Untitled Document
 Eight
years ago, a young teenage tennis player shocked the world. His name
is Rafael Nadal. His world ranking was 762. But he showed amazing
strength and talent in his first professional
match. When he turned 16, he entered the Wimbledon competition. Wimbledon
is one of the biggest tennis tournaments in the world.
He became the youngest person to reach the third round.
Rafael Nadal was born on June 3, 1986 in Spain. In Spain, he is as
famous as Park Tae-hwan or Kim Yun-ah in Korea. Nadal comes from a
very athletic family. His uncles
are professional soccer players. Nadal started playing tennis at the
age of 8. By the time he was 10, there
was no teenager in Spain who could beat him. When he turned
14, the Spanish sports federation moved him to Barcelona
to start his tennis career.
 Nadal grew
stronger and better every year. So far, he has won six Grand Slam
titles. And back in 2008, he won the gold medal in the Summer Olympics.
Nadal says his dream was and will always be to become number one in
the game.
Just like all champions, Nadal has a fierce competitor. It is the current
world’s number one ranked, Roger Federer. Nadal, and Federer from
Switzerland, are great friends. However, they have been playing against
each other since 2004. They have always faced each other in the finals.
And all their matches have been considered
as the greatest in tennis history. |
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