current season	2011 Davis Cup
logo	Davis_Cup.jpg
pixels	125px
sport	Tennis
founded	1900
teams	16 (World Group)137 (2007 total)
country	ITF member nations
champion	}}

The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. In 2007, 137 nations entered teams into the competition. The most successful countries over the history of the tournament are the United States (winning 32 tournaments and finishing as runners-up 29 times) and Australia (winning 28 times, including four occasions with New Zealand under the name 'Australasia', and finishing as runners-up 19 times). The present champion is Serbia who beat France to claim the title.

History

The tournament was conceived in 1899 by four members of the Harvard University tennis team who wished to challenge the British to a tennis competition. Once their respective lawn tennis associations agreed, one of the four Harvard players, Dwight F. Davis, designed a tournament format and ordered an appropriate sterling silver trophy from Shreve, Crump & Low, purchasing it from his own funds. They in turn commissioned a classically-styled design from William B. Durgin's of Concord, New Hampshire, crafted by the Englishman Rowland Rhodes. Davis went on to become a prominent politician in the United States in the 1920s, serving as US Secretary of War from 1925–29 and as Governor-General of the Philippines from 1929–32.

The first match, between the United States and Britain (which competed under the name "British Isles"), was held at the Longwood Cricket Club in Boston, Massachusetts in 1900. The American team, of which Dwight Davis was a part, surprised the British by winning the first three matches. The following year the two countries did not compete but the US won the next match in 1902. By 1905 the tournament expanded to include Belgium, Austria, France, and Australasia, a combined team from Australia and New Zealand that competed together until 1914.

The tournament was initially titled the ''International Lawn Tennis Challenge'' although it soon became known as the Davis Cup, after Dwight Davis' trophy.

From 1950 to 1967, Australia dominated the competition, winning the Cup 15 times in 18 years.

The United States has won the event the most times (32), closely followed by Australia (28 [including 4 as Australasia]), Great Britain (9 [including 5 as the British Isles]), France (9) and Sweden (7).

Up until 1973, the Davis Cup had only ever been won by the United States, Great Britain/British Isles, France and Australia/Australasia. Their domination was eventually broken in 1974, when South Africa and India qualified for the final; however, the final was scratched and South Africa was awarded the Davis Cup after India refused to travel to South Africa for the final in protest of the South African government's apartheid policies. (As of 2010, South Africa has never actually played in a Davis Cup finals match.) The following year saw the first final between two "outsider" nations that was actually played; Sweden beat Czechoslovakia 3–2, and since then, several other countries have gone on to capture the trophy.

In 1989, the tiebreak was also introduced into Davis Cup competition. The tiebreak is now used in all sets except for 5th set, which remains an advantage set.

On the 100th anniversary of the tournament's founding, 129 nations competed for the Davis Cup.

Format

Tournament

The world's 16 best national teams are assigned to the World Group and compete annually for the Davis Cup. Nations which are not in the World Group compete in one of three regional zones (Americas, Asia/Oceania, and Europe/Africa). The competition is spread over four weekends during the year. Each elimination round between competing nations is held in one of the countries. The ITF determines the host countries for all possible matchups before each year's tournament.

The World Group is the top group and includes the world's best 16 national teams. Teams in the World Group play a four-round elimination tournament. Teams are seeded based on a ranking system released by the ITF, taking into account previous years' results. The defending champion and runner-up are always the top two seeds in the tournament. The losers of the first-round matches are sent to the World Group playoff round, where they play along with winners from Group I of the regional zones. The playoff round winners play in the World Group for the next year's tournament, while the losers play in Group I of their respective regional zone.

Each of the three regional zones is divided into four groups. Groups I and II play elimination rounds, with the losing teams facing relegation to the next-lower group. The teams in Groups III and those in Group IV play a round-robin tournament with promotion and relegation.

Previous tournament structure

When competition began in 1900, the Davis Cup competition was played as a challenge cup. All teams competed against one another for the right to face the previous year's champion in the final round, and the previous year's champion (the "defending champion") advanced directly to the current year's final round.

Beginning in 1923, the world's teams were split into two zones: the "America Zone" and the "Europe Zone". The winners of the two zones met in the ''Inter-Zonal Zone'' ("INZ") to decide which national team would challenge the defending champion for the cup.

In 1955, a third zone, the "Eastern Zone", was added. Because there were three zones, the winner of one of the three zones received a bye in the first round of the INZ challenger rounds. In 1966, the "Europe Zone" was split into two zones, "Europe Zone A" and "Europe Zone B", so the winners of the four zones competed in the INZ challenger rounds.

Beginning in 1972, the format was changed from a challenge cup, so that the defending champion was required to compete in all rounds, and the Davis Cup was awarded to the tournament champion.

In 1981, the tiered system of competition was created, which remains in use today, and in which the 16 best national teams compete in the World Group and in which all other national teams compete in one of the four groups in one of the three regional zones.

Ties and rubbers

As in other cup competitions ''tie'' is used in the Davis Cup to mean an elimination (or ''knockout'') round, rather than meaning a ''draw'' or when competitors' scores are equal. In the Davis Cup, the word ''rubber'' means an individual match. Thus, "tie" means a round, and "rubber" means a match.

In the annual World Group competition, 16 nations compete in 8 first-round ties ("rounds"); the 8 winners compete 4 quarter-final-round ties; the 4 winners compete in 2 semifinal-round ties; and the 2 winners compete in the final round tie.

Each tie consists of 5 rubbers ("matches"), which are played in 3 days (usually on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday). The winner of the tie is the nation which wins 3 or more of the 5 rubbers in the tie. On the first day, the first 2 rubbers are singles, which are generally played by each nation's 2 best available singles players. On the second day, the doubles rubber is played. On the third day, the final 2 rubbers are typically ''reverse singles'', in which the first-day contestants usually play again, but they swap opponents from the first day's singles rubbers. However, in certain circumstances, the team captain may replace one or two of the players who played the singles on Friday by other players who were nominated for the tie. For example, if the tie has already been decided in favour of one of the teams, it is common for younger or lower-ranked team members to play the remaining ''dead-rubbers'' in order for them to gain Davis Cup experience.

Prior to each tie, the captain of each nation nominates a squad of four players and decides who will compete in the tie. On the day before play starts, the order of play for the first day is drawn at random. In the past, teams could substitute final day singles players only in case of injury or illness, verified by a doctor, but current rules permit the captain to designate any player to play the last two singles rubbers, provided that no first day matchup is repeated. There is no restriction on which of the playing team members may play the doubles rubber: the two singles players, two other players (usually doubles specialists) or a combination.

Each rubber is normally played in a best-of-5 set. The first four sets use a tiebreak if necessary, but the fifth set usually has no tiebreaker, so play continues until one side wins by two games (e.g. 10–8). However, if a team has clinched the tie ("round") before all 5 rubbers ("matches") have been completed, the remaining rubbers may be shortened to the best-of-3-sets, with a tie breaker if necessary to decide all three sets.

In Group III and Group IV competition, each tie ("round") consists only of 3 rubbers ("matches"), which include 2 singles and one doubles rubber, which is played in a single day. The rubbers are in the best-of-3-set format, with a tie breaker if necessary to decide all three sets.

Records and statistics

Team

'''1900 International Lawn Tennis Challenge1903 International Lawn Tennis Challenge '''1907 International Lawn Tennis Challenge '''1903 International Lawn Tennis Challenge '''1927 International Lawn Tennis Challenge '''1975 Davis Cup '''2000 Davis Cup

width=16%	Country !! width=43%|Years Won !! width=43%|Runners Up
		1900, 1902, 1913, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1937, 1938, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1954, 1958, 1963, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1990, 1992, 1995, 2007 (32)		1903, 1905, 1906, 1908, 1909, 1911, 1914, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1932, 1934, 1935, 1939, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1964, 1973, 1984, 1991, 1997, 2004 (29)
*		1907*, 1908*, 1909*, 1911*, 1914, 1919, 1939, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1973, 1977, 1983, 1986, 1999, 2003 (28)		1912*, 1920*, 1922*, 1923, 1924, 1936, 1938, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1954, 1958, 1963, 1968, 1990, 1993, 2000, 2001 (19)
*		1903*, 1904*, 1905*, 1906*, 1912*, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936 (9)		1900*, 1902*, 1907*, 1913, 1919, 1931, 1937, 1978 (8)
		1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1991, 1996, 2001 (9)		1925, 1926, 1933, 1982, 1999, 2002, 2010 (7)
		1975, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1994, 1997, 1998 (7)		1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1996 (5)
		2000, 2004, 2008, 2009 (4)		1965, 1967, 2003 (3)
*		1988 Davis Cup>1988*, [[1989 Davis Cup		1970*, 1985* (2)
		'''[[2002 Davis Cup		1994, 1995, 2007 (3)
		1976 Davis Cup>1976 (1)		1960, 1961, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1998 (6)
*		1980 Davis Cup>1980* (1)		1975*, 2009, (2)
		1974 Davis Cup>1974 (1)		(0)
		2005 Davis Cup>2005 (1)		(0)
		2010 Davis Cup>2010 (1)		(0)
		(0)		1969, 1971, 1972 (3)
		(0)		1966, 1974, 1987 (3)
		(0)		1981, 2006, 2008 (3)
		(0)		1904 (1)
		(0)		1921 (1)
		(0)		1962 (1)
		(0)		1976 (1)
		(0)		1992 (1)
		(0)

Titles by country (Open era)

{| class="wikitable" |-bgcolor="#CCCCCC" |align="center" | Country |Titles |First |Last |- bgcolor="gold" | |align="center" | 13 |1968 |2007 |- | |align="center" | 7 |1975 |1998 |-bgcolor="#EFEFEF" | |align="center" | 6 |1973 |2003 |- | |align="center" | 4 |2000 |2009 |-bgcolor="#EFEFEF" | |align="center" | 3 |1991 |2001 |- | |align="center" | 3 |1988 |1993 |-bgcolor="#EFEFEF" | |align="center" | 2 |2002 |2006 |- | |align="center" | 1 |1974 |1974 |-bgcolor="#EFEFEF" | |align="center" | 1 |1976 |1976 |- | |align="center" | 1 |1980 |1980 |-bgcolor="#EFEFEF" | |align="center" | 1 |2005 |2005 |- | |align="center" | 1 |2010 |2010 |- |}

Consecutive titles

* All-time: 7, United States, 1920–1926

* Post-Challenge Round: 2; United States, '78–'79, '81–'82; Sweden, '84–'85, '97–'98; West Germany, '88–'89; Spain, 2008–2009

Consecutive finals appearances

* All-time: 23, Australia, 1946–1968

* Post-Challenge Round: 7, Sweden, 1983–1989

Most number of games in a tie

* All-time: 327, India 3–2 Australia, 1974 Eastern Zone final

* World Group (before tiebreak): 281, Paraguay 3–2 France, 1985 first round

* World Group (since tiebreak): 281, Romania 3–2 Ecuador, 2003 World Group play-offs

Individual

Youngest player

* Mohammed-Akhtar Hossain; Bangladesh; 13 years, 326 days¹

Oldest player

* Gadonfin Koptigan Yaka; Togo; 59 years, 147 days

Most rubbers played

* 164, Nicola Pietrangeli, Italy

Most ties played

* 78, Domenico Vicini, San Marino

Most rubbers won

* Total: 120, Nicola Pietrangeli, Italy

* Singles: 78, Nicola Pietrangeli, Italy

* Doubles: 42, Nicola Pietrangeli, Italy

¹Players must now be aged 14 and over

Current ITF rankings

''For a complete list, see ITF Rankings''

Rank !! Nation !! Points !! Previous
1		29778.13
2	|	24609.38	2 (±0)
3	|	17437.81	3 (±0)
4	|	15808.75	5 (+1)
5	|	15550.00	4 (-1)
6	|	12297.50	6 (±0)
7	|	7750.00	7 (±0)
8	|	6359.38	10 (+2)
9	|	5894.38	9 (±0)
10	|	5475.00	11 (+1)
11	|	5367.50	8 (-3)
12	|	5312.19	16 (+4)
13	|	3182.50	13 (±0)
14	|	3168.75	12 (-2)
15	|	2688.75	15 (±0)
16	|	2462.50	17 (+1)

Complete rankings

ATP points distribution

See also

Davis Cup structure

List of Davis Cup champions

International Tennis Federation

Fed Cup

Hopman Cup

References

External links

Official Davis Cup website

Davis Cup live streaming website

Category:Recurring sporting events established in 1900 Category:World championships

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Name	Juan Martín Del Potro
Nickname	''Delpo'' ''La torre de Tandil'' (Tandil's tower)
Country
Residence	Tandil, Argentina
Birth date	September 23, 1988
Birth place	Tandil, Argentina
Height
Weight
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Turnedpro	2005
Careerprizemoney	$7,531,007
2011prizemoney	US$ $737,508
Singlesrecord	177–82 (68.34%)
Singlestitles	9
Highestsinglesranking	No. 4 (January 11, 2010)
Currentsinglesranking	No. 18 (August 22, 2011)
Australianopenresult	QF (2009)
Frenchopenresult	SF (2009)
Wimbledonresult	4R (2011)
Usopenresult	W (2009)
Othertournaments	Yes
Masterscupresult	F (2009)
Doublesrecord	24–22
Doublestitles	1
Highestdoublesranking	No. 105 (May 25, 2009)
Currentdoublesranking	No. 327 (August 1, 2011)
Grandslamsdoublesresults	yes
Frenchopendoublesresult	1R (2006, 2007)
Wimbledondoublesresult	1R (2007, 2008)
Updated	February 27, 2011 }}

Juan Martín del Potro (; born 23 September 1988) is an Argentine professional tennis player. Del Potro achieved a top 10 ranking by the Association of Tennis Professionals for the first time on October 6, 2008. In January 2010, he reached a career-high ranking of World No. 4. Soon after attaining this ranking, however, del Potro had to withdraw from most of the tournaments in 2010 due to wrist injury, and his ranking plummeted.

