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 Rafael Nadal (ESP)
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2006 IN REVIEW The Spanish No. 1 captured 22 of his first 25 matches in first four months highlighted by wins over No. 1 Federer in finals of Dubai and ATP Masters Series Monte-Carlo...As of beginning of May he was only player to beat Federer more than once since Swiss superstar took over No. 1 in February 2004...Compiled a 46-match clay court winning streak, second-longest in Open Era (behind Guillermo Vilas' 53 in 1977) going back to April 2005 when he lost to Igor Andreev in QF of Valencia…Captured his fifth career ATP Masters Series title with repeat effort in Monte-Carlo, defeating three straight Top 10 opponents -- Coria (QF), Gaudio (SF) and Federer (F)...Then followed with repeat title effort in Barcelona (d. Robredo)...Did not begin season until mid-February due to left foot injury going back to last November...Opened in Marseille and reached SF, losing to eventual champion Arnaud Clement…Two weeks later, captured his 13th career title in Dubai, defeating Federer in three sets…Then followed with SF showing in Indian Wells (l. to Blake) and an opening round loss in Miami to countryman Moya…Opened clay court circuit with successful title defenses in Monte-Carlo and Barcelona to improve his finals winning streak to 12 since a five-set loss to Federer in Miami on Apr. 3, 2005... His 15 career teenage titles was one behind all-time leader Bjorn Borg...Named 2005 ATP Most Improved Player of Year and European ATP Player of Year. 2005 IN REVIEW
The Spanish sensation captured a teenage record 11 titles, including his first Grand Slam crown and four ATP Masters Series shields... His titles won mark broke Mats Wilander's previous teenage record of nine in 1983... Became first teenager to finish No. 2 since Boris Becker in 1986 and highest year-end ranking ever by a Spaniard... Won eight of his 11 titles on clay and compiled an ATP-best 50-2 clay court record, finishing with 36 consecutive match wins on his favorite surface... Put together best season on clay since Thomas Muster in 1995 when he went 65-2 and won 11 of 12 titles on clay... After beginning first six weeks with a 7-4 record, in February captured back-to-back clay titles in Costa do Sauipe (d. Martin) and Acapulco (d. Montanes) before returning to hard courts in Miami where he reached his first ATP Masters Series final... Posted wins over Ljubicic (4th RD), T. Johansson (QF) and Ferrer (SF) before falling to No. 1 Federer in five sets... Held a two set lead and came within two points of victory in third set, only to lose 6-1 in fifth set... Afterwards, climbed from 31 to No. 20... The next week returned to clay in Valencia and reached QF, losing his only other match on clay to eventual champion Andreev on Apr. 8... In next two weeks, captured his first ATP Masters Series crown in Monte Carlo (d. Coria) and won first title in his home country in Barcelona (d. Ferrero), breaking into Top 10 on Apr. 25... After a week off, continued success at ATP Masters Series stop in Rome and outlasted Coria in a 5-hour, 14-minute marathon (longest final in Open Era) decided in a fifth set tie-break... Afterwards improved to No. 5 and made an eventful showing at Roland Garros where he became first player to win French title in his main draw debut since since Mats Wilander in 1982... Posted consecutive wins over Gasquet (3rd RD), Grosjean (4th RD), Ferrer (QF), No. 1 Federer (SF) and Puerta (F) to become first teenager at 19 years, 2 days to win a Grand Slam title since Pete Sampras captured 1990 US Open... Also first teenager to win Roland Garros title since 17-year-old Michael Chang in 1989... His 24-match winning streak came to an end with 1st RD loss on grass in Halle to Waske... Then made his second Wimbledon outing and fell to Muller in 2nd RD... Returned to clay in July and won back-to-back titles in Bastad (d. Berdych) and Stuttgart (d. Gaudio), reaching No. 2 on July 25... After a two week break came in as top seed at ATP Masters Series Montreal... Dropped only two sets in six matches en route to his first career hard court title, defeating Agassi in a three-set final... Held serve 65 of 67 games, including a personal-best 51 games in a row, during tournament... His 