Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal Parera (born June 3, 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player, who has won five Grand Slam singles titles. He has won the French Open in four consecutive years (2005–08), and Wimbledon in 2008. He is currently ranked world number two, a position he has held for a record 156 consecutive weeks. As of July 28, 2008, Nadal is currently on a 28-match winning streak, winning five tournaments during this time, including the French Open and Wimbledon.

From April 2005 to May 2007, Nadal won a record 81 consecutive clay court matches before being defeated by Roger Federer in the 2007 Hamburg Masters final. This is the longest winning streak of any male player on a single surface in the open era. Nadal is undefeated at the French Open, having won all 28 matches and four single titles he has played. These achievements have led some to regard Nadal as the greatest clay-court player in the history of the sport.

Nadal has a storied rivalry with Roger Federer, most notably for defeating the world number one at the French Open in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, so far denying Federer a Career Grand Slam. At the 2008 Wimbledon Championships, Nadal defeated Federer in the final, ending the latter's run of five consecutive wins, with Nadal becoming the first player since Björn Borg in 1980 to win both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year. He is also only the second male Spaniard to win the Wimbledon title and the first in 42 years.

Born in Manacor, Mallorca, Spain on June 3, 1986, Rafael Nadal Parera began playing tennis at the age of five with his uncle Toni. Encouraged by the promise spry Rafael (or "Rafa," as his fans and countrymen call him) showed, Toni began training his nephew on the courts.

Before Rafael was even 10 years old, it was clear the boy had a future in tennis. His uncle became his coach and he began serious training, quickly capturing Spanish and European junior events. In 2002, at the age of 15, he won his first ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) match, becoming only the ninth player in the Open Era to win an ATP game before his 16th birthday. Playing mostly Futures events, the young Spaniard compiled a 37-3 record and won six titles in his homeland.

The next year, Nadal had his breakthrough season, as he had successful runs on both the ATP and Challenger circuits. The run included his first semifinal appearance in an ATP event, as well as his first Wimbledon appearance, where he made it to the 3rd round. To top off 2003, he won his first doubles ATP title in Umag, and took home the Newcomer of the Year Award.

While 2004 marked the year he won his first ATP title (at the Idea Prokom Open) and beat a top-ranked opponent (Roger Federer), it was his 2005 summer run that proved he was among the tennis tour's best. In winning nine singles titles, including an incredible victory at Roland Garros, Nadal rose to a no. 2 ranking in the world, behind only Federer. At only 19 years old, this clay-court specialist has bested himself year after year since joining the ATP tour, and he looks to conquer tennis time and again in Grand Slam events to come.