Having started playing tennis at the age of seven, del Potro won his first senior match in 2004 at the age of 15. In 2008, he became the first player in ATP history to win his first four career titles in as many tournaments. He also completed the second longest winning streak in 2008, and the second longest by a teenager in the Open Era, behind Rafael Nadal—with his winning sequence spanning 23 matches over five tournaments. Del Potro captured his first Grand Slam title at the 2009 US Open defeating Nadal in the semifinal, and Roger Federer in the final, becoming the first and only man ever (as of June 2011) to beat both Federer and Nadal in the same Grand Slam tournament. He became the second Argentine and the fifth youngest man to win the US Open title in the Open Era.

Early life

Juan Martín del Potro was born in Tandil, Argentina. His father, Daniel del Potro, played semi-professional rugby union in Argentina and is a veterinarian. His mother, Patricia, is a teacher and he has a younger sister named Julieta. Del Potro speaks Spanish, Italian, and English. Aside from tennis, he enjoys playing football and supports the Boca Juniors team in Argentina and Juventus in Italy. He would often dedicate time to both sports during his childhood, and Argentinian-Italian international footballer Mauro Camoranesi remains a close friend of del Potro.

Del Potro began playing tennis at the age of seven with coach Marcelo Gómez (who also coached Tandil-born players Juan Mónaco, Mariano Zabaleta and Máximo González). Del Potro's talent was discovered by Italian ex-tennis professional Ugo Colombini, who accompanied him through the initial phases of his young career, and is still today his agent and close friend. When questioned about his ambitions in tennis he replied, "I dream of winning a Grand Slam and the Davis Cup."

Tennis career

2002–2005

As a junior in 2002, del Potro won the Orange Bowl 14s title, beating Marin Čilić en route to a 6–2, 7–6(5) victory over Pavel Tchekov in the final. In 2003, at the age of 14, del Potro received wild cards to three ITF Circuit events in Argentina, where he lost in straight sets in the first round of each.

In May 2004, del Potro won his first senior match, at the age of 15, at the ITF Circuit event in Buenos Aires by defeating Matias Niemiz, he then went on to lose in three sets to Sebastián Decoud in the second round. His next victory came over five months later against the Chilean Alvaro Loyola in a tournament in Antofagasta. Later that year, del Potro reached the quarter-finals of the ITF Circuit event in Campinas, Brazil; recording victories over Henrique Mello and Alessandro Camarco. Del Potro won two more matches before the end of the year and saw his world ranking rise from 1,441 in August to 1,077 in November. He also reached the finals in the Argentina Cup and Campionati Internazionali D'Italia Junior tournaments.

Del Potro reached his first final of the ITF Junior Circuit on 11 January 2005, the Copa del Cafe (Coffee Bowl) - Junior ITF Tournament in Costa Rica, which he lost to Robin Haase in three sets. He was involved in a dispute with the umpire during this match, who decided to stop the play because of rain which del Potro believed favoured Haase. Because of the rain delays, the final set had to be played indoors; this was the first time the indoor courts had been used in the 44-year history of the youth tournament.

At the age of 16, del Potro reached his first senior singles final at the Futures tournament in Berimbau Naucalpan, Mexico where he lost to Darko Madjarovski 6–3, 4–6, 4–6. He then went onto win consecutive titles at two Future ITF Circuit events in Santiago, Chile, including the 26th International Junior tournament. In the first tournament, he beat Jorge Aguilar 6–4, 7–6(6) and in the second, he did not drop a set in the whole tournament and defeated Thiago Alves 6–1, 6–1 in the final, a player ranked more than 400 places higher at the time. He won his third title in his home country by defeating Damian Patriarca, who forfeited the match, at the ITF Circuit event in Buenos Aires.

Del Potro turned professional after the Italy F17 event in Bassano and in his first professional tournament, the Lines Trophy in Reggio Emilia, he reached the semi-finals where he lost to countryman Martín Vassallo Argüello in three sets. Two tournaments later, he reached the final of the Credicard Citi MasterCard Tennis Cup in Campos do Jordão, Brazil where he lost to André Sá 4–6, 4–6. After turning 17, he won the Montevideo Challenger by defeating Boris Pašanski in the final in three sets. That same year, he failed in his first attempt to qualify for his first Grand Slam, at the US Open, losing in the first round to Paraguayan Ramón Delgado. Throughout 2005, del Potro jumped over 900 positions to finish with a world ranking of 158, largely due to winning three Futures tournaments. He was the youngest player to finish in the year-end top 200.

2006

In February, del Potro played his first ATP tour event in Viña del Mar where he defeated Albert Portas before losing to Fernando González in the second round. Later, seeded seventh, he won the Copa Club Campestre de Aguascalientes by defeating the likes of Dick Norman and Thiago Alves before beating Sergio Roitman 3–6, 6–4, 6–3 in the final.

Del Potro qualified for the main draw of his first Grand Slam in the 2006 French Open, at the age of 17. He lost in the opening round to former French Open champion and 24th seed Juan Carlos Ferrero. Having received a wild card, in July, he reached the quarter-finals of the ATP event in Umag, Croatia where he lost in three sets to the eventual champion, Stanislas Wawrinka. In Spain, he participated in the Open Castilla y León Challenger tournament held in Segovia, defeating the number one seed Fernando Verdasco in the quarter-finals and Benjamin Becker in the final.

Del Potro qualified for his first US Open in 2006 after being seeded ninth in the qualifying stages where he beat Brian Vahaly, Wayne Arthurs and Daniel Köllerer in straight sets. In the US Open, he lost in the first round to fellow qualifier Alejandro Falla of Colombia in four sets. He went on to qualify for his first ATP Masters Series tournament in Spain, the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, where he lost 4–6, 4–6 in the first round to Joachim Johansson. After receiving a wild card thanks to Roger Federer, he reached the quarter-finals of the 2006 Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel, Switzerland; defeating lucky loser Tobias Clemens in the first round and George Bastl in the second round before losing to the eventual runner-up Fernando González 7–5, 4–6, 4–6. Del Potro finished 2006 as the youngest player in Top 100 at 18 years, 2 months.

2007

Del Potro began the year by reaching his first semi-final in ATP Adelaide, Australia, where he lost to Chris Guccione 7–5, 3–6, 5–7 having beaten Igor Kunitsyn 6–2, 6–0 earlier in the day. He would then reach the second round of the Australian Open, where he had to retire because of injury in his match against eventual finalist Fernando González in the fifth set, with the score being 6–7(7), 6–4, 7–6(3), 4–6, 0–4 at the time of his retirement. In February, del Potro played for Argentina in the first round of the Davis Cup against Austria winning the fourth and definite match against Jürgen Melzer 7–6(4), 3–6, 6–4, 4–6, 6–2, allowing Argentina to qualify for the quarter-finals.

Del Potro defeated Feliciano López 6–1, 6–2 before losing to eventual semi-finalist Mardy Fish 1–6, 6–7(9) in the second round of the indoor Regions Morgan Keegan Championships. In his next ATP Masters event, he reached the second round of the Pacific Life Open, he beat Gustavo Kuerten in the first round but then lost to Richard Gasquet by a similar margin 6–7(2), 2–6. Del Potro went further in the Sony Ericsson Open, reaching the fourth round after he defeated three top 50 players; Jonas Björkman, Marcos Baghdatis, and Mikhail Youzhny before falling to Rafael Nadal 0–6, 4–6. In May, he lost in the first round of the French Open to eventual champion, Nadal 5–7, 3–6, 2–6.

In his first grass court event, del Potro beat Thomas Johansson in two sets and reached the second round at Queen's Club where he lost to Nadal. He also reached the quarter-finals in Nottingham the following week; there he beat British qualifier Jamie Baker and Kunitsyn in the first two rounds but lost to Ivo Karlović 6–7(10), 5–7 at the quarter-final stage. At his inaugural Wimbledon Championships, he defeated Davide Sanguinetti 3–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4 in the first round before losing 2–6, 5–7, 1–6 to eventual champion Roger Federer in the second round, after a rain delay in the third set.

Del Potro lost to Frank Dancevic in three sets in the second round of the singles at the ATP event in Indianapolis. At the same event, partnered with Travis Parrott in doubles, he won his first doubles tournament defeating Teymuraz Gabashvili and Karlović 2–6, 6–2, 10–6 in the final. He regards this as a special victory, "It was fantastic to play doubles with Parrott. I'm so happy because I've never won a doubles tournament. For the rest of my life, I will remember this tournament." Del Potro qualified for the ATP Masters Series event in Cincinnati, where he reached the third round. He defeated countryman Guillermo Cañas in the first round and Philipp Kohlschreiber in the second before losing 5–7, 6–3, 5–7 to former world number one Carlos Moyá. At that year's US Open, he defeated Nicolas Mahut 6–0, 6–4, 6–2 and Melzer 6–3, 6–1, 6–4 before losing to eventual finalist and third seed Novak Djokovic 1–6, 3–6, 4–6 in the third round. He also reached the third round of the Madrid Masters by beating Potito Starace 7–5, 6–1 and Tommy Robredo 6–7(4), 6–4, 6–3 before losing to eventual champion David Nalbandian in straight sets. In the last tournament of the year, the Paris Masters, he reached the second round where he lost to Nikolay Davydenko 6–7(3), 1–6. That year, del Potro was the youngest player to finish in the year-end Top 50 at 19 years, 2 months.

2008

left|thumb|Del Potro won 4 consecutive titles in 2008, with the final one coming in Washington.Del Potro's first half of the season was hampered by injuries and a change of coach, starting with a first round loss in Adelaide, where he was the seventh seed. He then made it to the second round of the Australian Open in January, only to retire against David Ferrer due to an injury when the score was 3–6, 4–6 in favour of the Spaniard. Del Potro returned to the circuit in March, winning his first match against Jesse Levine, 7–5, 6–1 at the Sony Ericsson Open before losing 4–6, 2–6 in the second round to López. Struggling with injuries, his ranking fell as low as No. 81 in April. "At the start of the year, I was playing good, but I had many injuries, many problems with my body, with my physique," said del Potro. "I changed my coach, changed my physical trainer, I changed everything."

In May, del Potro had to retire again, this time it was a first round match against Andy Murray at the Rome Masters which stood at 7–5, 4–6, 0–1 at the time of his retirement. During the second set, the Argentine allegedly made derogatory comments about Murray's mother which resulted in a complaint to the umpire. Del Potro's serve was subsequently broken three times in a row and he suffered a back injury which caused his retirement. In his second Grand Slam of the year, the French Open, he was eliminated in the second round by Simone Bolelli in four sets. In June, he reached the semi-finals of the Ordina Open, losing to eventual winner and top seed Ferrer in straight sets. For the second year in a row, he was knocked out of Wimbledon in the second round; he won his first round clash with Pavel Šnobel in straight sets but then lost 6–7(5), 3–6, 5–7 to Wawrinka.

After losing to Wawrinka, a successful summer followed for the Argentine. In July, del Potro and his team decided to remain in Europe to test his fitness. "We decided to play on clay courts for my back because if I start to play again on hard courts, maybe I will injure it again", he recalled. Del Potro won his first career ATP tour title at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, defeating Gasquet in straight sets in the final. A week later, del Potro reached his second career ATP Tour final at the Austrian Open in Kitzbühel, where he beat local hope and sixth seed Melzer 6–2, 6–1, in less than an hour, to claim his second title in two weeks. Having competed in just two clay tournaments all of the 2007 season, he never thought he would win his first two titles on clay courts.

In August, del Potro won his third consecutive title at the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles, beating Andy Roddick in 6–1, 7–6(2) in the final. After the match, Roddick praised his opponent. "[Del Potro] hits this way and this way kind of equally and he can hit it from inside out and running to it, which is a good thing for him, bad for the rest of us". A fourth consecutive title followed a week later in the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C., where he recorded a 6–3, 6–3 victory over Viktor Troicki, becoming the first player in ATP history to win his first four career titles in as many tournaments. "I don't really understand what I did. It is difficult to believe that I have won four consecutive titles", del Potro said, crediting coach Franco Davín for his impressive run. "He changed my game. He changed my mind. He changed everything. When I play and I see him in the stands, it gives me confidence. I can play relaxed."

At the 2008 US Open, del Potro progressed to the third round, where he won his first match to five sets in the circuit against Gilles Simon to reach the last 16. He went on to defeat Japanese teenager Kei Nishikori in straight sets, 6–3, 6–4, 6–3. In the quarter-finals, he was stopped by eventual finalist Murray, losing after almost four hours. The defeat came after 23 consecutive victories: the second longest winning streak in 2008 and the longest winning streak by a player outside the top 10 in the last 20 years.

