Focus: Rafael Nadal". Tennis Served Fresh. 20 January 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
↑ "Nike Bold New Tennis Crew". Nike Store. 30 January 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
↑ "Nadal Long Check Shortsbhnu". Nike Store. 30 January 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
↑ "Rafa's Costume Change". Tennis Served Fresh. 24 January 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
↑ "Emperor's New Clothes". Tennis Magazine. 24 January 2009. Archived from the original on 5 February 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
↑ "Nike Air CourtBallistec 1.3". Retrieved 5 September 2007.
↑ Marie-Helene Wagner (3 March 2009). "Lanvin L'Homme Sport (2009): Fronted by Rafael Nadal". Mimifroufrou.com. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
↑ "Nadal Doesn't Use an APDC". Talk Tennis. 1 September 2007. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
↑ "The Tennis Racket". ESPN. 2 September 2004. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
↑ "Rafa Nadal is Quely's embassador". Rafaelnadal.com. 21 December 2009. Archived from the original on 24 June 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
1 2 Corder, Rob (5 April 2010). "Rafael Nadal to wear $525,000 Richard Mille watch". Professional Jeweller.
↑ "Nadal Wears $525K Watch at French Open". mensfitness.com. Retrieved 6 July 2010.
1 2 "Rafael Nadal strips to his undies for Armani". Typicallyspanish.com. 20 January 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
↑ Cowles, Charlotte. "Rafael Nadal Replaces Cristiano Ronaldo as the New Face of Emporio Armani Underwear". New York. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
↑ "Tennis Champion Rafael Nadal Joins Team PokerStars". Poker News. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
↑ "Ronaldo challenges Rafael Nadal to live head-to-head poker duel". Daily Mail. Retrieved 29 September 2014
↑ "Music video for "Gypsy" by Shakira featuring Rafael Nadal". YouTube. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
↑ "Shakira: I Chose Nadal for Video Because I "Identify with Him"". Latin American Herald Tribune. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
↑ Source: Penny Newton (24 February 2010). "Shakira's Sexy New Video Gypsy". MTV. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
↑ "Asteroid Named After Rafael Nadal". ATP World Tour. 13 July 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
↑ "Soccer-Rafa Nadal becomes shareholder at troubled Real Mallorca". Reuters. 9 July 2010.
↑ "Sale of the club completed". Real Mallorca. 7 September 2010.
1 2 Hunter, Graham (9 September 2010). "Rafa to the rescue". ESPN. Retrieved 21 December 2010.
↑ "Nadal Lends Hand To Million Trees Project". ATP World Tour. 28 September 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
↑ "Rafa Nadal Foundation". Fundacionrafanadal.com. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
↑ "Rafael Nadal launches foundation". Earth Times News. Deutsche Presse-Agentur. 13 February 2008. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
↑ "Rafa and his foundation in India". The Official Rafa Nadal Website. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
↑ Janyala, Sreenivas (18 October 2010). "Rafa in India to promote tennis school". The Indian Express. Mumbai.
↑ "Personal woes affecting Rafa?". ESPN. 23 July 2009.
↑ "Q&A with Rafael Nadal". Sports Illustrated. 16 July 2010.
↑ Johnson, Christopher (8 October 2010). "Rafael Nadal: The 'Dragon Ball' of tennis". CNN International. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
↑ Smith, Bill (28 March 2012). "Away from tennis court, Rafael Nadal seeks a golf course". The Miami Herald. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
↑ "Twitter / RafaelNadal: Great experience playing with". Twitter.com. 11 April 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
↑ Tandon, Kamakshi (26 August 2011). "U.S. Open – Twenty things we learn in Rafael Nadal's autobiography". ESPN. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
1 2 3 "Nadal Completes Career Grand Slam With US Open Title". ATP World Tour. 13 September 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
↑ Clarey, Christopher (13 September 2010). "Nadal Caps Career Grand Slam". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
↑ "Roger Federer breaks Pete Sampras's record with unprecedented 287th week as world No 1". The Daily Telegraph. London. 16 July 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2012. Federer sits with Björn Borg, Sampras and Rafa Nadal as the only players to have won a major eight years in a row.
↑ Garber, Greg (13 September 2010). "Nadal's three-peat no small feat". ESPN. Retrieved 14 June 2012. [W]inning on three different surfaces in that narrow time frame is unprecedented.
↑ "History – Past Tournaments – 2007: Hat-trick for Nadal and Henin". RolandGarros.com. 11 September 2010. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
↑ Hodgkinson, Mark (11 September 2010). "Rafael Nadal reaches first final in New York after win over Mikhail Youzhny". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
↑ Sarkar, Pritha (9 June 2012). "Djokovic faces ultimate challenge against Nadal". Reuters. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
↑ Tandon, Kamakshi (24 December 2009). "What's your tennis IQ? – 2009 tennis holiday quiz". ESPN. Retrieved 18 June 2012. [Nadal's] Australian Open title made him the first man to simultaneously hold majors on clay, grass and hard courts.
↑ "Nadal's records – over Federer. These are records Federer SHOULD have held – by a mile.". tennisplanet.me. 13 May 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
↑ Cheese, Caroline (29 January 2012). "Australian Open: Djokovic outlasts Nadal in longest Grand Slam singles final ever". The Washington Post. Retrieved 28 April 2012. Nadal became the first man in the Open Era to lose three straight major finals.
↑ Garber, Greg (29 January 2012). "Djokovic now on the brink of history". ESPN. Retrieved 28 April 2012. [Nadal] became the first man in the Open era to lose three consecutive finals.
1 2 3 4 5 "Record Breakers". RolandGarros.com. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
↑ Sarkar, Pritha (8 June 2012). "Djokovic, Nadal looking to become record collectors". Reuters. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
↑ "Grand Slam History". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
↑ "Rafael Nadal captures eighth French Open crown". USA Today. Associated Press. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
↑ Pells, Eddie (11 June 2012). "Rafael Nadal tops Novak Djokovic for record seventh French Open title". National Post. Associated Press. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
↑ Clarey, Christopher (6 June 2005). "French Open: Nadal triumphs at first attempt". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
↑ Tandon, Kamakshi (17 June 2011). "Nadal eyes another Channel Slam". ESPN. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
1 2 "Rafael Nadal – Career Highlights". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 14 June 2012. 2010 – first player to win a "Clay Slam" in a season, winning three ATP Masters 1000 titles (Monte Carlo*, Rome*, Madrid*) along with Roland Garros.
1 2 Jocz, Trenton (24 April 2016). "Rafael Nadal defeats Kei Nishikori for record-tying 49th title on clay". Fanrag Sports. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
↑ Macur, Juliet (8 June 2007). "Tennis: Federer vs. Nadal to meet again in French Open final". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
↑ "Federer ends Nadal's clay streak". BBC Sport. 20 May 2007. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
↑ "Nadal–Federer Head to Head". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
↑ "Nadal–Djokovic Head to Head". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
↑ "FedEx ATP Reliability Index – Winning percentage on Clay". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
↑ "FedEx ATP Reliability Index – Winning percentage Outdoor". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
↑ "Nadal Beats Ferrer For Seventh Barcelona Crown". ATP World Tour. 29 April 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
↑ Briggs, Simon (22 April 2012). "Rafael Nadal beats Novak Djokovic to win eighth consecutive Monte Carlo Masters title". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
↑ "Rafael Nadal – Career Highlights". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 14 June 2012. 2006 – Tied Borg with his 16th career teenage title in Rome, most in Open Era.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rafael Nadal.

