Rafael Nadal Parera was born June 3, 1986 is a Spanish professional tennis player who has been ranked World No. 1 since August 18, 2008. He has won six Grand Slam singles titles and the 2008 Olympic gold medal in singles. He has captured the last four French Open singles titles, joining Björn Borg in 2008 as the only man to have won four consecutive singles titles there. In 2008, Nadal became the second Spanish man to win Wimbledon. Nadal is the only player in the open era to have won the French Open, the London Queen's club, and Wimbledon in the same year. In 2009, Nadal became the first Spaniard to win the Australian Open, the fourth male tennis player—behind Jimmy Connors, Mats Wilander and Andre Agassi—to win Grand Slam titles on three different surfaces, and the first male tennis player to hold Grand Slam singles titles on three different surfaces simultaneously (2008 French Open, 2008 Wimbledon Championships, and 2009 Australian Open).
For much of his career, Nadal has had a rivalry with Roger Federer, which many consider to be among the greatest in tennis history. They are the only men in the open era who have played each other in seven Grand Slam finals,[6] with Nadal winning five of those matches. Nadal was ranked World No. 2 behind Federer for a record 160 weeks before earning the top spot. Nadal has won 13 of their 19 singles matches to date, as well as all five of their most recent encounters.
On October 18, 2008, Nadal clinched the year-end World No. 1 ranking for 2008.[14] The same year, he was given the prestigious Prince of Asturias Award for his achievements in sports.