Del Potro was selected to play his first home-based Davis Cup tie, between Argentina and Russia, which took place on 19–21 September. He won his first singles match against Davydenko in three sets 6–1, 6–4, 6–2. He also won the fifth and deciding match against Igor Andreev in straight sets 6–4, 6–2, 6–1, booking Argentina a place in the final.

At the AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships, he made the final by defeating number 11 seed Jarkko Nieminen, number one seed and defending champion Ferrer, and number four seed Gasquet. He was defeated by Tomáš Berdych 1–6, 4–6 in the final. At the Madrid Masters, he lost in the quarter-finals in straight sets to Federer. He reached the semi-finals of his next tournament, the Davidoff Swiss Indoors, before losing to countryman Nalbandian 4–6, 4–6. He was beaten by Nalbandian again in his next tournament, this time it was in the second round of the Paris Masters, del Potro blamed tiredness for his defeat, "It's difficult to play the last tournament of the year. I was tired, my mind was in Argentina [the venue for the Davis Cup final]". This left del Potro's qualification for the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup out of his hands; fortunately for him, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat James Blake in the semi-finals, which was enough to ensure his place at the year-end event.

Del Potro won one match at the Masters Cup, against Tsonga, but lost his other two matches against the higher ranked Djokovic and Davydenko, meaning that he exited the tournament in the round robin stage. This was his last event of the year on the ATP Tour. He went on to lose one match 6–4, 6–7(2), 6–7(4), 3–6 in the Davis Cup final, against López, as his team succumbed to a 3–1 loss against Spain. He was forced to withdraw from his second match due to a thigh injury and was replaced by José Acasuso. Nonetheless, del Potro enjoyed a successful season; winning four titles and finishing 2008 as the youngest player in the top 10, top ranked Argentine, and highest ranked South American.

2009

At the Heineken Open in Auckland, New Zealand, del Potro was the top seed for the tournament. He defeated American Sam Querrey in the final 6–4, 6–4 to win the title, the fifth of his career. Seeded eighth at the Australian Open, he beat Marin Čilić in the fourth round to become the first player to reach the quarter-finals that year. Del Potro's tournament ended in his next match when he lost in straight sets to Federer 3–6, 0–6, 0–6. At the BNP Paribas Open, the sixth seed del Potro advanced to the quarter-finals, where he was defeated by world number one Nadal. Del Potro avenged that loss the following week at the Sony Ericsson Open, where he came back from a double break down in the third set at 0–3 to defeat Nadal in the quarter-finals. This was the first time del Potro had defeated Nadal in five meetings. Despite a 1–6, 7–5, 2–6 loss in the semi-finals to Murray, del Potro reached a career-high ranking of world number five.

In the clay court season, del Potro was eliminated in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters by Ivan Ljubičić. In Rome, del Potro beat Troicki and Wawrinka to advance to the quarter-finals where he was defeated by defending champion Djokovic in straight sets, this meant del Potro's head-to-head record with the Serb was now 0–3. Del Potro then played at the 2009 Madrid Masters. After defeating Murray for the first time in the quarter-finals, he lost to Federer in the semi-finals 3–6, 4–6. At the French Open, where he was the fifth seed, del Potro defeated Michaël Llodra, Troicki, Andreev, and the number nine seed Tsonga en route to the quarter-finals. He then defeated three-time former quarter-finalist Robredo to get to his first semi-final. He was defeated in a close semi-final, where he was leading by a set twice, 6–3, 6–7(2), 6–2, 1–6, 4–6 by eventual champion Federer who, after their match, said: "[Del Potro] is young and strong, I have a lot of respect for him." Prior to this encounter, del Potro had never taken a set off Federer in their five previous career meetings.

At the 2009 Wimbledon Championships, his poor grass court form from the past continued on, as he went down to unseeded Lleyton Hewitt 3–6, 5–7, 5–7 in the second round. In the Davis Cup quarter-final against the Czech Republic, del Potro won his matches against Ivo Minář and Berdych in straight sets but Argentina still lost the tie 2–3, eliminating them from the competition. A few weeks later, he defeated Hewitt and Fernando González en route to the Washington final. He successfully defended his title against top seeded Wimbledon-finalist Roddick 3–6, 7–5, 7–6(6) to win his second tournament of the year, and become the first player since Andre Agassi to win back-to-back Washington titles. Del Potro played the following week at the Masters 1000 in Montreal, where he was seeded sixth, defeating world number two Nadal in the quarter-finals 7–6(5), 6–1, his second win in a row over Nadal. He then defeated Roddick in the semi-finals 4–6, 6–2, 7–5, saving a match point, to advance to his first Masters 1000 final, and to improve his head-to-head record against Roddick to 3–0. In the final, he lost against Murray 7–6(4), 6–7(3), 1–6. He later withdrew from the next Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati due to fatigue.

Seeded sixth at the 2009 US Open, del Potro began by defeating Mónaco and Melzer in straight sets, before dropping a set but defeating Köllerer to reach the fourth round. He defeated a resurgent Ferrero 6–3, 6–3, 6–3 to advance to the quarter-finals for the second consecutive year. Del Potro would then advance to the semi-final by defeating Čilić 4–6, 6–3, 6–2, 6–1. Del Potro was down a set and a break, before winning 17 of the final 20 games to win the match. His advance to the semi-finals ensured his return to the top five in the world rankings. He then defeated world number three and reigning Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal 6–2, 6–2, 6–2 in the semi-finals to reach his first Grand Slam final. This was his third consecutive victory over Nadal, and made him the first Argentine to reach a Grand Slam singles final since Mariano Puerta at the 2005 French Open. Del Potro went one better, rallying from a set and a break down to defeat world number one and five-time defending champion Roger Federer 3–6, 7–6(5), 4–6, 7–6(4), 6–2; his first victory over Federer after six previous defeats, and Federer's first loss in the US Open since 2003. "Since [I was] young, I dream with this and take trophy with me", said del Potro, who became the first Argentine male to win the title since Guillermo Vilas in 1977. "I did my dream, and it's unbelievable moment. It's amazing match, amazing people. Everything is perfect." After the match, Federer praised del Potro; "I thought he hung in there and gave himself chances and, in the end, was the better man."

He is the first player since countryman David Nalbandian to defeat Federer at the US Open, and at 198 cm (6 ft 6 in), he is the tallest ever Grand Slam champion. Besides Nadal, Del Potro is the only player to defeat Federer in a Grand Slam final, and the first player to defeat both Nadal and Federer in the same Grand Slam tournament.

Dick Enberg hosted the post-match ceremony during which a victorious Del Potro requested to address his fans in Spanish. Enberg declined the request saying that he was running out of time but went on to list the corporate sponsored prizes Del Potro won. A couple of minutes later, Del Potro made the same request again and only then Enberg relented saying "Very quickly, in Spanish, he wants to say hello to his friends here and in Argentina". An emotional Del Potro finally spoke a few sentences in Spanish to a cheering crowd. Many viewers expressed disappointment with Enberg and broadcaster CBS over the interview. A CBS executive later defended Enberg, noting that the contract with the United States Tennis Association required that certain sponsors receive time during the ceremony.

In his first match since the US Open, Del Potro was upset by world number 189 Édouard Roger-Vasselin in straight sets at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo. He then lost his second straight match to Melzer in the second round at the Masters 1000 event in Shanghai, retiring while trailing 5–7, 1–2. This retirement caused concerns over the length of the tennis season. He had to retire again in the Paris Masters quarterfinals when down 4–0 to Radek Štěpánek due to an abdominal injury. In November, del Potro competed in the ATP World Tour Finals where he lost his first round robin match against Andy Murray 3–6 6–3 2–6, but he managed to defeat Fernando Verdasco 6–4, 3–6, 7–6(1) in his second match to keep his hopes alive. After defeating Roger Federer 6–2, 6–7(5), 6–3 in the following match, he qualified for the semifinals, ousting Murray by the slimmest possible margin of one game. He defeated Robin Söderling in the semifinals 6–7(1), 6–3, 7–6(3), before losing to Nikolay Davydenko 3–6, 4–6 in the final. Del Potro finished 2009 as the youngest player in the top 10, top ranked Argentine, and highest ranked South American for the second consecutive year.

2010

Del Potro started his 2010 season at the AAMI Kooyong Classic in Melbourne, Australia with a 6–3, 6–3 win over Croatian world number 24 Ivan Ljubičić. On January 11, he moved up to a career high World No. 4. He was scheduled to face Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on day two of the Kooyong Classic exhibition tournament, but withdrew due to a wrist injury. He came into the 2010 Australian Open with the injury not healed, and was forced to take a month off after the event. In the fourth round, he fell to eventual semifinalist Marin Čilić 7–5, 4–6, 5–7, 7–5, 3–6.

Following the Australian Open loss, del Potro missed several tournaments including the Masters tournaments at Indian Wells and Miami which were touted as potential return dates due to the persistent wrist injury. Even though he withdrew from the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, he regained the World No. 4 ranking, due to Murray's early exit in the second round. He then withdrew from Barcelona and the Rome Masters. He was going to return the week beginning the 2nd of May. But on the 4th of May del Potro took the option of having an operation to fix the injury. He underwent operation that day. On May 19, del Potro said he will not be defending his US Open title, but if it all went well he would appear after the event, targeting the Paris Masters as a possible comeback. However on July 22 the USTA were reported stating that del Potro was expected to defend his US Open crown. The player himself confirmed that his comeback to the tour would be the Thailand Open, and said nothing about the New York event. On the 2nd of August del Potro returned to the practice courts. A week before the start of the US Open after practicing for two weeks del Potro withdrew from the event as he felt he was not ready to compete at the highest level.

After the 9 month break, Del Potro confirmed that he would make his return at the 2010 PTT Thailand Open. In his return match, he lost in the first round 6–7(7), 4–6 to Olivier Rochus. He then also played at the 2010 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships but again lost in the opening round, this time to Feliciano Lopez 3–6, 0–6.

2011

Del Potro began his 2011 season at the Medibank International as a wild card entry. In the second round, Del Potro was defeated by Florian Mayer of Germany 2–6, 5–7.

His next tournament would be the first Grand Slam of the year at the 2011 Australian Open, where Del Potro was defeated by 23rd seed Marcos Baghdatis in the second round 1–6, 3–6, 6–4, 3–6. As a result, Del Potro slipped further down the rankings to No. 485.

After the Australian Open, he participated in the SAP Open in San Jose where he was accepted into the main draw via special exemptions (SE). He reached the semifinals, after defeating Gabashvili, Lacko and Hewitt. There, he lost to the top seed Fernando Verdasco in straight sets. Del Potro's next scheduled tournament was the ATP World Tour 500 event; 2011 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup, where he was again accepted into the main draw via special exemptions. Here, he made his second consecutive ATP semi-finals by defeating 6th seed John Isner, Ivan Dodig and qualifier Michael Russell. In the semi-finals, he lost against top seed, World No. 8 and eventual champion Andy Roddick 3–6, 4–6. To continue preparing for his first ATP Masters event since 2009, Del Potro entered the 2011 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships. He defeated Richard Berankis in the first round 6–4, 6–1, Teymuraz Gabashvili in the second round 6–1, 6–1, 5th seed Kevin Anderson 6–4, 6–4 and 2nd seed Mardy Fish 6–1, 7–5 to advance to an ATP-level final stage of a tournament since 2009 at the Barclays World Tour Finals in London. In the final of this 250 tournament, he defeated an erratic Janko Tipsarević 6–4, 6–4 to get back in the winners circle.

Del Potro's next tournament was the ATP Masters at the 2011 BNP Paribas Open. He reached the semi-finals where he lost to top seeded Rafael Nadal in straight sets 6–4, 6–4. Del Potro then flew to Key Biscayne, Miami to participate in the second ATP Masters of the year at the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open. Del Potro made it to the 4th round where he played Mardy Fish and lost 5–7, 6–7(5).

He then played in 2011 Estoril Open, which was Del Potro's first tournament on clay since he lost the 2009 Roland Garros semi-final to the eventual champion Roger Federer. In Estoril, he defeated Fernando Verdasco 6–2 6–2 in the final. In his road to the final, Del Potro defeated the number 1 seeded Robin Soderling 6–4 7–5 and dropped just one set in his five matches, there. After suffering an 8-millimeter tear in his left rectus, Del Potro withdrew from Madrid and did not participate in Rome Master but has confirmed to play French Open. Del Potro lost to Novak Djokovic 6–3, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2 in the third round.

Del Potro reached the round of 16 at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships for the first time by defeating Flavio Cipolla 6–1, 6–4, 6–3 in the first round, Olivier Rochus 6–7(7), 6–1, 6–0, 6–4, and Gilles Simon 7–6(8), 7–6(5), 7–5. He then lost to world no. 1 Rafael Nadal 6–7(6), 6–3, 6–7(4), 4–6 in the fourth round. Del Potro returned to the top 20 at World no. 19 for the first time in nearly a year. His next tournament was the Farmers Classic in Los Angeles where he received a first round bye as they second seed. He defeated James Blake 6-4, 7-6, but was defeated 6-2, 6-4, by Ernests Gulbis in the Quarter-Finals. His next tournament will be the ATP 1000 Rogers Cup in Montreal Canada.