16-match winning streak ended with opening round third set tie-break loss to Berdych in Cincinnati... Followed with 3rd RD loss to Blake at US Open and rebounded back with his 10th title in Beijing (d. Coria)... It was fourth continent (Asia, Europe, North America, South America) he won a title during this year... In October, captured his first career indoor title at AMS Madrid, rallying from a two-sets deficit for first time in his career in final against Ljubicic to win 7-6 in fifth set... In a Davis Cup World Group playoff tie, won both of his matches against Italy's Bracciali and Seppi to help his country to a 3-2 victory and back into 2006 World Group... Qualified for Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai but withdrew due to a left foot injury... Led ATP circuit in three of four return of serve categories – points won returning first serve (37%), points won returning second serve (57%) and return games won (38%) – while No. 4 in break points converted (46%)... Went 5-3 vs. Top 10 opponents and compiled records of 50-2 on clay, 28-6 on hard and 1-2 on grass... Earned a teenage record $3,874,751.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
2001 – Reached 2nd RD at Seville Challenger at age 15… 2002 – Won first ATP match in his hometown Mallorca (15 yrs., 10 mons.), defeating Ramon Delgado… Became ninth player in Open Era to win an ATP match before his 16th birthday… Went 37-3 in Futures, winning six titles in his native country… En route to winning four straight Futures titles, compiled a 20-match winning streak… Reached SF at Barcelona Challenger…2003 – Finished in Top 50 for first time…Compiled 19-5 match record in Challenger play in first three months of season…Did not drop a set en route to final at Hamburg before losing to Ancic…Reached final at Cherbourg (l. to Roitman)… In March in Cagliari, defeated veterans Calatrava, Pless, Marin and Boutter before losing to Volandri in final… Following week, captured his first Challenger title in Barletta (d. Portas)…Qualified for first Masters Series tournament in Monte-Carlo and defeated Kucera and Costa before losing to eventual finalist Coria in 3rd RD… Two weeks later, advanced to final in Aix en Provence Challenger (l. to Puerta)…In May, qualified for AMS Hamburg and reached 3rd RD with wins over Mathieu and countryman Moya before losing to Gaudio…Missed Roland Garros after injuring elbow during practice…Returned to make Wimbledon debut and became youngest player at 17 to reach 3rd RD since 16-year-old Becker in 1984… Defeated Ancic in 1st RD and Childs in 2nd RD before losing to Srichaphan…Returned to clay in July and reached first ATP QF in Bastad (l. to N. Lapentti)… Two weeks later, advanced to first ATP SF in Umag (l. to Moya)…Following week, captured second Challenger title in Segovia (d. Zib)… Made US Open debut and reached 2nd RD (l. to El Aynaoui)…In doubles, captured first ATP title in Umag (w/Lopez Moron)… Compiled 11-6 record on clay courts, 1-2 on hard, and 2-1 on grass…2004 – Broke through to win his first career ATP title and help lead his native country to Davis Cup title (d. U.S. 3-2)…Became youngest player (18 years, 6 months) to register a singles victory in Cup final for winning nation, as he beat No. 2 Roddick in four sets…Began year by advancing to his first ATP final in Auckland (l. to Hrbaty)… Followed with 3rd RD at Australian Open (l. to Hewitt) in his tournament debut… In 1st RD Davis Cup tie vs. Czech Republic, won fifth and decisive rubber over Stepanek and later in year clinched SF victory by defeating France’s Clement in fourth rubber… Reached QF in Dubai and 4th RD at NASDAQ-100 Open in Miami (d. No. 1 Federer)… Reached QF in Estoril where he suffered a left ankle injury (stress fracture in ankle joint) on Apr. 15 in his three-set win over Gasquet… Returned almost three months later on July 6 in Bastad and advanced to QF (l. to Gaudio)… Following week reached QF in Stuttgart… In August, captured his first ATP title in Sopot (d. Acasuso)…Went 5-5 rest of year… In doubles, captured title in Chennai and reached SF at US Open (w/Robredo)…Also played in three Davis Cup doubles ties (w/Robredo) and went 1-2…Led ATP circuit with best first serve percentage (70 percent)… Compiled a 14-3 record on clay, 14-10 on hard and 2-4 on carpet.