Profiles

Rafael Nadal at the Association of Tennis Professionals
Rafael Nadal at the International Tennis Federation
Rafael Nadal at the Davis Cup

Rafael Nadal (achievement predecessor and successor)

Sporting positions
Preceded by Roger Federer Roger Federer Novak Djokovic	World No. 1 August 18, 2008 – July 6, 2009 June 7, 2010 – July 4, 2011 October 7, 2013 – July 7, 2014	Succeeded by Roger Federer Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic
Preceded by Roger Federer Novak Djokovic	US Open Series Champion 2008 2013	Succeeded by Sam Querrey Milos Raonic
Awards
Preceded by Paul-Henri Mathieu	ATP Newcomer of the Year 2003	Succeeded by Florian Mayer
Preceded by Joachim Johansson	ATP Most Improved Player 2005	Succeeded by Novak Djokovic
Preceded by Roger Federer David Ferrer	Golden Bagel Award 2005 2008, 2009	Succeeded by Roger Federer Robin Söderling
Preceded by Fernando Alonso Rafael Trujillo	Spanish Sportsman of the Year 2006 2008	Succeeded by Rafael Trujillo Xavi
Preceded by Roger Federer Roger Federer	ITF World Champion 2008 2010	Succeeded by Roger Federer Novak Djokovic
Preceded by Roger Federer Roger Federer Novak Djokovic	ATP Player of the Year 2008 2010 2013	Succeeded by Roger Federer Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic
Preceded by Michael Schumacher	Prince of Asturias Award for Sports 2008	Succeeded by Yelena Isinbayeva
Preceded by Roger Federer	ATP Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award 2010	Succeeded by Roger Federer
Preceded by Usain Bolt	BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year 2010	Succeeded by Novak Djokovic
Preceded by Usain Bolt Usain Bolt	L'Équipe Champion of Champions 2010 2013	Succeeded by Lionel Messi Renaud Lavillenie
Preceded by Usain Bolt	Laureus World Sportsman of the Year 2011	Succeeded by Novak Djokovic
Preceded by Roger Federer Novak Djokovic	Best Male Tennis Player ESPY Award 2011 2014	Succeeded by Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic
Preceded by Rohan Bopanna & Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi	Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year 2011	Succeeded by Novak Djokovic
Preceded by Tommy Haas	ATP Comeback Player of the Year 2013	Succeeded by David Goffin
Preceded by Félix Sánchez	Laureus World Comeback of the Year 2014	Succeeded by Schalk Burger
Olympic Games
Preceded by Pau Gasol	Flagbearer for Spain Rio de Janeiro 2016	Succeeded by Incumbent

