There are some moments in sport that stand above all others. For Rafael Nadal, that moment came in the early evening at Wimbledon in 2008. With natural light fast running out, Roger Federer’s final forehand landed in the net and Nadal fell on his back, joy unconfined. At 22, the Spaniard was Wimbledon champion, something he – and many others – had thought might be beyond him.
In that instant, Nadal became a true superstar.
Already virtually unbeatable on clay, the idea that he might be able to beat Federer on the Swiss’s favourite surface, where he had won five times in a row, seemed fanciful. But Nadal turned tennis logic on its head, for good. Two years later he won Wimbledon for a second time and when he won the US Open later the same year. He was only the seventh man to complete the career grand slam of all four majors, and the youngest in the Open era.
Now, he is retiring. At the age of 38, with his body no longer allowing him to compete for the biggest titles, the decision
Thoped this day would never come’:
Federer leads tributes to retiring
Nadal
may have been inevitable, but that doesn’t reduce its impact in any way. With 22 grand slams to his name, including
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14 French Open titles, and 92 tournament wins worldwide,
his place in history is assured. He spent 209 weeks as the world No 1 and was ranked inside the world’s top 10 for a record 912 consecutive weeks, a testament to his ability, not only with a racket,
