:''For other people named Nadal, See Nadal (disambiguation).''
Spain
|residence= Manacor, Mallorca
|datebirth= June 3, 1986
|placebirth= Manacor, Mallorca
|height= 185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
|weight= 85 kg (188 lb)
|turnedpro= 2001
|plays= Left; Two-handed backhand
|grip=
|careerprizemoney= $7,739,289
|singlesrecord= 169-45
|singlestitles= 17
|highestsinglesranking= No. 2 (July 25, 2005)
|AustralianOpenresult= 4th (2005)
|FrenchOpenresult= '''W''' (2005, 2006)
|Wimbledonresult= F (2006)
|USOpenresult= QF (2006)
|doublesrecord= 46-28
|doublestitles= 3
|highestdoublesranking= No. 26 (August 8, 2005)
|updated= August 12, 2006
}}
'''Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera''' (born June 3, 1986 in Manacor, Mallorca) is a Spanish tennis player http://www.atptennis.com/en/players/playerprofiles/default2.asp?playersearch=Rafael+Nadal. He is the nephew of former F.C. Barcelona footballer Miguel Ángel Nadal. He is currently the world's No. 2 male tennis player and is the first man since Boris Becker to reach this ranking in his teenage years.
Nadal is the premier counterpuncher in the men's game, his pace and fitness helping to establish him as the top defensive player in tennis today. Playing with a full Western grip, Nadal is able to achieve heavy top spin on his forehands, which, combined with his counterpunching ability, has seen him become the player to beat on clay courts, above even World No. 1 Roger Federer.
Nadal plays with a Babolat Aero Pro Drive racket with Babolat Duralast strings, and has 15g of lead tape at the top of his racket under the bumper, and 5g of lead in the handle.
Although Nadal plays left-handed, he is naturally right-handed. When he was younger, his uncle and coach, Toni Nadal, decided that his two-handed backhand would benefit from a strong right arm, so he taught Rafael to play with his left. http://www.vamosrafael.com/articles/art336.html
Nadal's current clay-court winning streak (after defeating Roger Federer 1-6 6-1 6-4 7-6(4) in the final of the 2006 French Open) stands at 60 consecutive matches, the longest clay court winning streak among male players in the Open Era, having broken the previous record of 53 matches (set by Guillermo Vilas) in the first round of the 2006 French Open against Robin Soderling.
Career
In 2002, he won his first ATP match at Majorca at the age of 15, defeating Ramon Delgado to become the ninth player in the Open Era to win an ATP match before his 16th birthday.
In 2003, Nadal became the second-youngest player to be ranked among the world's top 100 singles players. He finished the year in the top 50, winning two Challenger titles. At his Wimbledon debut in 2003, he became the youngest player (at age 17) to reach the 3rd round since 16-year-old Boris Becker in 1984.
2005 was Nadal's breakthrough year. At the Australian Open, Nadal was able