Rafael Nadal

Entourage	Miguel Ángel Nadal (uncle) Toni Nadal (uncle and coach)

Career	Achievements Big Four Statistics Rivalry with Roger Federer Rivalry with Novak Djokovic Rivalry with Andy Murray

Milestones	46-match winning streak at the Monte-Carlo Masters

Notable matches	2007 Wimbledon final 2008 Wimbledon final 2009 Australian Open final 2012 Australian Open final 2012 French Open final

Exhibition matches	Battle of Surfaces Match for Africa and Joining Forces for the Benefit of Children

Seasons	2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Australian Open	2009

French Open	2005 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Wimbledon	2008 2010

US Open	2010 2013

Olympics	2008 2016 (Doubles)

Indan Wells	2007 2009 2013

Miami	Finals: 2005 2008 2011 2014

Monte Carlo	2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2016

Roma	2005 2006 2007 2009 2010 2012 2013

Hamburg/Madrid	2008 (H) 2010 (M) 2013 (M) 2014 (M)

Canada	2005 2008 2013

Cincinnati	2013

Madrid/Shanghai	2005 (M)

Paris	Finals: 2007

World Tour Finals	Finals: 2010 2013

Davis Cup	2004 2008 2009 2011

Rafael Nadal Official Website

Big Four

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray

Rivalries

Seasons

Roger Federer	2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Rafael Nadal	2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Novak Djokovic	2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Andy Murray	2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Roger Federer
(Statistics and Achievements)

Australian Open	2004 2006 2007 2009 2010

French Open	2006 2007 2008 2009 2011

Wimbledon	2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2012 2014 2015

US Open	2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2015

Tour Finals	2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015

Masters titles	Indian Wells (4) Miami (2) Madrid/Hamburg (6) Canada (2) Cincinnati (7) Shanghai/Madrid (2) Paris (1)

Rafael Nadal
(Statistics and Achievements)

Australian Open	2009 2012 2014

French Open	2005 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Wimbledon	2006 2007 2008 2010 2011

US Open	2010 2011 2013

Tour Finals	2010 2013

Masters titles	Indian Wells (3) Monte Carlo (9) Madrid/Hamburg (3) Rome (7) Canada (3) Cincinnati (1) Shanghai/Madrid (1)

Novak Djokovic
(Statistics and Achievements)

Australian Open	2008 2011 2012 2013 2015 2016

French Open	2012 2014 2015 2016

Wimbledon	2011 2013 2014 2015

US Open	2007 2010 2011 2012 2013 2015 2016

Tour Finals	2008 2012 2013 2014 2015

Masters titles	Indian Wells (5) Miami (6) Monte Carlo (2) Madrid (2) Rome (4) Canada (4) Shanghai (3) Paris (4)

Andy Murray
(Statistics and Achievements)

Australian Open	2010 2011 2013 2015 2016

French Open	2016

Wimbledon	2012 2013 2016

US Open	2008 2012

Tour Finals	2016

Masters titles	Miami (2) Madrid (1) Rome (1) Canada (3) Cincinnati (2) Shanghai/Madrid (4) Paris (1)

Notable matches

Rafael Nadal in the Grand Slam tournaments

Australian Open men's singles champions

French Open men's singles champions

Wimbledon (Open Era) gentlemen's singles champions

US Open men's singles champions

Tennis players who have completed the Grand Slam, non-calendar year Grand Slam or career Grand Slam in singles and/or doubles

Grand Slam

Men's singles	1938: Don Budge 1962: Rod Laver 1969: Rod Laver

Women's singles	1953: Maureen Connolly 1970: Margaret Court 1988: Steffi Graf

Men's doubles	1951: Ken McGregor/ Frank Sedgman

Women's doubles	1960: Maria Bueno 1984: Martina Navratilova/ Pam Shriver 1998: Martina Hingis

Mixed doubles	1963: Margaret Court/ Ken Fletcher 1965: Margaret Court 1967: Owen Davidson

Non-Calendar Year Grand Slam

Men's singles	2015–16: Novak Djokovic

Women's singles	1983–84: Martina Navratilova 1993–94: Steffi Graf 2002–03: Serena Williams 2014–15: Serena Williams

Men's doubles	2012-13: Bob Bryan/ Mike Bryan

Women's doubles	1949–50: Louise Brough 1986–87: Martina Navratilova/ Pam Shriver 1992–93: Gigi Fernández/ Natasha Zvereva 1996–97: Natasha Zvereva 2009–10: Serena Williams/ Venus Williams

