Rafael Nadal has won a maximum of his titles on clay surfaces, although the Spaniard’s final debut was in Auckland in 2004 at the age of 17. He eventually lost to Dominik Hrbaty 6-4,2-6,5-7. Later, Nadal reached the fourth round of the Australian Open. He started his greatest show of all time after winning the titles of Costa do Sauipe and Acapulco.
In 2004, Rafa played his first final of the ATP Masters 1000 series. He was against another great Roger Federer and the Spaniard didn’t fail to surprise his opponent. His performance throughout the tournament received a lot of appreciation.
The young star was chasing the title like no one ever did. The hunger was quite visible in the gameplay. He also played against David Ferrer and was successfully defeated by 6-4,6-3. He advanced to his third ATP final. Rafa also became the second youngest player to reach several ATP finals after Michael Chang.
Rafael Nadal against David Ferrer was full of unforced errors from either of the opponents. Nadal’s control over the shots was strong. His groundstrokes and backhands were behind his win against Ferrer. His service was not up to a certain level but that didn’t cost him the match.
The Spaniard turned pro in 2001 with the aim of becoming the Greatest Player of all Time.
The competition’s level never hampered Rafael Nadal’s preparation
The 16-year-old Rafael had a vision and the urge to get his name registered on the list of legendary players.
Nadal said,
“Well, I guess it would be to go as far as I can, to become a great tennis player. I just have to keep working hard every day. I know it wonโt be easy.
“Thereโs so much high-level competition out there. Normally, when I play in tournaments because Iโm younger than everyone else, I always think they must be much better than me. But then you get on the court and because Iโm a fighter and I really hate losing, things tend to level out.”
Spaniard further added.
Even at the age of 36, Rafael Nadal is winning titles like anything. He took his tally to 22 after lifting the Australian and French Open.
For more updates, follow us on Twitter
For more sports updates, make sure to follow us on:
