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A tribute to the great Rafael Nadal following his retirement from tennis.
A tribute to the great Rafael Nadal following his retirement from tennis.
As Rafael Nadal retires from tennis, 5 Live Sport takes a look back at his career.
Italy claim their first Billie Jean King Cup title in 11 years as Jasmine Paolini wraps up a 2-0 win over Slovakia in Malaga.
Germany will face the Netherlands in the Davis Cup semi-finals after beating Canada 2-0 in Malaga.
A pair of crucial tie-break sets bookended a dramatic quarter-final tie on Wednesday at the Davis Cup Final 8, where Germany moved past Canada 2-0 in Malaga.
Jan-Lennard Struff overcame Denis Shapovalov 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(5) to earn the winning point for Germany, which reached its first Davis Cup semi-final since 2021. The No. 43 in the PIF ATP Rankings Struff prevailed in a two-hour, seven-minute battle despite Canada’s Shapovalov firing 27 aces.
Earlier, Daniel Altmaier edged Gabriel Diallo in a 75-minute opening set en route to a 7-6(5), 6-4 triumph.
“Denis was playing amazing, coming out firing,” said Struff, who had served for the match at 5-4 in the third set. “It was a very tough match. He was serving so well. It was incredible. Second serves at like 180 km/h. It was tough to return. The court is very fast.
“I had my chance [in the third set]. I broke him and served for the match. I didn’t play the best game, but he was there and hit some winners. Even in the tie-break, I went up 4/3 and he then he hit a forehand winner. An incredible match… I’m just happy to get over the line at the end.”
STRUFF GETS IT DONE! 🇩🇪@Struffitennis seals the tie for Team Germany after a remarkable comeback against Shapovalov! 😱@DavisCup | #DavisCup pic.twitter.com/0DSurVrDgg
— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 20, 2024
Germany faces a big European derby in its semi-final on Friday, when it will take on the Netherlands.
“It will be amazing,” said Struff of the Netherlands tie. “It’s a big step for us to go from the quarters to the semis. For sure we want to win and go to the final now. Netherlands played an amazing match yesterday beating Spain here in front of a home crowd. So we expect a very tough opponent. Germany and the Netherlands is a little bit of a rivalry. We will try everything. They have amazing fans as well, so looking forward to the match on Friday.”
Captain Michael Kohlmann was delighted as his team moved one step further forward in its bid for its fourth Davis Cup crown, and its first since 1993.
“I think if Daniel had lost that first set of the day, the tie was a completely different one,” reflected Kohlmann on Altmaier’s opening win. “Daniel was up a break, lost his serve again straightaway and had so many chances in the set, but couldn’t convert. I think to win it in the end was key for that match.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]
To celebrate the end of Rafael Nadal’s historic career at this week’s Davis Cup Final 8, ATPTour.com is publishing a series of articles paying tribute to the Spaniard. View our #RafaSiempre series.
Being a great athlete goes far beyond the results achieved in competition.
Rafael Nadal understood this from the beginning. He involved himself in numerous social projects and created the Rafa Nadal Foundation in 2010, a platform that has enabled him to use sport as a source of aid, helping children and young people towards a quality future.
“I’ve always believed that for personal and professional development, opportunities are essential,” explained Nadal in a report from the foundation published on its 10th anniversary. “In 2010, we understood that I was in a position in which I could help create them, and that was when we decided to launch this life project. I honestly never imagined that we would be able to create the organisation that the Rafa Nadal Foundation is today.”
[ATP AWARDS]
Throughout all these years, the Rafa Nadal Foundation has provided for countless children, establishing a wide range of programmes such as the NETS project (Nadal Educational Tennis School) in India, the ‘More Than Tennis’ meetings (where athletes with intellectual disabilities get together from schools all across Spain), the Olazabal and Nadal golf tournaments, the opening of foundation centres in Palma, Valencia and Madrid, charity races, and countless other initiatives.
Today, the foundation has several active projects such as ‘Play All’, which directly benefits socially vulnerable children and teenagers and seeks to provide access to tennis for those for whom it is difficult to participate in the sport.
‘Study&Play’ is another of the current projects. It endeavours to offer young people who play a sport regularly and with dedication the opportunity to combine practice and competition with their education, by accessing scholarships granted by US universities.
Photo Credit: Rafa Nadal Foundation
As well as the work carried out through his foundation, Nadal has never hesitated to roll up his sleeves and collaborate in various causes over the years.