At the 2011 Rogers Cup, seeded 16 Del Potro defeated Jarkko Nieminen 6-4, 6-0 before losing 3-6, 4-6 to Marin Čilić in the second round.

At the Western&Southern; Masters tournament, Del Potro advanced to the second round with a 4-1 ret. result over Andreas Seppi before losing to Roger Federer 3-6 5-7 snapping the two match winning streak he had against his rival.

Playing style

Del Potro is primarily an offensive baseliner with a powerful serve and deep, flat/topspin groundstrokes. His forehand shot is one of his main strengths and possibly the most powerful in the game, capable of frequently generating speeds of 100 mph, and he also possesses a very consistent and powerful double-handed backhand. Del Potro's height allows him to get a powerful first serve, and makes it easier for him to return high topspin balls. Del Potro's best surfaces are hard and clay, while his game on grass has matured somewhat it is still his weakest surface.

Equipment and apparel

Del Potro briefly used the Wilson BLX Pro Tour Racquet for the 2010 season, but after returning from his wrist injury switched back to his Wilson K Factor 6.1 95 (18 X 20) and strings with Luxilon Big Banger Alu Power at 62 lb, and is sponsored by Nike. He often wore a sleeveless shirt but starting at the 2011 season has worn one with sleeves, a double-wide wristband, a bandana, Nike Zoom Breathe 2K11 shoes and a pair of woven shorts when on the court.

Career statistics

References

External links

Juan Martín del Potro at the International Tennis Federation

www.Del-Potro.com.ar Official website

Juan Curuchet Walter Pérez|years=2009|after= Luciana Aymar}}

Category:1988 births Category:Argentine male tennis players Category:Argentine people of Italian descent Category:Living people Category:People from Tandil Category:United States Open champions (tennis)

ar:خوان مارتن ديل بوترو bs:Juan Martín Del Potro bg:Хуан Мартин дел Потро ca:Juan Martín del Potro cs:Juan Martín del Potro da:Juan Martín del Potro de:Juan Martín del Potro et:Juan Martín del Potro es:Juan Martín del Potro fr:Juan Martín del Potro ko:후안 마르틴 델 포트로 hi:हुआन मार्टिन डेल पोट्रो hr:Juan Martín del Potro id:Juan Martín del Potro it:Juan Martín del Potro he:חואן מרטין דל פוטרו ka:ხუან მარტინ დელ პოტრო lv:Huans Martins del Potro lt:Juan Martín del Potro hu:Juan Martín del Potro mk:Хуан Мартин дел Потро nl:Juan Martín del Potro ja:フアン・マルティン・デル・ポトロ no:Juan Martín del Potro pl:Juan Martín del Potro pt:Juan Martín del Potro ro:Juan Martín del Potro ru:Дель Потро, Хуан Мартин scn:Juan Martin Del Potro sk:Juan Martín del Potro sr:Хуан Мартин дел Потро sh:Juan Martín del Potro fi:Juan Martín del Potro sv:Juan Martín del Potro th:ควน มาร์ติน เดล โปโตร uk:Хуан-Мартін Дель Потро vi:Juan Martín del Potro zh:胡安·馬丁·德爾波特羅

Name	Novak Đoković Новак Ђоковић |image Novak_Djokovic_Hopman_Cup_2011_(cropped).jpg|
Nickname	''Nole''''The Djoker''
Country	(2003–06) (2006–present)
Residence	Monte Carlo, Monaco
Birth date	May 22, 1987
Birth place	Belgrade, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height
Weight
Turnedpro	2003
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Careerprizemoney	$28,572,275 5th All-time leader in earnings
Singlesrecord	382–107 (78.12%)
Singlestitles	27
Highestsinglesranking	No. 1 (4 July 2011)
Currentsinglesranking	No. 1 (29 August 2011)
Australianopenresult	W (2008, 2011)
Frenchopenresult	SF (2007, 2008, 2011)
Wimbledonresult	W (2011)
Usopenresult	F (2007, 2010)
Othertournaments	Yes
Masterscupresult	W (2008)
Olympicsresult	20px Bronze Medal (2008)
Doublesrecord	30–42 (41.67%)
Doublestitles	1
Grandslamsdoublesresults	yes
Australianopendoublesresult	1R (2006, 2007)
Frenchopendoublesresult	1R (2006)
Wimbledondoublesresult	2R (2006)
Usopendoublesresult	1R (2006)
Highestdoublesranking	No. 114 (30 November 2009)
Updated	22:57, 30 August 2011 (UTC) }}

}}

Novak Djokovic ( ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player who is ranked the World No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) since 4 July 2011. He has won three Grand Slam singles titles, the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open championships and the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, becoming the first player representing Serbia to win a Grand Slam singles title and the youngest player in the open era to have reached the semi-finals of all four Grand Slam events, separately and consecutively. Amongst other major titles, he is also the winner of the 2010 Davis Cup.

He is considered the best male tennis player to ever come out of Serbia, the former Yugoslavia and the Balkans. Djokovic is also a double winner of The Best Sportperson of Serbia award and the award for The Best Sportsman by the Olympic Committee of Serbia. He has been awarded with the Order of St. Sava, the highest decoration of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Djokovic is a UNICEF National Ambassador for Serbia.

Biography

Novak Djokovic was born 22 May 1987, in Belgrade, Serbia, to father Srđan and mother, Dijana. His two younger brothers, Marko and Djordje, are also tennis players with professional aspirations. Since the end of 2005, Novak has been dating Jelena Ristić.

He started playing tennis at the age of four. In the summer 1993, the six-year-old got spotted by Yugoslav tennis legend Jelena Genčić at Mount Kopaonik where Djokovic's parents ran a fast-food parlour. Upon seeing the dedicated and talented youngster in action she stated: "This is the greatest talent I have seen since Monica Seles." Genčić worked with young Djokovic over the following six years before realizing that, due to his rapid development, going abroad in search of increased level of competition is the best option for his future. To that end she contacted Nikola Pilić and in September 1999, the 12-year-old moved to Pilić tennis academy in Oberschleißheim, Germany, spending three months there. At age 14, his international career began, winning European championships in singles, doubles, and team competition.

He resides in Monte Carlo, Monaco and has been coached since 2006 by a former Slovak tennis player, Marián Vajda.

Djokovic is known for his often humorous off-court impersonations of his fellow players, many of whom are his friends. This became evident to the tennis world after his 2007 US Open quarterfinal win over Carlos Moyà, where he entertained the audience with impersonations of Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova. He also did an impression of American tennis great John McEnroe after his final preliminary game at the 2009 US Open, before playing a brief game with McEnroe, much to the delight of the audience. It is because of this jovial personality that he earned the nickname "Djoker", a portmanteau of his surname and the word joker. Novak Djokovic is a member of the "Champions for Peace" club, a group of famous elite athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by Peace and Sport, a Monaco-based international organization.

Similar to fellow pro Roger Federer, Djokovic is a self described fan of languages, speaking four himself: his native Serbian, English, German, and Italian.

Tennis career

Early career

As a member of the FR Yugoslavia national team he reached the finals of 2001 Junior Davis Cup for players under 14, in which he lost his match in singles.

In the beginning of his professional career, Djokovic mainly played in Futures and Challenger tournaments, winning three of each type from 2003 to 2005. His first tour level tournament was Umag in 2004, where he faced Filippo Volandri in the Round of 32, and lost 6–7, 1–6. He made his first Grand Slam appearance by qualifying for the 2005 Australian Open where he met Marat Safin, as his first round opponent which he lost 6–0, 6–2, 6–1. Safin went on to win the tournament.

2006

The possibility for their entire 5-person family to move from Serbia to live in Britain involved immense dedication. All the rumours did not affect Djokovic's play. He soon reached the top 40 world ranking due to a quarterfinal appearance at the French Open, and a fourth round appearance at Wimbledon.

Three weeks after Wimbledon, he won his maiden title at the Dutch Open in Amersfoort without losing a set, defeating Nicolás Massú in the final. Djokovic won his second career title at the Open de Moselle in Metz, and moved into the top 20 for the first time in his career.

2007

Djokovic began the year by winning the tournament in Adelaide, defeating Australian Chris Guccione in the final, before losing in the fourth round of the Australian Open to eventual champion Roger Federer in straight sets. His performances at the Masters Series events in Indian Wells, California and Key Biscayne, Florida, where he was the runner-up and champion respectively, pushed him into the world's top ten. Djokovic lost the Indian Wells final to Rafael Nadal, but defeated Nadal in Key Biscayne in the quarterfinals before defeating Guillermo Cañas for the title in the finals.

Right after his first master series title he went back home to contribute for his country's attempt to get into the World Group of the Davis Cup competition. Serbia faced off the Republic of Georgia and Djokovic brought a point by defeating Georgia's George Chanturia. This was a tournament where he prepared for the later clay court season. Djokovic played in the Masters Series Monte Carlo Open, where he was defeated by David Ferrer in the third round, and in the Estoril Open, where he defeated Richard Gasquet in the final. Djokovic then reached the quarter-finals of both the Internazionali d'Italia in Rome and the Masters Series Hamburg but lost to Nadal and Carlos Moyà respectively. At the French Open, Djokovic reached his first Grand Slam semifinal, losing to eventual champion Nadal.

During Wimbledon, Djokovic won a five-hour quarterfinal against Marcos Baghdatis 7–6, 7–6, 6–7, 4–6, 7–5. In his semifinal match against Nadal, he was forced to retire with back and foot problems.

thumb|left|Djokovic at [[2007 US Open (tennis)|2007 US Open]]Djokovic went on to win the Masters Series Rogers Cup in Montreal. He defeated World No. 3 Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals, World No. 2 Nadal in the semifinals, and World No. 1 Federer in the final. This was the first time a player had defeated the top three ranked players in one tournament since Boris Becker in 1994. Djokovic was also only the second player, after Tomáš Berdych, to have defeated both Federer and Nadal since they became the top two players in the world. After this tournament, Björn Borg stated that Djokovic "is definitely a contender to win a Grand Slam (tournament)." However, the following week at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio, Djokovic lost in the second round to Moyà in straight sets. Djokovic nevertheless reached the final of the US Open. Djokovic had five set points in the first set and two in the second set but lost them all before losing the final to top-seeded Federer in straight sets. During the 2007 tournament, Djokovic emerged as a fan favorite with his on-court impressions of other players including Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, and Maria Sharapova.

Djokovic won his fifth title of the year at the BA-CA TennisTrophy in Vienna, defeating Stanislas Wawrinka in the final. His next tournament was the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid, where he lost to David Nalbandian in the semifinals 6–4, 7–6. Djokovic, assured of finishing the year as World No. 3, qualified for the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup but did not advance beyond the round robin matches.

He received a golden badge, award for the best athlete in Serbia and Olympic Committee of Serbia has declared for the best sportsman.

2008

Djokovic started the year by playing the Hopman Cup along with fellow Serbian World No. 3 Jelena Janković. He won all his round-robin matches and the team, seeded first, reached the final. They lost 2–1 to the second-seeded American team consisting of Serena Williams and Mardy Fish.

At the Australian Open, Djokovic reached the final without dropping a set, including a victory over two-time defending champion Roger Federer in the semifinals, to reach his second Grand Slam final in a row; by reaching the semifinals, Djokovic became the youngest player to have reached the semifinals in all four grand slams. In the final, Djokovic then defeated unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to earn his and Serbia's first ever Grand Slam singles title in four sets, 4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–6. This marked the first time since the 2005 Australian Open that a Grand Slam singles title was not won by Federer or Nadal.

Djokovic's next result was at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, lost in the semi-finals to Andy Roddick.

At the Masters Series Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, Djokovic won his ninth career singles title, defeating American Mardy Fish in the three-set final.

Djokovic won his tenth career singles title and fourth Master Series singles crown at the Internazionali d'Italia in Rome. The following week at the Hamburg Masters, Djokovic lost to Nadal in the semi-finals. At the French Open in Paris, Djokovic was the third-seeded player behind Federer and Nadal. Djokovic lost to Nadal in the semifinals in straight sets.

On grass, Djokovic once again played Nadal, this time in the Artois Championships final in Queen's Club, London, losing 7–6, 7–5. At Wimbledon, Djokovic was the third seeded player; however, he lost in the second round to Marat Safin; this ended a streak of five consecutive grand slams where he had reached at least the semifinals. Djokovic then failed to defend his 2007 singles title at the Masters Series Rogers Cup in Toronto. He was eliminated in the quarter-finals by eighth-seeded Andy Murray 6–3, 7–6. The following week at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio, Djokovic advanced to the final beating Nadal. In the final, he again lost to Murray in straight sets.

His next tournament was the Beijing Olympics, his first Summer Olympics. He and Nenad Zimonjić, seeded second in men's doubles, were eliminated in the first round by the Czech pairing of Martin Damm and Pavel Vízner. Seeded third in singles, Djokovic lost in the semifinals to Nadal, 6–4, 1–6, 6–4. Djokovic then defeated James Blake, the loser of the other semi-final, in the bronze medal match 6–3, 7–6.

After the Olympics, Djokovic entered the US Open as the third seed. Djokovic took several injury breaks during matches in the tournament prompting a quip from Andy Roddick that the Serb has "16 injuries" including SARS, bird flu, and the common cold. He defeated Roddick in the quarterfinals, and in the post-match interview expressed disapproval with Roddick's comments, eliciting boos from the New York crowd. His run at the US Open ended in the semifinals when he lost to Federer 6–3, 5–7, 7–5, 6–2 in a rematch of the 2007 US Open final.