Mixed doubles	1967–68 Billie Jean King

Career Grand Slam

Men's singles	1933-34-35: Fred Perry 1937-38: Don Budge 1960-61-62: Rod Laver 1961-63-64: Roy Emerson 1992-94-95-99: Andre Agassi 2003-04-09: Roger Federer 2005-08-09-10: Rafael Nadal 2008-11-16: Novak Djokovic

Women's singles	1951-52-53: Maureen Connolly 1949-50-51-54: Doris Hart 1951-56-57: Shirley Fry Irvin 1960-62-63: Margaret Court 1966-67-68-72: Billie Jean King 1974-75-82: Chris Evert 1978-81-82-83: Martina Navratilova 1987-88: Steffi Graf 1999-2002-03: Serena Williams 2004-06-08-12: Maria Sharapova

Men's doubles	1935-36-39: Adrian Quist 1948-50-51 Frank Sedgman 1951: Ken McGregor 1953–56: Lew Hoad/ Ken Rosewall 1957-58-59: Neale Fraser 1959-60-62: Roy Emerson 1965–67: John Newcombe/ Tony Roche 1962-64-67-77: Bob Hewitt 1982-84-86-89: John Fitzgerald 1983-87-89: Anders Järryd 1994-95-98: Jacco Eltingh/ Paul Haarhuis 1989-92–93-2000: Mark Woodforde 1992–93-95-2000: Todd Woodbridge 1998-2002-03-05: Jonas Björkman 2003-05-06: Bob Bryan/ Mike Bryan 2002-04-07-08: Daniel Nestor 1999-2006-12: Leander Paes

Women's doubles	1942-46-50: Louise Brough Clapp 1947-48-50-51: Doris Hart 1950-51-57: Shirley Fry Irvin 1956–1957: Althea Gibson 1958–60: Maria Bueno 1961–64: Lesley Turner Bowrey 1961-63-64: Margaret Court 1964-66-69-70: Judy Tegart Dalton 1980–81: Kathy Jordan/ Anne Smith 1975-76-77-80: / Martina Navratilova 1981-82-83-84: Pam Shriver 1989-90-93: Helena Suková 1988–90-91-92: Gigi Fernández 1989-90-91-93: Natasha Zvereva 1989-90-94: Jana Novotná 1996-97-98: Martina Hingis 1999-2000-01: Serena Williams/ Venus Williams 2000-01-06: Lisa Raymond 2012-13-14: Sara Errani/ Roberta Vinci

Mixed doubles	1925-26-27-28 Jean Borotra 1949–51: Doris Hart/ Frank Sedgman 1961-1963: Margaret Court 1962-1963: Ken Fletcher 1965-66-67: Owen Davidson 1967–68: Billie Jean King 1969–75: Marty Riessen 1961-70-77-79: Bob Hewitt 1992–93-95: Mark Woodforde 1990-93-94-95: Todd Woodbridge 1974-85-2003: Martina Navratilova 2001-02-05: Daniela Hantuchová 1997-99-2005-06: Mahesh Bhupathi 2002-04-08-10: Cara Black 1999-2003-08-16: Leander Paes 2006-15-16: Martina Hingis

Male tennis players who have won 3 or more Grand Slam singles titles in one season

(1933) Jack Crawford (3)
(1934) Fred Perry (3)
(1938) Don Budge (4)
(1955) Tony Trabert (3)
(1956) Lew Hoad (3)
(1958) Ashley Cooper (3)
(1962) Rod Laver (4)
(1964) Roy Emerson (3)
(1969) Rod Laver (4)
(1974) Jimmy Connors (3)
(1988) Mats Wilander (3)
(2004) Roger Federer (3)
(2006) Roger Federer (3)
(2007) Roger Federer (3)
(2010) Rafael Nadal (3)
(2011) Novak Djokovic (3)
(2015) Novak Djokovic (3)

Men’s tennis players who won two or more Grand Slam singles titles in one calendar year

Four wins

1938: Don Budge 1962: Rod Laver 1969: Rod Laver

Three wins

1933: Jack Crawford (AC&FC&WI)
1934: Fred Perry (AC&WI&US)
1955: Tony Trabert (FO&WI&US)
1956: Lew Hoad (AO&FO&WI)
1958: Ashley Cooper (AC&WI&US)
1964: Roy Emerson (AC&WI&US)
1974: Jimmy Connors (AO&WI&US)
1988: Mats Wilander (AO&FO&US)
2004: Roger Federer (AO&WI&US)
2006: Roger Federer (AO&WI&US)
2007: Roger Federer (AO&WI&US)
2010: Rafael Nadal (FO&WI&US)
2011: Novak Djokovic (AO&WI&US)
2015: Novak Djokovic (AO&WI&US)

