Rafa's record breaking spree
Since he turned into a professional tennis player at the age of 15 years in 2001, Rafael ‘Rafa’ Nadal Parera has been riding the waves in the world of tennis. An exceptionally gifted player, this young Spaniard has proven himself to be a formidable opponent.
Nadal is particularly gifted on clay courts where his play has earned him the nickname ‘king of clay’. The Spaniard has won 5 French Open titles at Roland Garros and is currently ranked as the World number 1 tennis player.
This week, with his victory at the 2010 US Open singles event, Rafa has become the seventh and second youngest tennis player in the open era history to complete the career Grand Slam (a title in all four major events of tennis – the Australian Open, the
French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open). With this achievement, he also becomes the second male player, after Andre Agassi, to achieve a career Golden Slam – which essentially consists of an Olympic Gold medal in addition to a career Grand Slam.
Rafa also holds the ‘Clay Slam’ as well which he won in 2010 after defeating Robin Soderling in straight sets 6-4, 6-2 and 6-4. This win was Nadal’s seventh Grand Slam victory, making him equal with John McEnroe, John Newcombe and Mats Wilander. Moreover,
he became the first man to win the three Masters series and the French Open, marking victories in all clay courts. This was named the ‘Clay Slam’ by the media. Rafa’s success at this tournament also marked the second time that he had won the French Open without
dropping a single set - a record he shares with Bjorn Borg.
2010 was also the year in which Rafael Nadal won the Wimbledon Championships. He defeated Tomas Berdych in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 7-5 and 6-4. This was his eighth career major title.
After this tournament, Nadal played at the Rogers Cup which was his first hard court tournament post Wimbledon. Rafa made it to the semi-finals against Andy Murray, where he was defeated 6-3 and 6-3. Andy Murray thus became the only player to defeat Rafa
twice in 2010.
Rafa’s victories this year have made him the first man to win grand slam titles on three different surfaces (clay, grass and hard court) in the same year. Nadal also became the first man to win the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open since Rod Laver in
1969. He is also the first left-handed tennis player since John McEnroe in 1984 to win the US Open.
Speculation about the Spaniard’s chances of beating Roger Federer’s all-time record of 16 Grand Slam titles has been rampant since the US Open, 2010. However, even if Nadal’s knees prevent him from breaking Federer’s record, Rafa will be attempting a new
feat. Rafael Nadal will proceed to Melbourne Park for the Australian Open 2011 with the hopes of becoming the first man in tennis history to win a non-calendar year career Grand Slam. Rod Laver and Don Budge are so far the only men to hold all four trophies
at the same time, although Rafa’s record will be different from theirs in the event that he succeeds.
Women’s World number 1 Serena Williams also became the first female tennis player to win a non calendar year Grand Slam which has been named as the ‘Serena Slam’. 2011 will mark a new chapter for Nadal too if he wins the Australian Open, his non calendar
year streak will be dubbed the ‘Rafa Slam’, making him the second player and the first male player to have a slam named after him in the Open Era. He himself seems optimistic about his chances when he said, ‘I will only get better.’
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