Birthday boy Rafael Nadal, who turned 36 on Friday, advanced to the French Open final for the 14th time after third seed Alexander Zverev was forced to retire hurt with an ankle injury while trailing the Spaniard 7-6(8) 6-6. If Rafa wins on Sunday, he will be the oldest man to conquer the title.
On Zverev retiring hurt, Nadal said, “Tough now. Very sad, he was playing an unbelievable tournament, he’s a very good colleague on the tour. I know how much he’s fighting to win a Grand Slam.” Nadal will face either Croatia’s Marin Cilic or Norway’s Casper Ruud on Sunday at the finals.
Rafa played an epic four-set win over old rival Novak Djokovic earlier this week. Later he said, “The last three months and a half for me, the only thing that I can say is haven’t been easy, but I have to keep going”
Here is all that you need to know about him:
Why is Rafael Nadal called the king of clay?
Rafa has so far won 21 Grand Slams including 13 French Open titles, which is a record in itself. In fact, I have lost at the French Open only 3 times. He also holds a unique record of 81 consecutive wins on Clay court.
In November 2020, Nadal became the only player to stay in the top-10 of the ATP rankings for 790 consecutive weeks. He broke Jimmy Connors’ record in the process and is set to further extend it.
Nadal has played in 28 Grand Slam finals, second only to Federer and Djokovic’s record of 31 finals.
The iconic match: The 2008 Wimbledon final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer is widely regarded as one of the most iconic tennis matches ever.
What is Nadal’s net worth?
Nadal has earned $125,050,235 as prize money as a tennis professional. However, his total net worth is approximately $200 million, as per Celebrity Net Worth.
What are Nadal’s Endorsements in 2022?
- Nike sponsors Nadal.
- Kia, South Korea’s automobile manufacturer, has been sponsoring the champion since 2006.
- He is the international ambassador of Spanish biscuits and bakery manufacturers, Quely, since 2010.
- Nadal sports a luxury watch from Richard Mille as part of an endorsement deal and is one of the premier watches out there with a whopping $725,000 value.
- His other endorsement partners are Santander, Emporio Armani, Babolat, Heliocare, Telefonica, Banco Sabadell, Tommy Hilfiger, Mapfre, and more.
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