Djokovic played four tournaments after the US Open. In a rematch of the 2008 Australian Open final, he lost in the final of the Thailand Open to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets. In November, Djokovic was the second seed at the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai due to Nadal being unable to participate. In his first round robin match, he defeated Argentine Juan Martín del Potro in straight sets. He then beat Nikolay Davydenko in three sets before losing his final round robin match against Tsonga 1–6, 7–5, 6–1. Djokovic qualified for the semi-finals, where he defeated Gilles Simon 4–6, 6–3, 7–5. In the final, Djokovic defeated Davydenko again to win his first ever Tennis Masters Cup title.

2009

Djokovic started the year at the Brisbane International in Brisbane, Australia, where he was upset by Ernests Gulbis in the first round. At the Medibank International in Sydney, he lost to Jarkko Nieminen in the semi-finals. Djokovic would have risen to World No. 2 had he won the match.

As defending champion at the Australian Open, Djokovic retired from his quarterfinal match with former World No. 1 Andy Roddick while he was trailing in the fourth set 6–7, 6–4, 6–2, 2–1, due to heat exhaustion, muscle cramps, and soreness. His retirement drew criticism from several players remaining in the tournament, including Roger Federer.

After losing in the semi-finals of the Open 13 tournament in Marseille to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Djokovic won the singles title at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, defeating David Ferrer to claim his twelfth career title. The following week, Djokovic was the defending champion at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, but lost to Roddick in the quarter-finals 6–3, 6–2. At the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, another ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, Djokovic beat Federer in the semi-finals 3–6, 6–2, 6–3 before losing to Andy Murray in the final. Djokovic reached the final of the next ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on clay, losing to Rafael Nadal in the final. At the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, another ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, Djokovic was the defending champion, but again lost in the final after defeating Federer. This loss caused Djokovic's ranking to drop to World No. 4 on 11 May, ending 91 consecutive weeks at the number 3 ranking.

Djokovic was the top seed at his hometown tournament, the Serbia Open in Belgrade. He defeated first-time finalist Łukasz Kubot to win his second title of the year. As third seed at the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open, Djokovic advanced to the semi-finals without dropping a set. There he faced Nadal for the third time in five weeks and, despite holding three match points, lost 3–6, 7–6^(7–5), 7–6^(11–9). The match, at 4 hours and 3 minutes, is the longest three-set singles match on the ATP World Tour in the Open Era. At the French Open, he lost in the third round to German Philipp Kohlschreiber 6–4, 6–4, 6–4.

Djokovic began his grass court season at the Gerry Weber Open where, after the withdrawal of Federer, he competed as the top seed. He advanced to the final, where he lost to German Tommy Haas. Djokovic also lost to Haas in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon 7–5, 7–6, 4–6, 6–3.

During the US Open Series, Djokovic made the quarter-finals of the Rogers Cup in Montreal before losing to Andy Roddick 6–4, 7–6. The loss was his third of the year to Roddick. At the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Djokovic defeated World No. 3 Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals, 6–1, 6–4, to reach his second consecutive final at the event. He lost in the final to World No. 1 Roger Federer 6–1, 7–5.

At the 2009 US Open, Djokovic made the semi-finals having dropping only two sets, defeating the likes of Ivan Ljubičić, 15th seed Radek Štěpánek and 10th seed Fernando Verdasco en route. He also won back the support of many from the American crowd (who had turned against him following his comments about Roddick in the 2008 US Open) with his off-court antics, including a lighthearted exhibition against John McEnroe after his victory over Stepanek. He lost however to Roger Federer in the semis in a hard fought encounter, 7–6, 7–5, 7–5.

Djokovic then took part at the China Open in Beijing. He defeated Victor Hănescu, Viktor Troicki, Fernando Verdasco and Robin Söderling en route to the final, where he defeated Marin Čilić in straight sets, 6–2, 7–6 to win his third title of the year. Djokovic regained the World No. 3 ranking on 19 October, as a result of his performance at this tournament, and Andy Murray's withdrawal from the 2009 Shanghai Masters. At the inaugural Shanghai ATP Masters 1000, Djokovic lost in the semi-finals to sixth seed and eventual champion Nikolay Davydenko 6–4, 4–6, 6–7 in just over 3 hours.

At the Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel, Djokovic recorded his first career double bagel, defeating Jan Hernych 6–0, 6–0, to make it to the quarter-finals. He then recovered from a set and break deficit to defeat Stanislas Wawrinka in the quarter-finals, 3–6, 7–6, 6–2. In the semi-finals, he saved three match points to defeat Radek Štěpánek 6–7, 7–5, 6–2. In the final, he defeated home favourite and three-time defending champion Roger Federer 6–4, 4–6, 6–2 to win his fourth title of the year. With this win, Djokovic remained a perfect 15–0 at ATP World 500 tournaments in 2009.

At the last Masters 1000 event of the year at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, Djokovic finally won his first Masters 1000 title of the year. He defeated Rafael Nadal 6–2, 6–3, in the semi-finals in 77 minutes hitting 31 winners en route. In the final, Djokovic held off several comebacks in the match from Gaël Monfils, eventually prevailing, 6–2, 5–7, 7–6.

Coming into the year ending ATP World Tour Finals in London as the defending champion, Djokovic defeated Nikolay Davydenko in his first round robin match, 3–6, 6–4, 7–5, extending his winning streak to 11 matches. His run was ended however in his second match, where a weary looking Djokovic lost to the first time in 6 career meetings to Robin Söderling 7–6, 6–1. Despite victory over Rafael Nadal 7–6, 6–3, in his final match, Djokovic failed to make the semi-finals due to his percentage of sets won being inferior to that of Davydenko in a three way tie between Söderling, Davydenko and Djokovic (all three having finished the round robin stage with a 2–1 win-loss record).

Djokovic ended the year as the World No. 3 for the third consecutive year. Djokovic played 97 matches throughout the year, the most of any player on the ATP World Tour, with a 78–19 win-loss record. In addition to leading the ATP World Tour in match wins, he reached a career best 10 finals, winning 5 titles.

2010

Djokovic started his year by playing in the Kooyong Classic, an exhibition event. In his first match, he defeated Tommy Haas but lost to Fernando Verdasco in his second. Djokovic participated in an exhibition match against Australia's World No. 291 Bernard Tomic in which he lost.

At the Australian Open, Djokovic was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in five sets, 6–7, 7–6, 6–1, 3–6, 1–6, struggling with illness both before the match and from the fourth set onwards. Despite the loss, Djokovic attained a career-high ranking of World No. 2.

He reached the semis of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, losing to Mikhail Youzhny 6–7, 6–7, despite having set points in the second set tiebreak. At the Dubai Tennis Championships in U.A.E., Djokovic reached his second consecutive final at this event after beating all his opponents in 3 sets from the first round onwards. In the final, he defeated Russian Mikhail Youzhny winning, 7–5, 5–7, 6–3 to win his first title of the year. This was the first time in his career that Djokovic had defended a title.

He then took part in Serbia's Davis Cup tie against the USA on clay in Belgrade. He helped Serbia reach their first quarter-final in the Davis Cup 3–2 victory, defeating Sam Querrey in four sets, and John Isner in five sets.

Djokovic then took part in the first Masters 1000 events of the year in North America. At the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, he lost in the fourth round to the eventual champion Ivan Ljubičić 5–7, 3–6. At the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, he suffered a shock loss, losing his opening match to Olivier Rochus 2–6, 7–6, 4–6. This was his first opening round defeat since losing to Fabrice Santoro at the 2007 BNP Paribas Masters. Djokovic then announced that he had ceased working with Todd Martin as his coach. He admitted that Martin had attempted to have him change his service motion, a tweaking of technique which caused him to routinely produce a high number of double faults in his matches and significantly reduced the threat on serve.

In his first clay-court tournament of the year at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, top seeded Djokovic reached the semi-finals with wins over Stanislas Wawrinka and in form David Nalbandian. There, he lost for the first time in his last five meetings to Fernando Verdasco, 2–6, 2–6. Djokovic again lost to Verdasco at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, this time in the quarter-finals, 6–7, 6–3, 4–6. Djokovic later said that his recent form had been hindered by allergies for the last two months.

As the defending champion at his hometown event, the Serbia Open in Belgrade, he withdrew in the quarter-finals while trailing 4–6 to the World No. 330, Filip Krajinović. He later announced his withdrawal from the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open because of illness.

Djokovic entered the 2010 French Open seeded third. He defeated Evgeny Korolev, Kei Nishikori, Victor Hănescu and Robby Ginepri en route to the quarterfinals, where he lost to Jürgen Melzer in five sets 3–6, 2–6, 6–2, 7–6, 6–4. With Melzer serving for the match at 5–4 in the fifth set, Djokovic hit a cross-court forehand that would have given him a love–30 lead on the point. A late call confirmed by umpire Carlos Bernardes ruled it out, a call which Djokovic contested with Bernardes. Djokovic lost the point and the match. Later Hawk-Eye examination showed that Djokovic had been correct and the ball had indeed been in; it was the first time that Djokovic had lost a Grand Slam singles match after winning the first two sets.

Djokovic once again entered the 2010 Wimbledon Championships as third seed, he defeated Olivier Rochus, Taylor Dent, Alberto Montanes, Lleyton Hewitt, and Yen-Hsu Lu en route to the semi-finals, where he lost to Tomáš Berdych in straight sets, 6–3 7–6 6–3.

Djokovic then competed at the Rogers Cup in Toronto where he faced Roger Federer in the semifinals losing 6–1, 3–6, 7–5. Djokovic also competed in the doubles with Rafael Nadal in a one-time, high profile partnership. That was first time, after 1976. when Jimmy Connors and Arthur Ashe as World No.1 and No.2 paired up making a double dream team. However, they lost in the first round to Canadians Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil. Djokovic lost in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati to Andy Roddick. As the third seed at the US Open, Djokovic was very close to losing in the opening round, rallying from being down two sets to one down, a break in the fourth set and several break points which would have put him down two breaks in the fourth set to beat countryman Viktor Troicki in the midst of extreme heat. Djokovic eventually won 6–3, 3–6, 2–6, 7–5, 6–3. He would then defeat Philipp Petzschner, Americans James Blake and Mardy Fish, and number 17 seed Gaël Monfils all in straight sets to reach the US Open semifinals for the fourth consecutive year. In the semifinals, he faced Roger Federer, to whom he had lost the 2007 final and 2008 and 2009 semifinals. Very close to losing, Djokovic rallied to win 5–7, 6–1, 5–7, 6–2, 7–5, saving two match points at 5–4 down on his serve in the final set. The win ended a streak of four consecutive losses in Grand Slam semifinals. It was also Djokovic's first victory over Federer at the US Open in four attempts, and his first victory over Federer in a Grand Slam since the 2008 Australian Open. It also made him one of only two players to hold more than one victory over Federer in Grand Slam tournaments since Federer first became World number one (the other being Nadal). Djokovic lost to Nadal 4–6, 7–5, 4–6, 2–6 in the final, a match that saw Nadal complete his career Grand Slam.

After helping Serbia defeat the Czech Republic 3–2 to make it to the Davis Cup final, Djokovic competed at the China Open as the top seed and defending champion. He won the title for the second successive year, after defeating Maoxin Gong, Mardy Fish (the American withdrew so this win is considered a "walkover"), Gilles Simon and John Isner en route to the final. Djokovic then defeated the eighth seeded Spaniard, David Ferrer in the final 6–2, 6–4.

At the Shanghai Masters, Djokovic made a semi-final appearance losing to Roger Federer 4–6, 5–7.

Djokovic played his final tournament of the year at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London. Djokovic was placed in Group A along with Rafael Nadal, Tomáš Berdych and Andy Roddick. Djokovic won his first round robin match against Berdych 6–3, 6–3. He next faced Nadal where he fell in straight sets 5–7, 2–6. Djokovic stated after the match he could barely see out of his right eye and at 4–4 in the first set Djokovic had to change his contact lenses. Throughout the match, Djokovic used three different types of contact lenses in the match to try to settle the problem. He defeated Roddick 6–2, 6–3 in his final round robin match and was safely through to the semi-finals, finishing second in the group to set up a mouth-watering clash with Roger Federer. He lost to eventual champion Federer 1–6, 4–6. Djokovic later went on win two of his singles rubbers in Serbia's Davis Cup finals victory over France; starting his unbeaten run that went on through 2011, and which was broken also by Federer on the French Open of the next year. Djokovic finished the year ranked World No. 3, his fourth successive finish at this position.

He was awarded the title "Serbian Sportsman of the year" by the Olympic Committee of Serbia and "Serbian Athlete of the year" by DSL Sport.

2011

In 2011, Djokovic started in the Australian exhibition Hopman Cup, where he did not lose a match. Djokovic then moved on to the first Grand Slam of the year at the 2011 Australian Open, where he was seeded third behind Rafael Nadal and defending champion Roger Federer. He started off his Australian Open campaign by beating Marcel Granollers in the first round 6–1, 6–3, 6–1 and then moved on to play Ivan Dodig, defeating him in four sets 7–5, 6–7, 6–0, 6–2. His Davis Cup teammate and close friend Viktor Troicki retired in the third round due to injury, with Djokovic leading 6–2. In the fourth round he swiftly defeated Nicolas Almagro of Spain again winning in straight sets 6–3, 6–4, 6–0. In the quarter-finals, he avenged his loss to Tomáš Berdych at the Wimbledon by winning 6–1, 7–6, 6–1. He then beat defending champion Roger Federer in straight sets 7–6, 7–5, 6–4 to reach the final, where he defeated Andy Murray 6–4, 6–2, 6–3 for his second Australian Open championship and second grand slam.