Two wins

1903: Laurence Doherty (WI&US)
1920: Bill Tilden (WI&US)
1921: Bill Tilden (WI&US)
1925: René Lacoste (FC&WI)
1927: René Lacoste (FC&US)
1928: Henri Cochet (FC&US)
1932: Ellsworth Vines (WI&US)
1935: Fred Perry (FC&WI)
1936: Fred Perry (WI&US)
1937: Don Budge (WI&US)
1939: Bobby Riggs (WI&US)
1947: Jack Kramer (WI&US)
1950: Budge Patty (FC&WI)
1951: Dick Savitt (AC&WI))
1952: Frank Sedgman (WI&US)
1953: Ken Rosewall (AC&FO)
1959: Alex Olmedo (AC&WI)
1960: Neale Fraser (WI&US)
1961: Roy Emerson (AC&US)
1963: Roy Emerson (AC&FC)
1965: Roy Emerson (AC&WI)
1967: Roy Emerson (AC&FC)
1967: John Newcombe (WI&US)
1973: John Newcombe (AO&US)
1977: Guillermo Vilas (FO&US)
1978: Björn Borg (FO&WI)
1979: Björn Borg (FO&WI)
1980: Björn Borg (FO&WI)
1981: John McEnroe (WI&US)
1982: Jimmy Connors (WI&US)
1984: John McEnroe (WI&US)
1986: Ivan Lendl (FO&US)
1987: Ivan Lendl (FO&US)
1989: Boris Becker (WI&US)
1992: Jim Courier (AO&FO)
1993: Pete Sampras (WI&US)
1994: Pete Sampras (AO&WI)
1995: Pete Sampras (WI&US)
1997: Pete Sampras (AO&WI)
1999: Andre Agassi (FO&US)
2005: Roger Federer (WI&US)
2008: Rafael Nadal (FO&WI)
2009: Roger Federer (FO&WI)
2013: Rafael Nadal (FO&US)
2016: Novak Djokovic (AO&FO)

AC=Australasian/Australian Championships, AO=Australian Open, FC=French Championships, FO=French Open, WI=Wimbledon, US=U.S. National Championships/US Open

Rafael Nadal achievements

Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world No. 1 singles players

Ilie Năstase (1973/1974 – 40 w) • John Newcombe (1974 – 8 w) • Jimmy Connors (1974/1983 – 268 w) • Björn Borg (1977/1981 – 109 w) • John McEnroe (1980/1985 – 170 w) • Ivan Lendl (1983/1990 – 270 w) • Mats Wilander (1988/1989 – 20 w) • Stefan Edberg (1990/1992 – 72 w) • Boris Becker (1991 – 12 w) • Jim Courier (1992/1993 – 58 w) • Pete Sampras (1993/2000 – 286 w) • Andre Agassi (1995/2003 – 101 w) • Thomas Muster (1996 – 6 w) • Marcelo Ríos (1998 – 6 w) • Carlos Moyá (1999 – 2 w) • Yevgeny Kafelnikov (1999 – 6 w) • Patrick Rafter (1999 – 1 w) • Marat Safin (2000/2001 – 9 w) • Gustavo Kuerten (2000/2001 – 43 w) • Lleyton Hewitt (2001/2003 – 80 w) • Juan Carlos Ferrero (2003 – 8 w) • Andy Roddick (2003/2004 – 13 w) • Roger Federer (2004/2012 – 302 w) • Rafael Nadal (2008/2014 – 141 w) • Novak Djokovic (2011/2016 – 223 w) • Andy Murray (2016 – 5 w)

ATP singles rankings incepted on August 23, 1973 (year first held/year last held – number of weeks (w)) current No. 1 in bold, as of week of December 5, 2016

Olympic Tennis Champions in Men's Singles

Demonstration	1968: Manuel Santana (ESP) 1984: Stefan Edberg (SWE)

Indoor	1908: Arthur Gore (GBR) 1912: André Gobert (FRA)

Outdoor	1896: John Pius Boland (GBR) 1900: Laurence Doherty (GBR) 1904: Beals Wright (USA) 1908: Major Ritchie (GBR) 1912: Charles Winslow (RSA) 1920: Louis Raymond (RSA) 1924: Vincent Richards (USA) 1988: Miloslav Mečíř (TCH) 1992: Marc Rosset (SUI) 1996: Andre Agassi (USA) 2000: Yevgeny Kafelnikov (RUS) 2004: Nicolás Massú (CHI) 2008: Rafael Nadal (ESP) 2012: Andy Murray (GBR) 2016: Andy Murray (GBR)

Tennis at the Summer Olympics • Olympic champions in men's doubles

Demonstration	1968: Rafael Osuna & Vicente Zarazua (MEX)

Indoor	1908: Herbert Barrett & Arthur Gore (GBR) 1912: Maurice Germot & André Gobert (FRA)

Outdoor	1896: John Pius Boland (GBR) & Friedrich Traun (GER) 1900: Laurence Doherty & Reginald Doherty (GBR) 1904: Edgar Leonard & Beals Wright (USA) 1908: Reginald Doherty & George Hillyard (GBR) 1912: Harold Kitson & Charles Winslow (RSA) 1920: Oswald Turnbull & Max Woosnam (GBR) 1924: Francis Hunter & Vincent Richards (USA) 1988: Ken Flach & Robert Seguso (USA) 1992: Boris Becker & Michael Stich (GER) 1996: Todd Woodbridge & Mark Woodforde (AUS) 2000: Sébastien Lareau & Daniel Nestor (CAN) 2004: Fernando González & Nicolás Massú (CHI) 2008: Roger Federer & Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) 2012: Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan (USA) 2016: Marc López & Rafael Nadal (ESP)

