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| Rafael Nadal by Steven Klein for Emporio Armani |
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. He is considered one of the greatest players of all time. His success on clay has earned him the nickname "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.
Nadal has won 13 Grand Slam singles titles, the 2008 Olympic gold medal in singles, a record 26 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 and a record 14 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 only the second male player, after Andre Agassi, to complete the Career Golden Slam.
Nadal and Mats Wilander are the only 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 previously shared by Björn Borg, Pete Sampras, and Roger Federer. Nadal holds the record for most consecutive titles at a particular tournament as a result of winning his eighth straight Monte-Carlo Masters in 2012.
He is the first Spanish player, male or female, to rank No. 1 for more than 100 weeks. He is the only Spanish player, male or female, to have won career golden slam, first Spanish male player to win Australian Open and second Spanish male player to have won Wimbledon and US Open.
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