Djokovic's next tournament was at the ATP World Tour 500 2011 Dubai Tennis Championships in UAE, where he was seeded second. He was the two-time defending champion and favourite for the title alongside the first seed Roger Federer. He dismissed Michaël Llodra in a lopsided first round encounter, winning 6–3, 6–3. He reached the final after then beating Lopez, Mayer and Berdych (who retired). In the final he beat Federer in two surprisingly lopsided sets 6–3, 6–3 to complete his hattrick of titles (in other words, winning the tournament three consecutive times) in Dubai.

Djokovic then played in 2011 BNP Paribas Open, the first ATP Masters of the season, as the third seed. He advanced to the final by beating Roger Federer in the semifinals 6–3, 3–6, 6–2 to set up a clash with World No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the final. Djokovic continued his fine winning form by claiming the Indian Wells title, beating Nadal 4–6, 6–3, 6–2 in the final and extending his winning streak since the ATP World Tour Finals to 20 consecutive matches.

By defeating Federer in the semi-finals, his ranking rose to World No. 2 on 21 March 2011. Consequently, he was seeded second in the second ATP Masters tournament of the year at the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Miami. Djokovic then succeeded to reach his fourth consecutive final of the year, losing only eighteen games en route where he beat Denis Istomin 6–0, 6–1, James Blake 6–2, 6–0, Viktor Troicki 6–3, 6–2, Kevin Anderson 6–4, 6–2, and Mardy Fish 6–3, 6–1. In the final, Djokovic beat Nadal 4–6, 6–3, 7–6 in a match that lasted three hours and 21 minutes. By this victory, Djokovic extended his winning streak to 26 consecutive matches and has yet to lose a singles match in the season. He is also the first player to win the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami Masters triple, since Roger Federer succeeded in 2006.

Djokovic then withdrew from the 2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters citing a knee injury. Consequently, he opened his clay court season on home soil at the 2011 Serbia Open in Belgrade. As the first seed, he receives a bye into the second round, where he defeated Adrian Ungur 6–2, 6–3 to open up his clay campaign. In the quarter-final, he defeated Blaž Kavčič 6–3, 6–2. With the withdrawal of Janko Tipsarević in the semi-finals, Djokovic reached his fifth consecutive final where he beat Feliciano Lopez 7–6, 6–2, in just over two hours. This brought his winning streak to 29 (and 27 from the beginning of this season).

His next tournament was the fourth ATP Masters of the year, the 2011 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open. As the second seed, he received a bye into the second round where he defeated Kevin Anderson 6–3, 6–4. In the third round, he demolished Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6–1, 6–2 winning 100% of points on his first serve. In the quarter-finals, Djokovic toughed it out against World No. 6 David Ferrer of Spain by winning 6–4, 4–6, 6–3. This win allowed Djokovic to surpass Ivan Lendl's record of 29–0 from the beginning of the season. He then defeated an in-form Thomaz Bellucci 4–6, 6–4, 6–1 in the semifinals to set up a final clash with World No. 1 Rafael Nadal. He then beat Nadal in straight sets 7–5, 6–4, extending his win streak to 34 (and 32 from the beginning of the season). He continued his winning streak in Rome Masters, 2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia by beating Lukasz Kubot, Stanislas Wawrinka and Robin Söderling without dropping a set. In the semis, he beat Andy Murray 6–1, 3–6, 7–6, in a thrilling match that Tennis Channel commentator Robbie Koenig said was the best of the year. He defeated Rafael Nadal in the final for the fourth consecutive time in 2011, to extend his winning streak to 39 (and 37 from the beginning of the season).

In the French Open, Djokovic was seeded number two after Nadal. He defeated Thiemo de Bakker, Victor Hanescu, Juan Martin del Potro and Richard Gasquet dropping only one set to reach the quarterfinals. Djokovic was due to play against Fabio Fognini of Italy, but his opponent withdrew from the competition, giving Djokovic a walkover (not an official victory). Djokovic's winning streak ended in the semifinals at 43 matches (41 occurring in 2011), with a four-set loss to Roger Federer, 6–7, 3–6, 6–3, 6–7.

At the 2011 Wimbledon Championships he defeated Jeremy Chardy, Kevin Anderson, Marcos Baghdatis, Michaël Llodra and Bernard Tomic to reach his fifth consecutive Grand Slam semifinal. He defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in four sets to make his first appearance in the final. By reaching the final, Djokovic ensured that he would become the World No. 1 for the first time in his career at the tournament's end, even if Nadal won the championship. Djokovic then defeated Nadal in four sets, 6–4, 6–1, 1–6, 6–3, to win his first Wimbledon title and third grand slam singles title overall. It was Djokovic's fifth consecutive win over Nadal, all of them in finals, and it was his first victory over Nadal in a Grand Slam tournament after six attempts.

At the 2011 Rogers Cup Djokovic was seeded as number one. He managed to defeat Nikolay Davydenko in his first game of the tournament which was, also, his first competitive match since his Wimbledon triumph. He met Marin Cilic in the next round and won to mark his 50th victory of the season. With a remarkable performance in the quarter-final, he beat Gaël Monfils 6–2, 6–1, then made the final after beating the other French player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the semis. He defeated Mardy Fish in the final to win his 10th ATP Masters title and became the first player to win five of them in a single season. He also became the first player since Pete Sampras (in 1993) to capture an ATP tournament in a debut as the top ranked player in the world. The next week he began his run into the Western & Southern Open well, beating the 19 year old American Ryan Harrison 6–2, 6–3. In the third round he defeated Radek Stepanek 6–3, 6–3. In a highly-contested quarterfinal match, Djokovic beat Gael Monfils 3–6, 6–4, 6–3. He faced Tomas Berdych in the semifinal. Djokovic won the first set 7–5 after being down a break, and won the match immediately thereafter when Berdych retired with a shoulder injury. In his sixth Masters 1000 final of the year, he suffered only his second loss of the season to Andy Murray, where he had to retire after trailing 4–6, 0–3 due to fatigue and a shoulder injury. This brings his season record to 57–2.

Davis Cup

In 2006, Djokovic got the decisive win on 9 April, against Great Britain by defeating Greg Rusedski in four sets in the fourth match, giving his team an insurmountable 3–1 lead in their best of 5 series, thus keeping Serbia and Montenegro in the Group One Euro/African Zone of Davis Cup. Following this match-up a lot of media buzz appeared about Djokovic's camp negotiating with the Lawn Tennis Association about changing his international loyalty by joining British tennis ranks. Nineteen-year-old Djokovic, who was No.63 on the ATP list at the time, mostly dismissed the story at first by saying that the talks were not serious, describing them as "the British being very kind to us after the Davis Cup". However, more than three years later, in October 2009, Djokovic confirmed that the talks between his family and the LTA throughout April and May 2006, were indeed serious:

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By winning all three of his matches, Djokovic played a key role in the 2007 play-off win over Australia, promoting Serbia to World Group in 2008. In Serbia's tie against Russia in early 2008, in Moscow, Djokovic was sidelined due to influenza and was forced to miss his first singles match. He returned to win his doubles match, teaming with Nenad Zimonjić, before being forced to retire during his singles match with Nikolay Davydenko. Djokovic also had a big role in promoting Serbia to the 2009 World Group. On 6–8 March 2010, he played the key role in bringing Serbia to World Group quarterfinals for the first time in its independent history, winning both singles matches in the home tie against United States (against Sam Querrey and John Isner). Later, Serbia progressed to the Davis Cup final, following the victories over Croatia (4–1) and Czech Republic (3–2). Serbia came from 1–2 down to defeat France in the final tie 3–2 in Belgrade to win the nation's first Davis Cup Championship. In the final, Djokovic scored two singles points for Serbia, defeating Gilles Simon and Gaël Monfils. He was the backbone of the Serbian squad, going 7–0 in singles rubbers to lead the nation to the title, although the honour of winning the deciding rubber in the final went to compatriot Viktor Troicki.

Rivalries

Djokovic-Nadal rivalry

Djokovic and Nadal have met 28 times with Nadal having a 16–12 advantage. Nadal leads on grass 2–1 and clay 9–2, but Djokovic leads on hard courts 9–5. This rivalry is listed as the third greatest rivalry in the last decade by ATPworldtour.com and is considered by many to be the emerging rivalry . Djokovic is the only player to have at least ten match wins against Nadal and the only person to defeat Nadal four or more times consecutively and consecutively on clay. The two share the record for the longest match played in a best of three sets, at the 2009 Madrid Open. In their most recent encounter, the 2011 Wimbledon final, Djokovic won in four sets (6–4, 6–1, 1–6, 6–3), which was his first victory over Nadal in a Grand Slam in his sixth attempt. By doing so, he became the only person other than Federer to defeat Nadal in a Grand Slam final. This rivalry is part of the "Trivalry" (a term coined by American sportscaster Mary Carillo) which includes the rivalries between the top three in tennis (Federer, Nadal, Djokovic).

Djokovic-Federer rivalry

Djokovic and Federer have met 23 times, with Federer leading 14–9. Federer leads on all surfaces the two have played on (they have never met on grass). Djokovic is the only player other than Nadal who has defeated Federer in consecutive grand slam matches. Federer ended Djokovic's 41-match winning start to the 2011 season at the 2011 French Open semifinals. Djokovic played Federer in his first Grand Slam finals match losing to Roger in three tough sets in 2007. He followed that with a straight sets win over Federer in the Australian Open in 2008 becoming the first player to defeat Federer in straight sets since he became number one in 2004. Djokovic has the second-most wins against Federer (after Nadal). The two have always played excellent matches and the 2010 US Open semifinals and the 2011 French Open semifinals are regarded as classics and one of the best matches in history.

Djokovic-Murray rivalry

Djokovic and Murray have met 10 times with Djokovic leading 6–4. Djokovic leads 2–0 on clay and tied 4–4 on hard courts. The two went to training camp together, and Murray won the first match they ever played as teenagers. Their most important match was the 2011 Australian Open final, in which Djokovic won comfortably in straight sets. Murray won his first ATP Masters 1000 title of 2011 at Cincinnati (his second Masters 1000 title won at Cincinnati, the other being in 2008 where he also defeated Djokovic in the final) after Djokovic retired from the match trailing by one set.

Playing style, equipment and diet

Djokovic is an all-court player with emphasis on aggressive baseline play. His groundstrokes from both wings are consistent, deep, and penetrating. His backhand is widely regarded as one of the best in today's game. His best weapon is his backhand down the line, with great pace and precision. He is also known as one of the greatest movers on the court with superior agility, court coverage and defensive ability. After great technical difficulties during the 2009 season, his serve is one of his major weapons again, winning him many free points; his first serve is typically hit flat, while he prefers to slice and kick his second serves wide. Darren Cahill has stated that Djokovic, along with David Ferrer, is the best returner of serve in the men's game. Occasionally, Djokovic employs excessive ball-bouncing before serves – much to the chagrin of some of his opponents – as well as a well-disguised backhand underspin drop shot and sliced backhand. While his ball-bouncing habit has vastly decreased over the last year, his drop shots still tend to be a drawback when hit under pressure and without proper preparation.

Djokovic used Head rackets, utilizing a custom paint job of the Head YouTek Speed Pro racquet, after using Wilson until the end of 2008. In the 2011 Australian Open, he began using a custom PJ of the Head YouTek IG Speed MP 18/20 with Innegra fibre technology. Djokovic uses a full bed of X-One Biphase 17 (a multifilament). At the end of 2009, Djokovic signed a 10-year deal with the Italian clothing company Sergio Tacchini after Adidas refused to extend his clothing contract (choosing instead to sign Andy Murray). From 2011 Djokovic begun to wear custom Red and Blue Adidas Barricade 6.0's shoes, referring to the colours of the Serbian national flag.

From fall 2005 until June 2006, Djokovic was coached by Riccardo Piatti who divided his time between the 18-year-old and Ivan Ljubičić. Player and coach reportedly parted ways over the latter's refusal to devote to Djokovic full time.

Since June 2006, Djokovic has been coached by Slovakian former professional tennis player Marián Vajda. They met for the first time during that year's French Open, after which Vajda got hired to be the 19-year-old's coach. On occasion Djokovic employed additional coaches on part-time basis: in 2007, during the spring hardcourt season, he worked with Australian doubles ace Mark Woodforde with specific emphasis on volleys and net play while from August 2009 until April 2010 American Todd Martin joined the coaching team, a period marked by his ill-fated attempt to change Djokovic's serve motion.

In 2010, the latest addition to Djokovic's team, nutritionist Igor Četojević discovered the tennis player suffers from Celiac Disease and cannot eat gluten, purging it from his diet. Djokovic started the 2011 season strong, with the dietary change being given credit amongst observers.

Grand Slam tournaments

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline

''To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through the 2011 Wimbledon.''