For example, the Spaniard participated in the ‘Match for Africa’, an exhibition he played with Roger Federer on 21 December, 2010. First, the Spaniard and Swiss faced each other in the Hallenstadion in Zurich, Switzerland, in an event to raise money for the Roger Federer Foundation, which supports education, transport and food for children in Africa.
The following day, Nadal and Federer played again in the Caja Mágica in Madrid. This time the money raised went to the Rafa Nadal Foundation.
In 2020, Nadal and Federer participated in the sixth edition of ‘Match for Africa’. It took place on 7 February in Cape Town, South Africa, the country of birth of Federer’s mother and the focal point of his charity foundation. Before facing each other in singles, Nadal and Federer joined Trevor Noah (presenter of ‘The Daily Show’) and Bill Gates in a doubles match. The event drew a crowd of 51,954, raising 3.5 million dollars for children’s education in Africa.
Photo Credit: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images/Getty Images
In 2018, during the floods in Sant Llorenç des Cardassar, which caused 13 deaths and damaged almost 300 buildings in Mallorca, Nadal immediately got to work, grabbing a broom and helping evacuate the water alongside the other residents, helping the local population. He also donated one million euros to the victims.
Nadal was also actively involved during the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Spanish tennis player joined forces with basketball player Pau Gasol and the Red Cross to raise 11 million euros for people affected by the pandemic, buying medical materials, building infrastructure and contributing to the most vulnerable families.
Simply put, the legacy the Spaniard leaves in his wake as he retires from the game transcends that of his titles and sporting success.
Editor’s note: This story was translated from ATPTour.com/es.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]To celebrate the end of Rafael Nadal’s historic career at this week’s Davis Cup Final 8, ATPTour.com is publishing a series of articles paying tribute to the Spaniard. View our #RafaSiempre series.
Nadal’s first ATP Tour win against Ramon Delgado on the clay of his native Mallorca at the age of 15 was the first step in a legendary career that stretched across more than twenty years. The Spaniard has left in his wake an inordinate number of records that future generations will find hugely difficult to break.
ATPTour.com takes a look at the most significant stats of the Manacor native’s 22-season career.
[ATP AWARDS]14 titles at one Grand Slam
Nadal’s Roland Garros record is probably the most spectacular of his career. After winning his first ‘Musketeer’s Trophy’ on his first appearance at the season’s second major in 2005, he went on to claim a total of 14 titles (2005-08, 2010-14, 2017-2020, 2022) on the Paris clay. The mark puts him four ahead of his nearest challenger in terms of titles at one Grand Slam: Novak Djokovic with 10 Australian Opens.
Dear Rafa,
It has been a privilege to watch you evolve on our clay, where you will leave a perpetual mark on such a challenging surface.
We’re proud to count you as our greatest champion, as much for your 14 titles as for the man you are. Your legacy will live on forever, on… pic.twitter.com/xJ9P96gRaM
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) November 19, 2024
10 titles or more at four different tournaments
It was not only at Roland Garros where Nadal built an empire. He also stamped his dominance on other stages, where it became habitual to see him claim the trophy year after year. At the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell he won 12 times, leading the tournament to name its centre court after him. At the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, an ATP Masters 1000 event, he won 11 titles, while the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome provided him with 10 crowns. The four tournaments make up for 47 of his total of 92 titles (51%).
Youngest player to win the ‘Golden Slam’
Only a few chosen ones in the history of tennis can boast to having won all four majors (Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, US Open), as well as an Olympic gold medal. Nadal topped the Olympic podium in Beijing in 2008, and later joined Andre Agassi as the only players in the men’s game – to complete the career ‘Golden Slam’ by winning the 2010 US Open, at the age of 24 years, 3 months, and 10 days. Novak Djokovic joined the exclusive club in 2024 when he won the Olympics singles gold medal in Paris.
<img alt=”Rafael Nadal beats Fernando Gonzalez to win the men’s singles gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2020/08/04/20/51/nadal-flag-beijing-2008.jpg?w=100%25″ />
Photo Credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Most titles on clay
When Nadal’s career began, the record for titles on clay was 49. It belonged to a specialist on the surface in Argentina’s Guillermo Vilas. The Manacor native not only broke that record, he did so by a considerable margin, reaching 63. There were 18 years before his first clay crown, in Sopot in 2004, and his last, at Roland Garros in 2022.
