Episode 1860
Rafael Nadal
Mon, 2022-Jun-06 01:56 UTC
Length - 4:08
Direct Link
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With 440,803 views on Sunday, 5 June 2022 our article of the day is Rafael Nadal.
Rafael 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 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP); he has previously been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks and finished as the year-end No. 1 five times. Nadal has won 22 Grand Slam men's singles titles, the most in history, including a record 14 French Open titles. He has won 92 ATP singles titles (including 36 Masters titles), with 63 of these on clay. Nadal's 81 consecutive wins on clay is the longest single-surface win streak in the Open Era.
Nadal 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 gold medal that year in singles 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 the first man to win three majors on three different surfaces (hard, grass and clay) in the same year (Surface Slam). With his Olympic gold medal, he is one of only two men to complete the career Golden Slam in singles. Nadal is the only male player in history to complete the career Grand Slam and win an Olympic gold medal in both singles and doubles. Since 2010, Nadal has continued to dominate at the French Open, winning at least four consecutive titles twice, 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, and became one of four men in history to complete the double career Grand Slam in singles. He also became the first and only man to win multiple majors in three separate decades. From 2005 to 2017, Nadal was coached by his uncle Toni Nadal.
Nadal is the only left-handed member of the Big Three in men's singles. 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. He is also a recipient of the Grand Cross of the Order of Dos De Mayo, the Princess of Asturias Award, and the Medal of the City of Paris. Representing Spain, he has won two Olympic gold medals, and has contributed to five Davis Cup titles. Nadal has also opened a tennis academy in Mallorca, and is an active philanthropist.
This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 01:56 UTC on Monday, 6 June 2022.
For the full current version of the article, see Rafael Nadal on Wikipedia.
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This has been Justin Neural. Thank you for listening to popular Wiki of the Day.
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