ATP Masters Series: Singles champions

Indian Wells Masters

Miami Masters

Monte-Carlo Masters

Hamburg/Madrid Masters

Rome Masters

Canada Masters

Cincinnati Masters

Stockholm/Essen/Stuttgart/Madrid/Shanghai Masters

Paris Masters

ATP Masters Series: Doubles champions

Indian Wells Masters

1990: Boris Becker/Guy Forget
1991: Jim Courier/Javier Sánchez
1992: Steve DeVries/David Macpherson
1993: Guy Forget/Henri Leconte
1994: Grant Connell/Patrick Galbraith
1995: Tommy Ho/Brett Steven
1996: Todd Woodbridge/Mark Woodforde
1997: Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor
1998: Jonas Björkman/Patrick Rafter
1999: Wayne Black/Sandon Stolle
2000: Alex O'Brien/Jared Palmer
2001: Wayne Ferreira/Yevgeny Kafelnikov
2002: Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor
2003: Wayne Ferreira/Yevgeny Kafelnikov
2004: Arnaud Clément/Sébastien Grosjean
2005: Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor
2006: Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor
2007: Martin Damm/Leander Paes
2008: Jonathan Erlich/Andy Ram
2009: Mardy Fish/Andy Roddick
2010: Marc López/Rafael Nadal
2011: Alexandr Dolgopolov/Xavier Malisse
2012: Marc López/Rafael Nadal
2013: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2014: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2015: Vasek Pospisil/Jack Sock
2016: Pierre-Hugues Herbert/Nicolas Mahut

Miami Masters

1990: Rick Leach/Jim Pugh
1991: Wayne Ferreira/Piet Norval
1992: Ken Flach/Todd Witsken
1993: Richard Krajicek/Jan Siemerink
1994: Jacco Eltingh/Paul Haarhuis
1995: Todd Woodbridge/Mark Woodforde
1996: Todd Woodbridge/Mark Woodforde
1997: Todd Woodbridge/Mark Woodforde
1998: Ellis Ferreira/Rick Leach
1999: Wayne Black/Sandon Stolle
2000: Todd Woodbridge/Mark Woodforde
2001: Jiří Novák/David Rikl
2002: Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor
2003: Roger Federer/Max Mirnyi
2004: Wayne Black/Kevin Ullyett
2005: Jonas Björkman/Max Mirnyi
2006: Jonas Björkman/Max Mirnyi
2007: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2008: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2009: Max Mirnyi/Andy Ram
2010: Lukáš Dlouhý/Leander Paes
2011: Mahesh Bhupathi/Leander Paes
2012: Leander Paes/Radek Štěpánek
2013: Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi/Jean-Julien Rojer
2014: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2015: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2016: Pierre-Hugues Herbert/Nicolas Mahut

Monte-Carlo Masters

1990: Petr Korda/Tomáš Šmíd
1991: Luke Jensen/Laurie Warder
1992: Boris Becker/Michael Stich
1993: Stefan Edberg/Petr Korda
1994: Nicklas Kulti/Magnus Larsson
1995: Jacco Eltingh/Paul Haarhuis
1996: Ellis Ferreira/Jan Siemerink
1997: Donald Johnson/Francisco Montana
1998: Jacco Eltingh/Paul Haarhuis
1999: Olivier Delaître/Tim Henman
2000: Wayne Ferreira/Yevgeny Kafelnikov
2001: Jonas Björkman/Todd Woodbridge
2002: Jonas Björkman/Todd Woodbridge
2003: Mahesh Bhupathi/Max Mirnyi
2004: Tim Henman/Nenad Zimonjić
2005: Leander Paes/Nenad Zimonjić
2006: Jonas Björkman/Max Mirnyi
2007: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2008: Rafael Nadal/Tommy Robredo
2009: Daniel Nestor/Nenad Zimonjić
2010: Daniel Nestor/Nenad Zimonjić
2011: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2012: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2013: Julien Benneteau/Nenad Zimonjić
2014: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2015: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2016: Pierre-Hugues Herbert/Nicolas Mahut