10 straight years winning Grand Slams
The former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings Nadal not only has 22 Grand Slam titles to his name, he also racked them up season after season, allowing him to stay near the very top for so long. Nadal is the only player who managed to win at least one major for 10 consecutive years. Between 2005 and 2014 he won the 2009 Australian Open; the 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 Roland Garros crown; Wimbledon in 2008 and 2010; and the US Open in 2010 and 2013.
Grand Slam titles on every surface in one year
His ability to compete at the top level on every surface became clear in 2010, when he won a Grand Slam on clay (Roland Garros), grass (Wimbledon) and hard courts (US Open) in the same year. He was the first to do so since Rod Laver in 1969. Years later, in 2021, Novak Djokovic also achieved the feat at the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
Most wins against a No. 1
Nadal was able to compete toe-to-toe with the best versions of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, respectively, regularly squaring off against them when they were occupying the No. 1 spot in the PIF ATP Rankings. In fact, the Spaniard holds the record for the most wins against the best player in the world (23), beating Federer 13 times when he was at the top of the rankings and Djokovic 10 times. His first came against Federer at the Miami ATP Masters 1000 in 2004.
<img alt=”Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal ” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/07/28/20/00/djokovic-nadal-rivalry-roland-garros-2022.jpg” />
Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images
Completing the Grand Slam twice
Winning all four majors is a privilege that only eight men have experienced in the history of the game. Nadal, though, has had the pleasure twice over (he has won every Grand Slam at least two times). Rod Laver was the first to achieve the feat, while Djokovic would later repeat it.
Most straight wins on one surface
One of the hottest streaks Nadal ever produced began in the first round at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters on 11 April, 2005 against Gael Monfils. It ended in the final of the ATP Masters 1000 in Hamburg on 14 May 2007 against Roger Federer. In that period, the Spaniard won every single match he played on clay, giving him the record for the most consecutive wins on one surface (81).
‘Clay Slam’
In 2010, Nadal became the only player to win all of the clay tournaments at Grand Slam and Masters 1000 level in one season. He strung together titles at the Masters 1000 events in Monte-Carlo (his sixth title in the Principality), Rome (the fifth) and Madrid (the second). He also put the icing on the cake at the clay Grand Slam event in Paris, with his fifth Roland Garros crown.
Practically invincible on clay over five sets
In total, throughout his career, the Balearic Islander played 535 matches on clay, with a record 484 wins and 51 defeats. That equates to a 90.5 per cent win record on the surface. However, when he competed in best-of-five-set matches, his success rate was close to perfection. He faced 141 such encounters, with a record of 137-4, which is a return rate of 97.1%.
Most titles as a teenager
Nadal started the 2005 season at 18 years of age and ended it at 19. As a teenager, he produced the most prolific season of his career and nobody, so far, has matched him at such a young age. That year he won eleven titles in Costa do Sauipe, Acapulco, Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome, Roland Garros, Bastad, Stuttgart, Canada, Beijing and Madrid, all added to the title he won in Sopot in 2004. Interestingly, the season included his only ever title on indoor hard courts (Madrid).
<img alt=”Rafael Nadal” style=”100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/07/11/13/35/nadal-roland-garros-2005-celebration.jpg” />
Photo Credit: Julian Finney/Getty Images
Editor’s note: This story was translated from ATPTour.com/es
[NEWSLETTER FORM]To celebrate the end of Rafael Nadal’s historic career at this week’s Davis Cup Final 8, ATPTour.com is publishing a series of articles paying tribute to the Spaniard. View our #RafaSiempre series.
“We’ve achieved so many amazing things together, now it’s up to you to continue doing them.”
As he looked at his teammates from the centre of the court, the sincerest words spoken by Rafael Nadal at his farewell ceremony on Tuesday were addressed to the new generation of talent. In particular, one member of that group will be bidding to maintain and extend the legacy the Spaniard leaves behind: Carlos Alcaraz.
At 21 years of age, Alcaraz has equalled many of his childhood hero’s records for precociousness. He has already been the No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, won four Grand Slam titles and donned an Olympic silver medal.
“For us young players coming up, who have many years ahead of us, we’ve been lucky to see the era of Rafa, Federer and Djokovic, although [Novak] is still playing… that battle between those three gladiators, players who aren’t from this planet,” said Alcaraz.
“But, at the same time, I’ll also say that [Rafa] has left a lot of people with the hope of seeing what is to come. In a way, if those of us that are here, the young players, those coming up behind him cannot reach that level, it will be seen as frustrating or disappointing for the world of tennis.”
[ATP AWARDS]Alcaraz has always avoided any kind of comparison, but the media and tennis fans alike have inevitably pointed to the parallels between Alcaraz and Nadal.