{|class=wikitable style=text-align:center;font-size:98% !Tournament!!2003!!2004!!2005!!2006!!2007!!2008!!2009!!2010!!2011!!width=50|SR!!width=50|W–L!!width=50|Win % |- |colspan=13 align=left|'''Grand Slam Tournaments |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|Australian Open |A |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|4R |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=#ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=#ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=#efefef|2 / 7 |bgcolor=#efefef|25–5 |bgcolor=#efefef|83.33 |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|French Open |A |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=yellow|SF |bgcolor=yellow|SF |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=yellow|SF |bgcolor=#efefef|0 / 7 |bgcolor=#efefef|25–7 |bgcolor=#efefef|78.12 |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|Wimbledon |A |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|4R |bgcolor=yellow|SF |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=yellow|SF |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=#efefef|1 / 7 |bgcolor=#efefef|27–6 |bgcolor=#efefef|81.81 |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|US Open |A |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=thistle|F |bgcolor=yellow|SF |bgcolor=yellow|SF |bgcolor=thistle|F | |bgcolor=#efefef|0 / 6 |bgcolor=#efefef|26–6 |bgcolor=#efefef|81.25 |- !style=text-align:left|Win–Loss !0–0 !0–0 !5–4 !9–4 !19–4 !18–3 !15–4 !19–4 !18–1 !3 / 27 !103–24 !81.1 |}

Grand Slam tournament finals

Singles: 5 (3 titles, 2 runner-ups)

{|class="sortable wikitable" !width=80|Outcome !width=50|Year !width=200|Championship !width=75|Surface !width=200|Opponent in the final !width=200|Score in the final |-bgcolor=#ccccff |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up||2007||US Open||Hard|| Roger Federer||6–7^(4–7), 6–7^(2–7), 4–6 |-bgcolor=#ffffcc |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2008||Australian Open||Hard|| Jo-Wilfried Tsonga||4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–6(7–2) |-bgcolor=#ccccff |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up||2010||US Open (2)||Hard|| Rafael Nadal||4–6, 7–5, 4–6, 2–6 |-bgcolor=#ffffcc |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2011||Australian Open (2)||Hard|| Andy Murray||6–4, 6–2, 6–3 |-bgcolor=#ccffcc |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2011||Wimbledon||Grass|| Rafael Nadal||6–4, 6–1, 1–6, 6–3 |}

Career statistics

Novak Djokovic is one of only four players (David Nalbandian, Andy Murray, and Rafael Nadal being the other three) to beat Roger Federer three times in one calendar year. He is also one of four players (Nalbandian, Murray and Nikolay Davydenko being the other) to beat Federer and Nadal in the same tournament twice, accomplishing that feat when he won the 2011 Indian Wells Masters 1000 event. He is also the youngest player in the Open Era to defeat the top three players in succession and he achieved this when he defeated world number three Andy Roddick, world number two Nadal, and World number one Federer in the 2007 Rogers Cup. He is one of only two players to have defeated Federer at the semifinal stage or later on more than one occasion in Grand Slam tournaments, and also at consecutive tournaments (the other being Nadal).

Djokovic was the runner-up at the 2007 and 2010 US Open tournaments (to Federer and Nadal, respectively), and a bronze medalist representing Serbia at the 2008 Olympic Games. In addition, Djokovic won the Tennis Masters Cup in 2008, and has won ten Masters Series tournaments, five only in 2011, a record. In 2010, he led Serbia to win the Davis Cup. Djokovic finished the ATP Tour as World No. three for four consecutive years between 2007 and 2010.

From the 2010 Davis Cup finals to the 2011 French Open, Djokovic had a 43-match win streak, third only to Guillermo Vilas (46 matches in 1977) and Ivan Lendl (44 matches in 1981/1982). This includes titles at the Australian Open, Dubai, Indian Wells Masters, Miami Masters, Serbia Open, Madrid Masters, and the Rome Masters. He won 41 straight matches from the start of 2011 until the French Open semi-finals (where he was beaten by Roger Federer), second only to John McEnroe's record (he started 42–0 in 1984).

Awards and honours

Order of Saint Sava

On 28 April 2011, in Belgrade, Patriarch Irinej of Serbia awarded Djokovic the Order of St. Sava I class, the highest decoration of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The order was given to him because he demonstrated love for the church, and because he provided assistance to the Serbian people, churches and monasteries of the Serbian Orthodox Church of Kosovo and Metohija.

List of awards

;2005

Best Male Tennis Player in Serbia and Montenegro

;2006

ATP Most Improved Player of the Year

Best Male Tennis Player in Serbia

;2007

ATP Most Improved Player of the Year

Best Male Tennis Player in Serbia

Best Sportsman by Olympic Committee of Serbia

Golden Badge of DSL Sport

;2008

Best Male Tennis Player in Serbia

;2009

Best Male Tennis Player In Serbia

Oscar Of Popularity Best Male Athlete

;2010

Best Male Tennis Player In Serbia

Best Sportsman by Olympic Committee of Serbia

Golden Badge of ''DSL Sport''

Oscar Of Popularity Best Male Athlete

;2011

Order of St. Sava – First Class

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador

Records

These records were attained in the Open Era of tennis.

{|class=wikitable |-bgcolor=#afdcec |width=200|Tournament||width=50|Year||width=200|Record accomplished||width=200|Player tied |- |Australian Open – French Open – Wimbledon – US Open |2007–2008 |Youngest player to have reached the semi-finals of all four Grand Slams||'''Stands alone |- |Australian Open – French Open – Wimbledon – US Open |2007–2008 |Youngest player to have reached the semi-finals of all four Grand Slams in succession||'''Stands alone |- |Miami Masters |2007 |Youngest player to win Men's Championship (19 years, ten months)||'''Stands alone |- |Canada Masters |2007 |Youngest player to defeat the top 3 players in succession||'''Stands alone |- |ATP World Tour Masters 1000 |2011 |Most titles in a season – 5||'''Stands alone |- |ATP World Tour Masters 1000 |2011 |Most consecutive titles – 3||Rafael Nadal |- |ATP World Tour Masters 1000 |2011 |Most consecutive titles in events entered – 5||'''Stands alone |- |ATP World Tour Masters 1000 |2011 |Longest winning streak – 31 ||'''Stands alone |- |ATP World Tour Masters 1000 |2011 |Most consecutive finals in a season – 6||'''Stands alone |- |ATP World Tour Masters 1000 |2011 |Most finals in a season – 6 ||'''Stands alone |- |ATP World Tour |2011 |Fastest player to qualify for the World Tour Finals – 18 weeks, 6 days||'''Stands alone |- |ATP World Tour |2011 |Having a 100% winning record against the World no.1 (Rafael Nadal) in finals in one season – 5 ||'''Stands alone |- |Madrid Masters |2009 |Longest best-of-three sets men's singles match ever played (4 hours, 3 minutes)||Rafael Nadal |- |Australian Open – Indian Wells Masters – Miami Masters |2011 |Winner of the first "Big 3" tournaments in one season||Roger Federer, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras |- |ATP World Tour Masters 1000 |2007–2011 |Reach the most of different finals (8/9)||Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer |- |Dubai Tennis Championships |2009–2011 |Consecutive titles won- 3|| Roger Federer

|}

Off the Court

In Popular Culture

In 2009, and 2010, Djokovic won Oscar Of Popularity for the most popular male athlete in Serbia.

He was a special guest in the first semi-final of Eurovision Song Contest 2008 in Belgrade. He threw a big tennis ball into the crowd, announcing the start of voting. Together with presenter of the show Željko Joksimović, Djokovic sang a song about Belgrade.

Djokovic is also featured in the music video for the song "Hello" by Martin Solveig and Dragonette. The video, filmed at Stade Roland Garros, shows Solveig facing off against Bob Sinclar, another DJ, in a tennis match. When the referee calls a crucial ball "Out", Djokovic enters the arena and convinces the referee otherwise.

In 2010, Serbian blues-rock band Zona B recorded the song "The Joker", dedicating it to Djokovic.

On 25 June 2011, its seventieth Congress in Chicago, all the members unanimously awarded Djokovic the Order of Serbian National Defense in America I class, the highest decoration of the SND. The order was given to him because of his merits in the international sport scene and his contribution to the reputation of the Serbs and the Serbian country in the World.

Personal Life

Novak has been dating fellow Belgrader, Jelena Ristić, since the end of 2005. She was seen supporting him at Wimbledon in 2011, including in the finals.

Novak is a Serbian Orthodox Christian. On 28 April 2011, Patriarch Irinej of Serbia awarded Novak the Order of St. Sava I class, the highest decoration of the Serbian Orthodox Church, because he demonstrated love for the church, and because he provided assistance to the Serbian people, churches and monasteries of the Serbian Orthodox Church of Kosovo and Metohija.

He is a keen fan of Serbian football club Red Star Belgrade and Italian Serie A side A.C. Milan.

See also

Tennis performance timeline comparison (men)

Serbia Davis Cup team

References

Further reading

External links

Official site Official site

Novak Djokovic at Flickr

Novak Djokovic at Qwinki

{{navboxes|title=Novak Djokovic in Grand Slam Tournaments |list1= }} {{navboxes|title=Novak Djokovic's Achievements |list1= }}

Category:1987 births Category:Article Feedback Pilot Category:Australian Open (tennis) champions Category:Living people Category:Male tennis players Category:Olympic bronze medalists for Serbia Category:Olympic medalists in tennis Category:Olympic tennis players of Serbia Category:People from Belgrade Category:People from Monte Carlo Category:Serbian expatriates in Monaco Category:Serbian male tennis players Category:Serbian Orthodox Christians Category:Tennis players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:Wimbledon champions Category:World No. 1 tennis players

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Name	Gilles Simon
Nickname	''Gillou''''Poussin''
Country
Residence	Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Birth date	December 27, 1984
Birth place	Nice, France
Height
Weight
Turnedpro	2002
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Careerprizemoney	US$5,127,388
Singlesrecord	214–148
Singlestitles	9
Highestsinglesranking	No. 6 (January 5, 2009)
Currentsinglesranking	No. 12 (August 15, 2011)
Australianopenresult	QF (2009)
Frenchopenresult	4R (2011)
Wimbledonresult	4R (2009)
Usopenresult	3R (2008, 2009, 2010)
Othertournaments	yes
Masterscupresult	SF (2008)
Olympicsresult	3R (2008)
Doublesrecord	16–60
Doublestitles	0
Highestdoublesranking	No. 117 (January 28, 2008)
Grandslamsdoublesresults	yes
Australianopendoublesresult	2R (2008)
Frenchopendoublesresult	2R (2005)
Wimbledondoublesresult	1R (2006, 2007)
Usopendoublesresult	3R (2007)
Updated	September 27, 2010 }}

Gilles Simon (born December 27, 1984) is a French professional tennis player and former World No. 6. He is a nine time winner on the ATP World Tour. His coach is French tennis veteran Thierry Tulasne, and his fitness trainer is Paul Quetin.

Personal life

Simon was born in Nice, France, into a family with no involvement in sport, with his mother being a doctor and his father working in insurance. Supported by his parents, he started playing tennis at the age of 6. Due to a growth delay that runs in the family, he was shorter than most kids in his age during his early teenage years. This is the reason he cites Michael Chang as a major influence, as his comparatively small frame proved that size was not an important factor in playing tennis.

On September 2, 2010, Simon became a father for the first time. His partner Carine Lauret gave birth to a baby boy. The couple named their first child Timothée. Timothée was born four weeks ahead of schedule, when Simon was competing in the 2010 US Open.

Career

Early career

Simon began his professional tennis career in the summer of 2002, competing at multiple Futures tournaments in France before playing in tournaments outside the country of his birth. His first Futures title came in Lisbon, Portugal, in June 2003, and reached the quarterfinals of three other tournaments. He then captured his second title in Jamaica in September. During 2004 he saw three wins in France and another in Algeria.

In January 2005, he won his first ATP Challenger hard court tournament in Nouméa, New Caledonia, and defended it the following year. Ranked as World No. 113, Simon made his Grand Slam debut at the 2005 French Open, losing in the first round to Olivier Patience in four sets.

2006

Simon competed at the first grand slam of the year, the Australian Open, where he beat Nicolás Massú and Tomáš Berdych before being defeated by No. 13 Thomas Johansson in the third round. After his result in the tournament, he broke into the Top 100 for the first time, climbing to No. 89.

The Frenchman reached his first ATP Tour final in Valencia with wins over Andreas Seppi in the quarterfinal and Fernando Verdasco in the semifinal but lost to Nicolás Almagro 6–2, 6–3. He also made it to the semifinals in Casablanca, as well as the round of 16 in both the ATP Masters Series tournaments in Monte Carlo and Hamburg. At the end of the year Simon was ranked 45th in the world.

2007

At the beginning of the year, Simon won his first ATP title at the Open 13 in, Marseille, France. En route to the final Simon beat Lleyton Hewitt, Jonas Björkman, and Robin Söderling. In the final Simon defeated Marcus Baghdatis 6–4, 7–6.

In September, he won his second title of the year and of his career at the BCR Open Romania in Bucharest, Romania. He defeated Victor Hănescu in the final, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2. He broke into the Top 30 for the first time on November 5 and finished the year as No. 29 in the world. By the end of the year, his career record against Top 10 players was 4–5.

