10 memorable milestones in Rafael Nadal's career

Nadal won his first ATP match in 2002, defeating Ramon Delgado at ATP Mallorca. Nadal was 15 years old and ranked 762nd in the world . With his victory over Delgado, Nadal became the ninth player to win an ATP match before he turned 16.

In his first appearance at Roland Garros in 2005, young tennis player Rafael Nadal defeated Roger Federer in the semi-finals. In the final, Nadal defeated Mariano Puerta to lift the French Open title. He was the first teenager to win a Grand Slam since Pete Sampras (US Open 1990).

In December 2004, Nadal became the youngest tennis player to win the Davis Cup. Nadal was only 18 years old at that time. After his 2004 victory with the Spanish team, Nadal won the Davis Cup four more times.

The 2008 Wimbledon final is considered by experts to be one of the best Grand Slam matches in history. After 5 sets lasting nearly 5 hours, Rafael Nadal defeated Roger Federer with the scores of 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 9-7. Knowing that he had just won Wimbledon for the first time, Nadal fell to his knees in joy on the London grass.

Also in 2008, Nadal won his first Olympic gold medal in Beijing. The then world number 1 defeated Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals and then Fernando Gonzelez 3-0 in the final. This gold medal was the premise for Nadal's Golden Slam title in 2011.

In 2009, Nadal won his first Grand Slam title on hard courts. He defeated Fernando Verdasco in the semi-finals of the Australian Open, before defeating Roger Federer in five sets in the final. Nadal officially completed the collection of Grand Slams on all three surfaces: hard, clay and grass.

Nadal is the second male tennis player to complete the "Golden Slam", after Andre Agassi. A tennis player is considered to have achieved the Golden Slam when he wins all four Grand Slam tournaments in a calendar year and is the reigning Olympic champion. Nadal did this in the early 2010s. While the reigning Olympic champion in 2008, Nadal won three Grand Slams in a row: Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open (2010), then won the Australian Open (2011). Since Nadal, no other male tennis player has achieved the Golden Slam.

In January 2022, after struggling with injuries, Nadal made a surprising return at the Australian Open. In the final, Nadal lost to Medvedev in the first two sets, but came back to win 3-2 in a spectacular victory. This was the 21st Grand Slam title for the "King of Clay".

In 2022, Nadal increased his total number of Roland Garros titles to 14 with a victory over Casper Rudd. The "King of Clay" is the player with the most French Open titles in tennis history. Previously, Nadal won Roland Garros in three consecutive periods: 2005 to 2008, 2010 to 2014 and 2017 to 2020. He is also the oldest athlete to ever win the French Open (37 years and 2 days).

In the summer of 2024, Nadal played his last match at the Olympic Games. Nadal and Alcaraz lost 2-6 and 4-6 to Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram in the men's doubles quarterfinals, leaving the tournament empty-handed. The image of the couple with their arms around each other moved many fans, because Alcaraz is still considered Nadal's successor.

Thanh Loc

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/10-cot-moc-dang-nho-trong-su-nghiep-rafael-nadal-ar901189.html