By cy.Reporter, 4 March, 2022
CyNews follows one of the most trained tennis players in recent times, who counts 11 consecutive victories in finals, recently won a Grand Slam, if he were not a tennis player he would be a footballer, he is a Real Madrid fan and to define his place on the court of tennis, makes exactly the same moves. The reason for Rafael Nadal!
Rafael Nadal was born on June 3, 1986 in Monacor, Mallorca, Spain. His parents were Sebastian Nadal and Aina Maria Perera. Little Rafa's father was the director of an insurance company, while he was also active in the business sector. His mother was initially a perfume seller and then decided to dedicate herself to her family, as in addition to Rafael Nadal, his sister Maria Isabel also came to life.
The Nadal family was already known in the field of sports, as his uncle - later Spanish tennis player - Michel Angel Nadal competed with the jersey of Mallorca and then Barcelona. So, little Nadal started kicking a ball and quickly showed his talent, however at the age of three he found a tennis racket and quickly showed that he was doing great with the racket for a child who was learning to speak well.
Then, the other uncle of the family, Tony Nadal, who was a former professional tennis player, took the opportunity and introduced him to the tennis court. However, the uncles continued for the next few years, trying to persuade Rafa to take up their favorite sport. One with football and the other with tennis. Uncle Tony bought him a racket, while Uncle Angel took him to the locker room in Barcelona to take a picture of the "phenomenon".
However, after a few years he found himself in a dilemma that - as it turned out - would change his life. Football or tennis? Eventually he decided to continue playing tennis, something Uncle Tony knew would lead him to the top. Little Nadal was ambidextrous, holding the racket with his left hand, but writing with his right hand. Thus, if he improved his left-hand kicks, he would gain a pivotal advantage over the other tennis players, most of whom held the racket with their right hand. However, Uncle Angel, not only did not see his nephew as a footballer, but after a while he learned that Rafa Nadal is an ardent supporter of Real Madrid!
Rafa Nadal at the age of 12 had won the European Tennis Championship, as a result of which he gathered the "lights" of the country's officials. So, two years later, he was asked to move to Barcelona, in order to be in excellent facilities and to train intensively to become one of the best in the world after a few years! However, his family decided to keep their son with them, so as not to affect his performance at school. So, with less money, but financial support from his father, Nadal at the age of 15 became a professional tennis player and a year later reached the semifinals of the only boys in Wimbledon!
June 5, 2005. At the age of just 19, Rafa Nadal wins Roland Garros 3-1 in Mariano Puerta's sets and the following year wins the tournament for the second time with the same score, which happened in 2007, resulting in let everyone admit that the young tennis player was invincible on the court.
On July 6, 2008, Nadal won Wimbledon against Roger Federer once again, but this time on grass. The sequel to the tennis legend was unique and to date has been in 29 Grand Slam finals, has won 21, namely 13 titles at Roland Garros, four at the American Open, two at Wimbledon and two at the Australian Open.
Rafa Nadal dominates the clay courts, however, on all tennis courts the Spanish Champion has a specific way of playing and specific moves he makes on the court, as he says: "They help me define my space".
So, before each match, he takes an icy shower 45 minutes before the game starts, gets a racket on the court, and keeps five in his bag. He places the bottles in the same place, while before serving he straightens his hair behind his ear and makes his shirt, his shorts and his underwear. However, most athletes have their own ways of boosting themselves either with some movement or with good luck, as it is quite a common phenomenon in sports, although he says: "It's not good luck because when I lost I would I stopped".
Now, at the age of 35, Rafa Nadal seems to be regaining his form, as he has already won three titles this season, one of which was at the Australian Open, while he has to lose in the final from 2019 and the defeat by Novak Djokovic with 3-1 set at the Australian Open. Since then he has counted 11 consecutive victories in finals, having now reached 91 titles in his career.
However, time is relentless and the Spanish tennis player who has suffered from injuries in recent years knows this better than anyone. However, he seems to enjoy every moment on the courts and the only thing that is certain is that the Spanish superstar is rightly characterized as the best tennis player in history on the court and as one of the top tennis players who have ever been on the tennis courts.
Research, writing, editing: Christos Davos (cyNews sports editor)