Rafael Nadal: 10 Fun facts you probably didn't know

There have been many legends in the game of tennis who we can never forget at all. After all, they gave us some great moments in the game that established them as iconic figures in one of the most popular sports in the world. One of the legends that have given us countless great moments in the game of tennis is Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard has given us great games in his long and decorated career.

Today the King of Clay has turned 38 and it is time to celebrate his career filled with thrilling games, a lot of trophies, and many days at the top. We all know that Rafael Nadal has been a former world number 1, winning 22 Grand Slams and having some of the best rivalries in the game. However, there are still some facts that we will be going into that not all of us have heard about the Spanish legend at all.

So, we will now be looking at the 10 unknown facts about Rafael Nadal which we have hardly known about:

1. First ATP victory at the age of 15

This first fact should not be much of a surprise to us since we all have seen Nadal dominate the game and this was just the start of many wins which were coming his way. It is still surprising to notice that the El Nino we know now was just a 15-year-old boy when he achieved this feat. This might have been a moment to remember for the youngster which he will never forget. It is safe to say this was the start of a career that we were going to celebrate today.

2. Nephew of a famous football player

Not everyone would know this but Rafa is the nephew of famous Spanish football player Miguel Angel Nadal. early in his career, he was known for his connection to the former Barcelona player. It is great to see that Nadal has now become an even bigger sportsman than his Uncle who has got 62 caps for the Spanish football team. It is always tough to break from the shadow of another accomplished sportsman, but Nadal has proved it in the game of tennis and has one of the biggest fan bases in the world of sports.

3. Youngest to win Davis Cup

The Davis Cup is one of the most prominent international trophies in the game of tennis and Nadal is the youngest player to ever win the cup being only 18 years of age. This was the start of greatness for the youngster and he was known as one of the young upcoming players in the year 2004. This was one of the best years of El Nino in the ATP scene and from here he only went onwards and upwards.

4. Withdraws from the 2004 French Open

The year 2005 was the first time we saw the King of Clay in action and he also won the tournament in Paris as well, establishing himself as a popular player, however, this was not supposed to be his debut in the French Open since after the Davis Cup he was set to play in the main draw of 2004 Roland Garros tournament. Unfortunately, The Spaniard suffered an ankle injury which kept him completely out of the French Open. Seeing how he later dominated the tournament it would have been interesting to see how many more would he have landed up with.

5. Nadal meets Federer back in Miami

If you thought the 2005 Roland Garros semi-final was the time that gave birth to this epic rivalry between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer think again. The first time these two battled together was in the Miami Masters in 2004. This was the first encounter between the two and believe it or not, the 18-year-old Spanish prodigy surprised everyone by beating an in-form Federer in two straight sets and eliminating him in the third round. This was also the time Federer realized the potential of a player like Nadal.

6. Won three big ATP titles in a row

The year 2005 was a great year for Nadal where he not only won one of the toughest Grand Slams but also made sure he impressed everyone in the season. Nadal went on to win three big ATP titles in a row, as he won Monte Carlo, Barcelona, and Rome in the same year. The first person to do that was Thomas Muster in 1995. Along with this feat, this was also a dominant ATP tour for Nadal as he also won 16 consecutive games during this season.

7. Olympic hero 

Nadal is one of the rare players to win two Olympic gold medals to his name which he won in 2008 and 2016. It is safe to say that he will be known as one of the biggest Olympic heroes in Spain. He is also perhaps the only member of the Holy Trinity to win two Olympic Gold medals since Federer has won one and Djokovic is yet to get a gold to his name at the world's biggest event. This is one of the successful feats for El Nino which we have to appreciate.

8. Nadal's Asteroid

You might not have known this at all, but Nadal had an Asteroid named after him in 2003 even before he was one of the best in the world. It shows that man was known not only all around the world but all over the universe. This is one of the most interesting facts we could never have guessed. It seems as though Nadal got inspired and his career just took of like a rocket into outer space and now he is a living legend in the Tennis world.

9. Nadal is a big fan of Mallorca and Madrid

Being the nephew of an ex-football player it is no surprise that Nadal is a huge fan of the beautiful game. He is a huge fan of Mallorca and Real Madrid and supports them in every Laliga and Champions League game. It is also known that Nadal had given up football to pursue tennis, but he remained a big fan of the game.

10. Nadal is naturally right-handed

There is no doubt that Nadal is known for his unique aggressive style and his destructive left-handed double forehand, he is one of the best left-handed players in the game as well. The only interesting thing is that Nadal is naturally right-handed in his normal day-to-day life. This shows that he had to work hard on his game to learn how to play consistently with his left hand.