Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parerais a Spanish professional tennis player currently ranked world No. 4. He is widely regarded as the greatest clay-court player in history, and owing to his dominance and success on the surface, he has been titled "The King of Clay". His evolution into an all-court threat has established him as one of the greatest players in tennis history, with some considering Nadal to be the greatest player of all time...
NationalitySpanish
ProfessionTennis Player
Date of Birth3 June 1986
CityManacor, Spain
CountrySpain
Tennis is a hard sport. There is a lot of competition all year and you play alone.
Hard courts are very negative for the body. I know the sport is a business and creating these courts is easier than clay or grass, but I am 100 per cent sure it is wrong.
Don't think about being the number one in the world, try instead to get through today's program as well as you can. Then we will see whether one day you'll end up as number one or number 100.
For me, it is important to win titles and for that I need to work hard, stay healthy and be able to compete. The rest, I always say, it comes.
I love the beach. I love the sea. All my life I live within - in front of the sea.
He's a fantastic player and he's going to be around so much longer so I'm happy with every one I get before he takes them all
I do notice that I am tired.
My motivation and aspiration is the same, being number one or being number five. So that's the truth. And my goal is the same - it's to always be happy playing, it's to enjoy the game and improve always.
I only ever run when there's some point to it - say, if it's in a game of tennis.
It should not be a child's only goal to become the best player in the world. That would be a bad, a harmful attitude.
When one gets beaten by somebody better, one has to know how to lose with humility. Sure, I could have served better. Sure, I could have hit my forehand harder. But the truth was this was like an avalanche, and there was no way to stop it.
I have no sense of humor about losing
I am happy with being a tennis player and the choice I took when I was 12. But clearly, if I wouldnt have been a tennis player, I would have loved to be a soccer player. But again, I am happy with the choice I made.
The US player Andy Roddick reaches speeds of 220 kilometers per hour when he serves. If I train with him every day, I will later be at an advantage against a player whose service crosses the net at 190 kilometers per hour.