The Four Men to achieve Grand Slams in the Open Era Part IV: Rafael Nadal
A career Grand Slam consists of victory at all four Majors, not necessarily within the same calendar year. These Majors are the Australian Open, the French Open, the Wimbledon Championship and the US Open.
The seven men to achieve this feat are known as the Magnificent Seven. These men are Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Of these seven men, the three players from Open Era are Australian Rod Laver,
American Andre Agassi, Swiss Roger Federer and Spanish Rafael Nadal. Part three of this feature focuses on Rafael Nadal and his tennis career.
Rafael Nadal Parera is one of the most successful athletes in the tennis world today. The Spanish sports star is currently ranked as the number 1 tennis player in the world. He is regarded by critics, fans and fellow players as one of the greatest players
of all time. He is also regarded as the greatest clay court player in the history of tennis, earning him the nickname “The King of Clay”.
Nadal has been playing tennis since the age of three, when his uncle and long time coach Toni Nadal recognized his superb potential for the game. After several junior successes, Rafa, as he is popularly known, turned pro in 2001 at the age of 15.
Rafael Nadal is a left handed player, with a two handed backhand. His singles win rate is at a phenomenal 82.43%, with 460 victories against 98 failures. He has laid claim to 42 titles, and is currently World Number 1.
The young Spanish player broke through and made a sensation in the tennis world in 2005, at the age of 18. He made it to the fourth round of the 2005 Australian Open before losing to eventual finalist Lleyton Hewitt; he also successfully entered the finals
of the 2005 Miami Masters before losing to Roger Federer. However, on the day he turned 19, Nadal successfully defeated Federer at the semi finals of the French Open. After this victory, he went on to defeat Mariano Puerta in the final, therefore winning his
first Grand Slam tournament.
Rafa won his next title on the way to a career Grand Slam in 2008. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal competed against each other in the most highly anticipated match of the season. For the first time at their matches on the Wimbledon court, Nadal was the favourite
to win, and he did not disappoint, beating Federer in five sets. They played the longest final in terms of time in the history of Wimbledon; many critics have also lauded it as the greatest match in the history of tennis.
In 2009, Nadal won his first Australian Open title; the final was once again against Roger Federer, being their nineteenth meeting on the court. Rafa defeated the Maestro in five sets, becoming the fourth male tennis player to win Grand Slam titles on three
different surfaces: grass, clay and hard court.
This year at the 2010 US Open tournament, Rafa completed in a career Grand Slam with his defeat of Novak Djokovic at the Arthur Ashe Stadium at Flushing Meadows in New York. This also meant the completion of a career Golden Slam for Rafa, with four Grand
Slam titles and one Olympic Gold Medal.
Rafael Nadal also holds five additional Grand Slam titles: four French Open victories (2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010) and one Wimbledon victory in 2010. Rafa is now in Thailand, to participate in the PTT Thailand Open, held at Impact Arena in Muang Thong Thani.
Rafa has earned US $33,755,902 in the duration of his career, making him the 3rd all-time leader in earnings. He now resides on Manacor, Majorca, Spain, with his girlfriend Xisca Perello.
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