Hamburg/Madrid Masters

1990: Sergi Bruguera/Jim Courier
1991: Sergio Casal/Emilio Sánchez
1992: Sergio Casal/Emilio Sánchez
1993: Paul Haarhuis/Mark Koevermans
1994: Scott Melville/Piet Norval
1995: Wayne Ferreira/Yevgeny Kafelnikov
1996: Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor
1997: Luis Lobo/Javier Sánchez
1998: Donald Johnson/Francisco Montana
1999: Wayne Arthurs/Andrew Kratzmann
2000: Todd Woodbridge/Mark Woodforde
2001: Jonas Björkman/Todd Woodbridge
2002: Mahesh Bhupathi/Jan-Michael Gambill
2003: Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor
2004: Wayne Black/Kevin Ullyett
2005: Jonas Björkman/Max Mirnyi
2006: Paul Hanley/Kevin Ullyett
2007: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2008: Daniel Nestor/Nenad Zimonjić
2009: Daniel Nestor/Nenad Zimonjić
2010: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2011: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2012: Mariusz Fyrstenberg/Marcin Matkowski
2013: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2014: Daniel Nestor/Nenad Zimonjić
2015: Rohan Bopanna/Florin Mergea

Rome Masters

Canada Masters

1990: Paul Annacone/David Wheaton
1991: Patrick Galbraith/Todd Witsken
1992: Patrick Galbraith/Danie Visser
1993: Jim Courier/Mark Knowles
1994: Byron Black/Jonathan Stark
1995: Yevgeny Kafelnikov/Andrei Olhovskiy
1996: Patrick Galbraith/Paul Haarhuis
1997: Mahesh Bhupathi/Leander Paes
1998: Martin Damm/Jim Grabb
1999: Jonas Björkman/Patrick Rafter
2000: Sébastien Lareau/Daniel Nestor
2001: Jiří Novák/David Rikl
2002: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2003: Mahesh Bhupathi/Max Mirnyi
2004: Mahesh Bhupathi/Leander Paes
2005: Wayne Black/Kevin Ullyett
2006: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2007: Mahesh Bhupathi/Pavel Vízner
2008: Daniel Nestor/Nenad Zimonjić
2009: Mahesh Bhupathi/Mark Knowles
2010: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2011: Michaël Llodra/Nenad Zimonjić
2012: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2013: Alexander Peya/Bruno Soares
2014: Alexander Peya/Bruno Soares
2015: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2016: Ivan Dodig/Marcelo Melo

Cincinnati Masters

1990: Darren Cahill/Mark Kratzmann
1991: Ken Flach/Robert Seguso
1992: Todd Woodbridge/Mark Woodforde
1993: Andre Agassi/Petr Korda
1994: Alex O'Brien/Sandon Stolle
1995: Todd Woodbridge/Mark Woodforde
1996: Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor
1997: Todd Woodbridge/Mark Woodforde
1998: Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor
1999: Byron Black/Jonas Björkman
2000: Todd Woodbridge/Mark Woodforde
2001: Mahesh Bhupathi/Leander Paes
2002: James Blake/Todd Martin
2003: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2004: Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor
2005: Jonas Björkman/Max Mirnyi
2006: Jonas Björkman/Max Mirnyi
2007: Jonathan Erlich/Andy Ram
2008: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2009: Daniel Nestor/Nenad Zimonjić
2010: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2011: Mahesh Bhupathi/Leander Paes
2012: Robert Lindstedt/Horia Tecău
2013: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2014: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2015: Daniel Nestor/Édouard Roger-Vasselin
2016: Ivan Dodig/Marcelo Melo

Stockholm/Essen/Stuttgart/Madrid/Shanghai Masters

1990: Guy Forget/Jakob Hlasek
1991: John Fitzgerald/Anders Järryd
1992: Todd Woodbridge/Mark Woodforde
1993: Todd Woodbridge/Mark Woodforde
1994: Todd Woodbridge/Mark Woodforde
1995: Jacco Eltingh/Paul Haarhuis
1996: Sébastien Lareau/Alex O'Brien
1997: Todd Woodbridge/Mark Woodforde
1998: Sébastien Lareau/Alex O'Brien
1999: Byron Black/Jonas Björkman
2000: Jiří Novák/David Rikl
2001: Max Mirnyi/Sandon Stolle
2002: Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor
2003: Mahesh Bhupathi/Max Mirnyi
2004: Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor
2005: Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor
2006: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2007: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2008: Mariusz Fyrstenberg/Marcin Matkowski
2009: Julien Benneteau/Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
2010: Jürgen Melzer/Leander Paes
2011: Max Mirnyi/Daniel Nestor
2012: Leander Paes/Radek Štěpánek
2013: Ivan Dodig/Marcelo Melo
2014: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2015: Raven Klaasen/Marcelo Melo
2016: John Isner/Jack Sock

Paris Masters

1990: Scott Davis/David Pate
1991: Anders Järryd/John Fitzgerald
1992: John McEnroe/Patrick McEnroe
1993: Byron Black/Jonathan Stark
1994: Jacco Eltingh/Paul Haarhuis
1995: Grant Connell/Patrick Galbraith
1996: Jacco Eltingh/Paul Haarhuis
1997: Jacco Eltingh/Paul Haarhuis
1998: Mahesh Bhupathi/Leander Paes
1999: Sébastien Lareau/Alex O'Brien
2000: Nicklas Kulti/Max Mirnyi
2001: Ellis Ferreira/Rick Leach
2002: Nicolas Escudé/Fabrice Santoro
2003: Wayne Arthurs/Paul Hanley
2004: Jonas Björkman/Todd Woodbridge
2005: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2006: Arnaud Clément/Michaël Llodra
2007: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2008: Jonas Björkman/Kevin Ullyett
2009: Daniel Nestor/Nenad Zimonjić
2010: Mahesh Bhupathi/Max Mirnyi
2011: Rohan Bopanna/Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi
2012: Mahesh Bhupathi/Rohan Bopanna
2013: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2014: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2015: Ivan Dodig/Marcelo Melo
2016: Henri Kontinen/John Peers

Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsman of the Year

2000–01: Tiger Woods 2002: Michael Schumacher 2003: Lance Armstrong 2004: Michael Schumacher 2005–08: Roger Federer 2009–10: Usain Bolt 2011: Rafael Nadal 2012: Novak Djokovic 2013: Usain Bolt 2014: Sebastian Vettel 2015–16: Novak Djokovic

Spanish Sportsman of the Year

José Marín (1982)
Juan Antonio Corbalán (1983)
José Manuel Abascal (1984)
José Amengual (1985)
José Luis González (1986)
Jorge Martínez (1987)
José Doreste (1988)
Manuel Pereira (1989)
Carlos Sainz (1990)
Martin López-Zubero (1991)
Miguel Indurain (1992)
Jesús Ángel García and Valentí Massana (1993)
José María Olazábal (1994)
Miguel Indurain (1995)
Fermín Cacho (1996)
Joan Llaneras (1997)
Àlex Corretja (1998)
Abel Antón (1999)
Joan Llaneras and Gervasio Deferr (2000)
Pau Gasol (2001)
Alberto García (2002)
Juan Carlos Ferrero (2003)
David Cal (2004)
Fernando Alonso (2005)
Rafael Nadal (2006)
Rafael Trujillo (2007)
Rafael Nadal (2008)
Xavi Hernández (2009)
Jorge Lorenzo (2010)
Juan Carlos Navarro (2011)
Joel González (2012)
Francisco Javier Gómez Noya (2013)
Marc Márquez (2014)

World rankings – Top ten tennis players as of week of 5 December 2016

Association of Tennis Professionals: Top ten European male singles tennis players as of 5 December 2016

1. Andy Murray (1 ) 2. Novak Djokovic (2 ) 3. Stan Wawrinka (4 ) 4. Marin Čilić (6 ) 5. Gaël Monfils (7 )

6. Dominic Thiem (8 ) 7. Rafael Nadal (9 ) 8. Tomáš Berdych (10 ) 9. David Goffin (11 ) 10. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (12 )

Association of Tennis Professionals: Top ten Spanish male singles tennis players as 28 November 2016

1. Rafael Nadal (9 ) 2. Roberto Bautista Agut (14 ) 3. David Ferrer (21 ) 4. Albert Ramos-Viñolas (27 ) 5. Feliciano López (28 )

6. Pablo Carreño Busta (30 ) 7. Marcel Granollers (37 ) 8. Fernando Verdasco (42 ) 9. Nicolás Almagro (44 ) 10. Guillermo García-López (70 )

Association of Tennis Professionals: Top ten Spanish male doubles tennis players as of 28 November 2016

1. Marc López (10 ) 2. Feliciano López (11 ) 3. Marcel Granollers (18 ) 4. Pablo Carreño Busta (25 ) 5. David Marrero (41 )

6. Guillermo García-López (46 ) 7. Íñigo Cervantes (126 1) 8. Rafael Nadal (132 ) 9. Fernando Verdasco (171 1) 10. David Pérez Sanz (172 6)

Authority control	WorldCat Identities VIAF: 89826459 LCCN: n2005075233 ISNI: 0000 0000 8163 1971 GND: 139076395 SUDOC: 154384682 BNF: cb15766905z (data) NDL: 01240017

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Rafael Nadal

Early life

Tennis career

2002–2004

2005: First Grand Slam title

2006: Second French Open title

2007: Third French Open title

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

2009: Australian Open title, loss at French Open

2010: Return to No. 1 and Career Grand Slam

2011: Sixth French Open title

2012: Seventh French Open title

2013: Eighth French Open, second US Open, five masters and return to No. 1

2014: Ninth French Open, masters record & struggle with injury

2015: Continued struggle with form and fall in rankings

2016: 28th Masters title and second Olympic Gold medal

2017

Rivalries

Nadal vs. Federer

Nadal vs. Djokovic

Nadal vs. Murray

Playing style

Public image

Equipment and endorsements

In popular culture

Asteroid

Off the court

Involvement in football

Philanthropy

Fundación Rafa Nadal

Personal life

Career statistics

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline

Year-end Championship performance timeline

Olympic Games

Singles Finals: 1 (1–0)

Singles Third Place Matches: 1 (0–1)

Doubles Finals: 1 (1–0)

Records

All-time tournament records

Open Era records

See also

Notes

References

External links

Profiles