The French Open is in its second week, and while the tournament is officially dead to me (Screw you “Ernests Gulbis.” Screw you and that superfluous “S” in your first name), I still watch out of loyalty to the game.
Of course, watching Roland Garros requires some kink of appreciation of the undisputed King Of Clay, the eight-time champ Rafael Nadal. Over the last few years, I’ve grudgingly decided to accept Rafa (as he’s called) as a legitimate player, and not some bizarre Island Of Dr. Moreau man-bull hybrid.
I’m also slowly coming around to accepting his many quirks and eccentricities. The water bottles … aligned … just so … the wedgie picking, which used to be chronic, but is now pretty much an afterthought.
But my favorite part of Rafa’s game? The bananas. So many bananas. So much hostility for the bananas. So on his 28th birthday today, let’s pay tribute with a look at his most under-appreciated quirk.
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera (Catalan: [rəfəˈɛɫ nəˈðaɫ pəˈɾeɾə], Spanish: [rafaˈel naˈðal paˈɾeɾa]; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player and the current world No. 1. His success on clay has earned him the nickname "The King of Clay" and has led many sports journalists and commentators, as well as former and current players, to regard him as the greatest clay court player in history. Furthermore, his evolution into an all-court threat has established him as an all-time great.
Nadal has won 13 Grand Slam singles titles, the 2008 Olympic gold medal in singles, a record 27 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 and a record 15 ATP World Tour 500 tournaments. He was also a member of the winning Spain Davis Cup team in 2004, 2008, 2009, and 2011. In 2010, he became the seventh player in history and youngest of four in the Open Era to achieve the Career Grand Slam. He is the second male player, after Andre Agassi, to complete the singles Career Golden Slam.
Nadal and Mats Wilander are the only two players in history who have won at least two Grand Slam titles on three different surfaces—hard court, grass, and clay. By winning the 2013 French Open, Nadal became the only male player to win a single Grand Slam tournament eight times and the first to win at least one Grand Slam tournament for nine consecutive years, breaking the record of eight consecutive years previously shared by Björn Borg, Pete Sampras, and Roger Federer. Nadal holds the record for most consecutive titles at a particular tournament after winning his eighth straight Monte-Carlo Masters.
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