Rafael Nadal

World number two (soon to become number one) Rafael Nadal will once again be lighting up the US Open tennis championship in 2008 with his skilful back-court play. With an overall winning record against Roger Federer the 22 year old also appears to be one of the only players capable of stopping the Swiss from claiming yet another US Open title.

Player Biography

Rafael Nadal was born in Mallorca, Spain in 1986 into a family with a rich sporting pedigree. His ability as a tennis player was evident from a very early age, and at the age of 14 the young Nadal was invited to play tennis legend Pat Cash in an exhibition match which he subsequently won. In 2002 Nadal claimed his first ATP tour victory, against Ramon Delgado, to become only the 9^th player in open tennis history to win a tour game before his 16^th birthday.

Career

Rafael Nadal made his Grand Slam debut in 2003, becoming the first 17 year old player since Boris Becker to reach the 3^rd round of Wimbledon. The year saw Nadal finished ranked in the ATP top 50, an achievement that followed on his becoming the second youngest player to rank in the ATP top 100.

Grand Slam Record

Nadal won the French Open at first his attempt in 2005 on the back of a remarkable string of 24 consecutive victories on clay. This achievement signifies Nadal's greatest strength and weakness on the grand slam circuit.

The young player has taken four consecutive French Open titles (matching Bjorn Borg's record) and knocking out Roger Federer in all three tournament appearances, and frustrating the Swiss champion's dreams of Grand Slam triumph.

Although Rafael's ability on clay translates into difficulties on other surfaces, he managed to clinch the Wimbledon men's singles title in 2008, defeating Roger Federer for the first time at the Wimbledon final. This young Spaniard is proving to be the ultimate threat to the Federer tennis era, now that he has continued his victories onto the grass court. 

Playing Style

Nadal is weakest on the hard court surfaces that neutralise his excellent arsenal of top-spin shots and expose the lack of power in his forehand and serve. Despite his mobility and powerful back-hand, the Spaniard has never moved beyond the quarter-finals of either the US Open or Australian Open, and will need to round off his game if he is to make a genuine claim from the number one spot in the rankings.