Rafael Nadal, former world number one in tennis, and his partner, Juan Monaco of Argentina won (a 6-3 6-2 win in round 1) last Tuesday in the Vina del Mar Open, Chile. The doubles match against second-seeded Czech pairing of Lukas Dlouhy and Frantisek Cermak was his first competitive game – a winning return for Rafael Nadal after his absence of seven months due to injury. He last played on June 2012 at Wimbledon where he lost his second round match.
Although he said he is still taking it easy while in Chile, he would also be playing in the singles matches.
Nadal, who has won 11 grand slam events, is currently ranked 5th (as of February 4, 2013) in professional men’s tennis. He’s taking his time, taking the necessary steps to prepare for the clay court season that begins in June. He acknowledges the fact that he has to take things slowly, that things will not be like before when he was really fit and healthy. He said that he has to remain patient for his body to fully recover when interviewed in Chile during his meeting with Chilean President Sebastian Pineda. It seems that Nadal is eying an 8th French Open trophy, at the very least. Knowing Nadal, another French Open crown is just one of his goals for his comeback year.
Recurring Injury
Rafael Nadal has recurring injury to both his knees. He had a successful knee surgery, The “King of Clay” as he was dubbed suffered his first defeat in the French Open on May 31, 2009, losing in the 4th round to Robin Söderling, who eventually became the runner-up to Roger Federer. That same year Nadal withdrew from Aegon Championships and Wimbledon due to tendinitis on both knees. It was also the reason why he withdrew during the third set of the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in 2010, where he was playing against UK’s Andy Murray. In 2012, he withdrew from the Olympics for the same reason and had to withdraw from Rogers Cup, Cincinnati Masters and the US Open.
Nadal Outside of Tennis
As a professional athlete, Nadal has several product endorsements. He has been the international ambassador of Quely, a biscuit manufacturer in Mallorca, Spain since January 2010. He has actually eaten their products since he was a young boy. He collaborated on the design of an ultra light wristwatch with Swiss luxury watchmaker Richard Mille. The Observatorio Astronomico de Mallorca discovered a main belt asteroid in 2003 and named it 128036 Rafaelnadal in his honor.
He is an avid fan of Real Madrid, owns shares in RCD Mallorca, took part in the “A Million Trees for the King” project in Thailand and established his Fundación Rafa Nadal in 2007. He had supported some of the neediest regions in India and established an academy at Anantapur Sports Village located in Andhra Pradesh.
Aside from tennis and football, Nadal also plays golf.
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