Tennis King - Rafael Nadal
There are a few names that are synonymous with Tennis such as Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Angre Agassi, Steffi Graf, Novak Djokovic and of course Rafael Nadal. Of all these personalities, none stands out as much as Rafael Nadal profile. He is practically Tennis royalty. In fact he is referred to as the ‘King of Clay’ and for good reasons. He is absolutely invincible on the clay. Most of the titles that he has garnered to date have been won on that particular surface. But he also fares considerably well on grass and hard courts. He has been at the top of the ranking ladder for a long time till quite recently when he was relegated to the number five position. Below are a few interesting facts and trivia about this ace shuttler:
• Rafael Nadal is a child prodigy. While most of his counterparts were potty training at the age of three, Nadal was already at the courts whipping the racquet around.
• He was taught how to play tennis at the age of eleven by his uncle who remains his coach to this day. Talk about steadfast loyalties.
• He is popularly and fondly referred to as ‘Rafa’ by his colleagues, family and friends.
• His full name is Rafael Nadal Perera; ‘Nadal’ is a Catalan word which when transalated means ‘Christmas’.
• Nadal is ambidextrous in nature; for a player who is right handed in general, he plays exclusively using his left hand.
• Nada was brought up in Manacor, Mallorca. He is very attached to his home town and finds it as a solace to get away to once in a while.
• His particular habit of biting the trophies that he won started at an early stage and soon developed into his trademark move.
• When he is not playing tennis, he like to keep himself busy, playing video games, golf and at time soccer.
• From April 2005 until May 2007, he has won eighty one matches in a row, which is considered as an Open Era single season record.
• He has amassed a total of thirty nine titles in his career, of which his best to date has been the match OF 2008 Roland Garros against Roger Federer, his arch rival over the years.
• He was ranked numero uno in the rank list for the first time on eighteenth August 2008.
• He has been featured in two of Pop sensation Shakira’s music videos- Gypsy and She Wolf.
