Rafael Nadal: ”Om ni visste vad jag har kämpat”

Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera (Catalan: [rəf(ə)ˈɛl nəˈðal pəˈɾeɾə], Spanish: [rafaˈel naˈðal paˈɾeɾa]; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is ranked world No. 5 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), has been ranked No. 1 in the ATP rankings for 209 weeks, and has finished as the Year-End No. 1 five times. Nadal has won 21 Grand Slam men's singles titles, an all-time record. His 13 French Open titles in particular are a record at any tournament. Nadal's dominance on Clay is also highlighted by him winning 62 of his 90 ATP Singles titles on Clay, including 26 of his 36 Masters titles. His 81 consecutive wins on Clay is the longest single-surface win streak in the Open Era. From childhood through most of his professional career, Nadal was coached by his uncle Toni. He was one of the most successful teenagers in ATP Tour history, reaching No. 2 in the world and winning 16 titles before his 20th birthday, including his first French Open and six Masters events. Nadal became No. 1 for the first time in 2008 after his first major victory off Clay against his rival, the longtime top-ranked Roger Federer, in a historic Wimbledon final. He also won an Olympic Singles Gold Medal that year in Beijing. After defeating Novak Djokovic at the 2010 US Open final, then 24-year-old Nadal became the youngest man in the Open Era to achieve the Career Grand Slam, and also the first man to win three Majors on three different surfaces (Hard, Grass and Clay) in the same calendar year. With his Olympic Gold Medal, he is one of only two male players to complete the Career Golden Slam in Singles, the other being Andre Agassi, and is the youngest man to achieve this feat. In the next decade, Djokovic became Nadal's primary rival. The two have faced each other 58 times (including nine Major finals), the most in men's Open Era history. Following three consecutive defeats against Djokovic at Major finals between the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and 2012 Australian Open, Nadal has struggled at Wimbledon. Since 2012, he has continued to dominate at the French Open, winning four consecutive titles two times, while also winning three more US Open titles, and another Australian Open title. He surpassed Djokovic and Federer's record for the most Major men's singles titles at the 2022 Australian Open, where he also completed the double career Grand Slam. Nadal is the only left-handed member of the Big Three. One of his main strengths is his forehand, which he routinely hits with extremely heavy topspin at difficult angles. He is one of the best at breaking serve, regularly appearing among the tour leaders in percentage of return games, return points, and break points won. Nadal has won the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award five times, and was the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year in 2011 and 2021. Representing Spain, he has an Olympic Gold Medal in both Singles and Doubles, and has led the Spanish Davis Cup team to five titles. Nadal opened a tennis academy in Mallorca, and is an active philanthropist.