PERSONAL
Full name is Rafael Nadal Parera... Nicknamed ôRafa… by his countrymen... Father, Sebastian, manages his own restaurant and glass and windows business; mother, Ana Maria, is a housewife; has one younger sister Maria Isabel... Plays left-handed but writes right-handed... Began playing tennis at age four with his uncle Toni, who is his long-time coach... Played his only junior Grand Slam event at Wimbledon in 2002 and reached SF... Comes from same area (Mallorca) as countryman Carlos Moya... The city of Manacor is second-biggest on island of Mallorca... His other uncle, Miguel Angel Nadal, is a former professional soccer player with stints at FC Barcelona, Real Mallorca and Spanish national team, which competed in 2002 World Cup... Also played on two other World Cup teams in 1994 and ’98... Big fan of Formula One driver and countryman Fernando Alonso, who won 2005 circuit championship... Earned ATP Newcomer of Year in 2003... Reached Spanish Championships in July 2003 (l. to Lopez)... Has a 6-5 career Davis Cup record (5-1 in singles) in six ties and member of winning team in 2004... Coached by his uncle Toni Nadal.
The Spanish sensation captured a teenage record 11 titles, including his first Grand Slam crown and four ATP Masters Series shields... His titles won mark broke Mats Wilander's previous teenage record of nine in 1983... Became first teenager to finish No. 2 since Boris Becker in 1986 and highest year-end ranking ever by a Spaniard... Won eight of his 11 titles on clay and compiled an ATP-best 50-2 clay court record, finishing with 36 consecutive match wins on his favorite surface... Put together best season on clay since Thomas Muster in 1995 when he went 65-2 and won 11 of 12 titles on clay... After beginning first six weeks with a 7-4 record, in February captured back-to-back clay titles in Costa do Sauipe (d. Martin) and Acapulco (d. Montanes) before returning to hard courts in Miami where he reached his first ATP Masters Series final... Posted wins over Ljubicic (4th RD), T. Johansson (QF) and Ferrer (SF) before falling to No. 1 Federer in five sets... Held a two set lead and came within two points of victory in third set, only to lose 6-1 in fifth set... Afterwards, climbed from 31 to No. 20... The next week returned to clay in Valencia and reached QF, losing his only other match on clay to eventual champion Andreev on Apr. 8... In next two weeks, captured his first ATP Masters Series crown in Monte Carlo (d. Coria) and won first title in his home country in Barcelona (d. Ferrero), breaking into Top 10 on Apr. 25... After a week off, continued success at ATP Masters Series stop in Rome and outlasted Coria in a 5-hour, 14-minute marathon (longest final in Open Era) decided in a fifth set tie-break... Afterwards improved to No. 5 and made an eventful showing at Roland Garros where he became first player to win French title in his main draw debut since since Mats Wilander in 1982... Posted consecutive wins over Gasquet (3rd RD), Grosjean (4th RD), Ferrer (QF), No. 1 Federer (SF) and Puerta (F) to become first teenager at 19 years, 2 days to win a Grand Slam title since Pete Sampras captured 1990 US Open... Also first teenager to win Roland Garros title since 17-year-old Michael Chang in 1989... His 24-match winning streak came to an end with 1st RD loss on grass in Halle to Waske... Then made his second Wimbledon outing and fell to Muller in 2nd RD... Returned to clay in July and won back-to-back titles in Bastad (d. Berdych) and Stuttgart (d. Gaudio), reaching No. 2 on July 25... After a two week break came in as top seed at ATP Masters Series Montreal... Dropped only two sets in six matches en route to his first career hard court title, defeating Agassi in a three-set final... Held serve 65 of 67 games, including a personal-best 51 games in a row, during tournament... His 16-match winning streak ended with opening round third set tie-break loss to Berdych in Cincinnati... Followed with 3rd RD loss to Blake at US Open and rebounded back with his 10th title in Beijing (d. Coria)... It was fourth continent (Asia, Europe, North America, South America) he won a title during this year... In October, captured his first career indoor title at AMS Madrid, rallying from a two-sets deficit for first time in his career in final against Ljubicic to win 7-6 in fifth set... In a Davis Cup World Group playoff tie, won both of his matches against Italy's Bracciali and Seppi to help his country to a 3-2 victory and back into 2006 World Group... Qualified for Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai but withdrew due to a left foot injury... Led ATP circuit in three of four return of serve categories – points won returning first serve (37%), points won returning second serve (57%) and return games won (38%) – while No. 4 in break points converted (46%)... Went 5-3 vs. Top 10 opponents and compiled records of 50-2 on clay, 28-6 on hard and 1-2 on grass... Earned a teenage record $3,874,751.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