“I’m going to try not to look at it like that, I’ll simply do my best every day,” he offered. “As Rafa said, he is ending his career happy and satisfied in knowing that he gave his all from the start until the final day of his career, and that’s what I’ll try to do. I’ll try to give my best, to be the best person and player I can every day, at every tournament, every year.”
Alcaraz was there to see Nadal’s final stretch on the ATP Tour, maybe not for as long as he would have liked, but at the 2021 Australian Open he practised with his compatriot for the first time and a few months later he celebrated his 18th birthday with his first match against Nadal at the Mutua Madrid Open.
Their Lexus ATP Head2Head includes a total of three matches, all in ATP Masters 1000s; in Madrid (2021, 2022) and Indian Wells (2022). But perhaps their most special memory together will be when they shared the same side of the court, representing Spain in doubles at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024.
“I’m lucky to be close to him, to have played doubles with him, to have practised with him, to have shared a Davis Cup team with him and the locker room in singles tournaments – not as much as I would have liked – I wish I’d arrived on tour earlier,” Alcaraz said.
But destiny has no respect for ones desires, and so it was that on the night of Tuesday 19 November Nadal definitively relinquished his crown and Alcaraz took the baton, but not without a caveat.
“We’ll see at the end of my career, but if it’s half of what he’s done I’ll be more than happy,” Alcaraz said. “’m going to try and entertain people and leave a good legacy every day. It’s going to be very tough to follow what these giants have done.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be on the other side of the net to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner? According to Luca Van Assche, the pace of the ball, the explosive movement and clean timing make it one of sports biggest tests.
As part of our Next Gen ‘My Influences’ series, the Frenchman opened the lid on his encounters with Alcaraz and Sinner, having hit with the former Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champions this year.
Van Assche, currently fifth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, also discusses his memories of facing 2018 champion Stefanos Tsitsipas in Melbourne, the support from his family and early Roland Garros memories.
[ATP APP]Which former Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champion do you most identify with?
It’s difficult because there are a lot of different players. But out of my game, I think I connect [most] with the first [champion], Hyeon Chung. He’s very solid. Physically very good. He can hit a lot from the baseline with a very good backhand. I think the other guys are not really my type of game.
What memorable interactions have you had with the former Next Gen champions?
I played against [Stefanos] Tsitsipas this year at the Australian Open. It was my first time in the third round. It was nice. I practised with him also. I played Medjedovic last year and the others, I think I’ve just practised with Sinner, Alcaraz and Nakashima.
What stood out to you about those guys when you played with him?
Of course, they have very good games. Sinner and Alcaraz, number one and two in the world. With Alcaraz, I practised with him this year at Roland Garros, right before the tournament. Of course his forehand is incredible. His intensity on the practice court is great. With Sinner, I practised with him this year in Monte-Carlo. His capacity to take the ball early and play so fast — is something crazy.
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What is your first memory of watching professional tennis?
When I was a kid, I watched a lot of matches. Every year I watched Roland Garros on TV. I watched the Davis Cup when France played.
Is there a Roland Garros match that you remember watching?
Of course I saw the Novak-Rafa 9-7 in the fifth [in 2013]. Then I saw the final against [David] Ferrer. I went a couple years to Roland Garros when I was a kid. I was living in Lyon and I went to see the quarter-finals. I saw Tommy Haas against Djokovic in the quarters [in 2013]. I saw Nadal against Ferrer, also in the quarter-finals [in 2014]. I went to the train early with my family, we went there, watched the match and went back to Lyon in the evening. It was nice memories. On TV, I think every afternoon after school I was going home and putting it on the TV.
Who have been some of the general influences in your life over the years, whether it be parents, early coaches, other people who have influenced you?
I think my parents because I lived with them since I was a kid and I still live with them. They gave me their education. The person who I am now is because of them. I think also my coach Yannick Quere. From age 11 to this year, I was only with him and seeing him more than my family. He’s an incredible person also. I grew up a lot with him.
Do you have any specific lessons you learned from either your parents or a coach?
My parents taught me a lot — that I need to be a humble person, to work hard to achieve what I want to achieve. Basics in life, but very important. I think also Yannick, he had the same mentality as my parents. Of course, it’s very important to play well in tennis because he was my tennis coach, but the most important is also the part outside the court. You need to be a good person, not just a good tennis player. That’s a little bit what they taught me.
Carlos Alcaraz discusses the legacy Spain team-mate Rafael Nadal will leave after his retirement.