Tuesday, 15 July 2008

Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal Parera (IPA: [rafaˈel naˈðal]) (born June 3, 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player, who has won five Grand Slam singles titles. He has won the French Open in four consecutive years (2005–08), and Wimbledon in 2008. He is currently ranked world number two, a position he has held for a record 156 consecutive weeks.[1]
From April 2005 to May 2007, Nadal won a record 81 consecutive clay court matches before being defeated by Roger Federer in the 2007 Hamburg Masters final. This is the longest winning streak of any male player on a single surface in the open era. Nadal is undefeated at the French Open, having won all 28 matches and four single titles he has played. These achievements have led some to regard Nadal as the greatest clay-court player in the history of the sport.[2]
Nadal has a storied rivalry with Roger Federer, most notably for defeating the world number one at the French Open in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, so far denying Federer a Career Grand Slam. At the 2008 Wimbledon Championships, Nadal defeated Federer in the final, ending the latter's run of five consecutive wins, with Nadal becoming the first player since Björn Borg in 1980 to win both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year. He is also only the second male Spaniard to win the Wimbledon title and the first in 42 years.

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