2001 – Reached 2nd RD at Seville Challenger at age 15… 2002 – Won first ATP match in his hometown Mallorca (15 yrs., 10 mons.), defeating Ramon Delgado… Became ninth player in Open Era to win an ATP match before his 16th birthday… Went 37-3 in Futures, winning six titles in his native country… En route to winning four straight Futures titles, compiled a 20-match winning streak… Reached SF at Barcelona Challenger…2003 – Finished in Top 50 for first time…Compiled 19-5 match record in Challenger play in first three months of season…Did not drop a set en route to final at Hamburg before losing to Ancic…Reached final at Cherbourg (l. to Roitman)… In March in Cagliari, defeated veterans Calatrava, Pless, Marin and Boutter before losing to Volandri in final… Following week, captured his first Challenger title in Barletta (d. Portas)…Qualified for first Masters Series tournament in Monte-Carlo and defeated Kucera and Costa before losing to eventual finalist Coria in 3rd RD… Two weeks later, advanced to final in Aix en Provence Challenger (l. to Puerta)…In May, qualified for AMS Hamburg and reached 3rd RD with wins over Mathieu and countryman Moya before losing to Gaudio…Missed Roland Garros after injuring elbow during practice…Returned to make Wimbledon debut and became youngest player at 17 to reach 3rd RD since 16-year-old Becker in 1984… Defeated Ancic in 1st RD and Childs in 2nd RD before losing to Srichaphan…Returned to clay in July and reached first ATP QF in Bastad (l. to N. Lapentti)… Two weeks later, advanced to first ATP SF in Umag (l. to Moya)…Following week, captured second Challenger title in Segovia (d. Zib)… Made US Open debut and reached 2nd RD (l. to El Aynaoui)…In doubles, captured first ATP title in Umag (w/Lopez Moron)… Compiled 11-6 record on clay courts, 1-2 on hard, and 2-1 on grass…2004 – Broke through to win his first career ATP title and help lead his native country to Davis Cup title (d. U.S. 3-2)…Became youngest player (18 years, 6 months) to register a singles victory in Cup final for winning nation, as he beat No. 2 Roddick in four sets…Began year by advancing to his first ATP final in Auckland (l. to Hrbaty)… Followed with 3rd RD at Australian Open (l. to Hewitt) in his tournament debut… In 1st RD Davis Cup tie vs. Czech Republic, won fifth and decisive rubber over Stepanek and later in year clinched SF victory by defeating France’s Clement in fourth rubber… Reached QF in Dubai and 4th RD at NASDAQ-100 Open in Miami (d. No. 1 Federer)… Reached QF in Estoril where he suffered a left ankle injury (stress fracture in ankle joint) on Apr. 15 in his three-set win over Gasquet… Returned almost three months later on July 6 in Bastad and advanced to QF (l. to Gaudio)… Following week reached QF in Stuttgart… In August, captured his first ATP title in Sopot (d. Acasuso)…Went 5-5 rest of year… In doubles, captured title in Chennai and reached SF at US Open (w/Robredo)…Also played in three Davis Cup doubles ties (w/Robredo) and went 1-2…Led ATP circuit with best first serve percentage (70 percent)… Compiled a 14-3 record on clay, 14-10 on hard and 2-4 on carpet.
PERSONAL
Full name is Rafael Nadal Parera... Nicknamed ôRafa… by his countrymen... Father, Sebastian, manages his own restaurant and glass and windows business; mother, Ana Maria, is a housewife; has one younger sister Maria Isabel... Plays left-handed but writes right-handed... Began playing tennis at age four with his uncle Toni, who is his long-time coach... Played his only junior Grand Slam event at Wimbledon in 2002 and reached SF... Comes from same area (Mallorca) as countryman Carlos Moya... The city of Manacor is second-biggest on island of Mallorca... His other uncle, Miguel Angel Nadal, is a former professional soccer player with stints at FC Barcelona, Real Mallorca and Spanish national team, which competed in 2002 World Cup... Also played on two other World Cup teams in 1994 and ’98... Big fan of Formula One driver and countryman Fernando Alonso, who won 2005 circuit championship... Earned ATP Newcomer of Year in 2003... Reached Spanish Championships in July 2003 (l. to Lopez)... Has a 6-5 career Davis Cup record (5-1 in singles) in six ties and member of winning team in 2004... Coached by his uncle Toni Nadal.
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