2008

Simon reached the quarterfinals in Marseille, defeating World No. 3 Novak Djokovic 6–2, 6–7, 6–3 in the second round, and the semifinals in Rotterdam the next week.

In May, he entered Casablanca as a qualifier due to his late entry to the tournament even though his ranking was high even to be seeded. Simon went on to win the tournament by defeating Julien Benneteau 7–5, 6–2 in the final. After his third-round loss to countryman Richard Gasquet at Wimbledon, Simon left Europe for the United States to familiarize himself with the hard courts before the U.S. Open Series competing in the Indianapolis Tennis Championships, Simon's world ranking hit a career-best No. 25. He beat Tommy Haas and Sam Querrey before reaching the final. He won the tournament by beating the defending champion Dmitry Tursunov in straight sets, 6–4, 6–4. The following week, he competed at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, including a 2–6, 7–5, 6–4 win over World No. 1 Roger Federer in the second round, before losing in the semifinals to German veteran Nicolas Kiefer. This resulted with an entry into the Top 15, three ranks behind the French No. 1, Richard Gasquet.

Simon participated in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, playing in the singles for France alongside Paul-Henri Mathieu, Michaël Llodra, and Gaël Monfils. He played doubles with Monfils, but lost in the first round to the Indian team of Bhupathi and Paes. In singles the Frenchman reached the 3rd round, with victories over the Swede Robin Söderling and the Argentine Guillermo Cañas before falling to James Blake.

At the US Open, Simon was seeded number 16. On Day 6, he lost in the 3rd Round to the #17 seed Juan Martín del Potro 4–6, 7–6, 1–6, 6–3, 3–6 in a 5-set match that lasted 3 hours and 47 minutes.

On September 14, Simon won his 3rd title of the year equaling his 5th ATP title, defeating Carlos Moyà 6–3, 6–4 at the 2008 BCR Open Romania. Simon entered the 2008 Madrid Masters the following month, defeating No. 11 James Blake and No. 14 Ivo Karlović to reach the semifinals in the tournament. In the semifinals, he defeated World No. 1 Rafael Nadal in 3 sets 3–6, 7–5, 7–6 in a match that lasted 3 hours and 23 minutes. Simon lost the final to World No.4 Andy Murray in straight sets, 4–6, 6–7. The tournament boosted Simon to a career high World No. 10, displacing Richard Gasquet as French No. 1. By the end of 2008, French has 4 players in Top 20, (Simon, Tsonga, Gasquet and Monfils), the first time ever since computer ranking was established in 1973. The French paper ''L'Equipe'' grouped the 4 player as ''néo-Mousquetaires''. French TV Canal+ went on to produce a documentary series that followed the 4 French players and their touring around the world. The series "Les 4 Mousquetaires" went on air for 2 seasons during 2009 and 2010.

On November 3, he qualified for the Tennis Masters Cup, a tournament usually reserved for the world's top eight players in Shanghai, after Rafael Nadal withdrew due to knee complications and fatigue. He was drawn in the red group with Roger Federer, Andy Murray, and Andy Roddick. In his first round robin match he beat defending champion Federer with a score of 4–6, 6–4, 6–3. Simon lost to Murray in his next match, 6–4, 6–2, but followed it with a victory over Radek Štěpánek, who replaced the injured Roddick 6–1, 6–4. After Murray defeated Federer in the final round robin match, Simon qualified for the semifinals, where he lost to world No. 3 Novak Djokovic in three sets – 4–6, 6–3, 7–5. After this, he achieved a career high of World number 7.

In December he played in the newly-formed Masters France exhibition tournament for the eight French players who had performed best at the four French tournaments. He qualified from the round-robin group stage with victories against Julien Benneteau, Marc Gicquel, and Josselin Ouanna. In the final against Michaël Llodra, who pulled out with a shoulder injury, resulting in Simon becoming the inaugural winner of the tournament.

2009

Simon started the year off rising to a new career high of World number 6 and played at the Hopman Cup, teaming up with compatriot Alizé Cornet to form the French partnership and mixed doubles duo.

Simon played at the first grand slam of the year, the Australian Open, as the 6th seed, winning against Pablo Andújar in the first round. He also competed with Jérémy Chardy as his partner in the doubles, but the pair was defeated by Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić in the first round. The second round saw him beat Chris Guccione in 4 sets, 6–7, 6–4, 6–1, 6–2. He defeated Mario Ančić in the third round, winning in straight sets, advancing to his fourth round encounter against compatriot Gaël Monfils. Simon was leading 2 sets before Monfils retired due to a wrist injury. He then played World No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals, where he was dispatched 6–2, 7–5, 7–5 although he had two set points in the second set.

He participated in the Davis Cup with other French team members Michaël Llodra, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Richard Gasquet. The team competed against the Czech Republic from 6–8 March. Simon lost 7–6, 4–6, 7–6, 6–3 to Tomáš Berdych, and then played Radek Štěpánek (whom his fellow team member Tsonga beat). Simon lost to Štěpánek 7–6, 6–3, 7–6 which gave the Czechs a 3–1 lead indicating that France was out of the Davis Cup in the first round for the first time since 2000.

He went into the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami ranked No. 7 in the world. After early round wins over former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt and Rainer Schüttler, he lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the fourth round, 7–6, 3–6, 2–6. Simon competed at the Monte Carlo Masters and versed Andreas Beck in the men's singles, suffering a first round loss of 7–5, 6–1. This result caused his world ranking to drop 2 spots down to No.9.

Simon played at the Estoril Open as the top seed, before losing to Albert Montañés 5–7, 6–4, 7–6 in the third round. He competed with fellow players Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Jérémy Chardy, forming the French team at the ARAG World Team Cup in Düsseldorf. He lost to Robin Söderling and Rainer Schüttler.

He entered Roland Garros as the 7th seed and defeated Wayne Odesnik in 5 sets in the first round, and Robert Kendrick in straight sets. He was ousted by Victor Hănescu in the third round, 6–4, 6–4, 6–2. During his 3rd round match, he also injured his right knee. Although he managed to finish the match, this knee injury would turned into a chronic problem that bothered him for a long time after.

Simon competed at the AEGON Championships at Queens as the 3rd seed, where he beat Grigor Dimitrov, but lost to Mikhail Youzhny in the third round. At 2009 Wimbledon Simon was the 8th seed. He defeated Bobby Reynolds and Thiago Alves in the first two rounds. He defeated Victor Hănescu in the third round with a comfortable 6–2, 7–5, 6–2 victory. He was ousted in the fourth round by unseeded Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero 7–6, 6–3, 6–2.

Simon was the top seed at Stuttgart's MercedesCup and defeated Philipp Petzschner in the first round in straight sets before falling to Mischa Zverev 6–3 6–2. At the 2009 International German Open, after receiving a bye he then lost to wildcard Daniel Brands, 6–3 4–6 3–6.

During the 2009 US Open Series, he played at the 2009 Rogers Cup where he lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the third round. One week later, he played at the 2009 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open in Cincinnati, another Masters 1000 tournament, where he defeated Nikolay Davydenko en route to the quarterfinals where he would lose to world no. 4 Novak Djokovic. At the 2009 US Open, Simon equalled his best result of third round before retiring with a right knee injury during his third-round match against Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Simon then won his first title of 2009 at the 2009 PTT Thailand Open where defeated Viktor Troicki in the final 7–5, 6–3. At Tokyo, Simon was third seeded but fell to Mikhail Youzhny in the second round. The week later he played at Shanghai Masters as the eight seed and received bye at the first round. He beat Viktor Troicki and Tomáš Berdych but lost to Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals by 3–6, 6–2, 2–6.

Simon returned to France to play at Lyon and lost in the semifinal to Michaël Llodra by 7–6, 3–6, 6–7. At the next tournament in Valencia, he lost to Mikhail Youzhny in the quarterfinal. He continued to Bercy to play at the BNP Paribas Masters. He was seeded 11th and has a first round bye. In the second round, he faced Ivan Ljubičić, who he has never beaten in 3 previous meetings. In the 3rd set of the match, Simon has a break point to go up 4–2, while lunging to return a wide serve, he aggravated a right knee injury that has been bothering him for half of the 2009 season. Although with his movement severely hampered, Simon decided to play on to finish the match in front of an enthusiastic home crowd. He went on to win the match by 6–3, 3–6, 7–6. Two days later, he played his R3 match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, lost by 2–6, 3–6, and ended his season in Paris.

In an audio interview during the Paris tournament, Simon said the doctor has recommended him to take at least 2 months to recover from his knee injury.

2010

Gilles started the 2010 season with an exhibition event, the World Tennis Challenge in Adelaide. It started badly for him as he struggled with injury. He lost 3 straight matches including to the home favourite Bernard Tomic. Simon pulled out of the Australian Open due to a right knee injury. He did not make any appearances in the 2010 season until mid-February, at the 2010 Open 13 tournament in Marseille. As the 5th seed, he lost in the 1st round to Olivier Rochus 5–7, 2–6 in Marseille. He then participated at the 2010 Dubai Tennis Championships as the 8th seed, but lost in the 1st round to Marcos Baghdatis 6–7, 4–6. Continuing to struggle, he lost to Brian Dabul 5–7, 4–6 in the 2nd round at the 2010 BNP Paribas Open Masters 1000 in Indian Wells as 16th seed with a 1st round bye; and also lost to Horacio Zeballos in the 2nd round at the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open as 20th seed with a 1st round bye.

The right knee injury eventually caused Simon to miss the entire spring European clay season including the French Open, the second Grand Slam Simon has missed in 2010 due to injury and he has fallen down in the rankings. He returned to the tour in mid-June, winning 2 rounds in Eastbourne before losing to Michaël Llodra 1–6, 3–6 in the QF. Continued on to 2010 Wimbledon, Simon reached the 3rd round before losing to Andy Murray 1–6, 4–6, 4–6. He began the summer US hard court season by participating in the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C. and won 2 rounds of matches including a win over Top 10 player Andy Roddick, lost in the QF to David Nalbandian in 3 sets. However, he suffered first round defeats in his next 2 ATP Masters 1000 series tournaments, 2010 Rogers Cup in Toronto and 2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open in Cincinnati, showing he has still a long way to return to his top form and regain his confidence. He moved on to New York to take part in US Open 2010, reached the 3rd round by defeating Donald Young in 3 sets and Philipp Kohlschreiber in 5 sets. He went on to meet the #1 player Rafael Nadal in the 3rd round. Before the match, upon hearing the birth of Simon's son, Nadal jokingly offered to buy Simon a flight ticket back to Europe to see his son before the match. Simon stayed, and lost to Rafael Nadal in three sets.

After USO, Simon was picked to represent France in the semifinal of the Davis Cup. His selection was largely due to Tsonga being unavailable due to injury. He did not play any live rubber but defeated Eduardo Schwank in a dead rubber by 7–6, 6–7, 6–3.

Simon then entered 2010 Open de Moselle as a wildcard. Originally, he did not plan to play the tournament because his son was supposed to be due that week. He took his newly extended family to Metz and eventually won the tournament by beating Mischa Zverev 6–3, 6–2 in the final. This is his seventh career title, coming only weeks after the birth of his first child. During the award ceremony, he thanked his girlfriend for the support and called the victory a "family effort".

The remaining of 2010 was more ups and downs, indicating that after returning from the serious knee injury, he was still struggling to find his consistency. He went on to participate in 2 Asian tournaments. He beat Sam Querrey and Michael Berrer to reach the QF of China Open in Beijing, but lost to Djokovic in 2 relatively easy sets. He then crashed out at the first round of Shanghai Masters to Stanislas Wawrinka in 2 sets. After Asia, he returned to France to play Open Sud de France in Montpellier. During his 2nd round encounter, he was down a set and a break to David Nalbandian before fighting back to even the match to 1 all. He was then down a break again before coming back to beat the seeded player in 3 sets. He eventually lost in the QF to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 3 sets. The next tournament was Valencia Open 500, Simon beat 2 seeds (Fernando Verdasco and Nikolay Davydenko) en route to his SF appearance, only to lose to the Spanish qualifier Marcel Granollers in 2 sets. At the last tournament of the season, BNP Paribas Masters, Simon again came from behind to beat newcomer Andrey Golubev in 3 sets during their 1st round encounter. But in the 2nd round, after failing to convert numerous breakpoints in the beginning of Set 1, a set that he eventually lost, Simon faded and lost the 2nd set 6–0 to the eventual title winner Robin Söderling in 2 easy sets.

In Dec 2010, Simon was picked to play the Davis Cup final for France, which was hosted in Belgrade, Serbia. The final was filled with controversies over which player was to be called on to play each match. France called on Simon to play Novak Djokovic in Day 1 while others were expecting Michaël Llodra to play based on Llodra's good form in BNP Paribas Masters (including beating Djokovic in 2 sets). Simon lost the match in 3 sets. When France won the doubles and led 2–1 going into Day 3, the French team seemed to be on its way to yet another Davis Cup victory. But Day 3 opened with Djokovic in strong form defeating Monfils in 3 easy sets, leaving the championship to a deciding 5th match. The schedule originally stated that the 5th match was to be played by Janko Tipsarević and Simon. Last minute replacement saw that both were replaced by their teammates Viktor Troicki and Michaël Llodra respectively. The fifth match ended in anti-climatic fashion – an overwhelming victory for Troicki in 3 sets. Serbia won the Davis Cup for the very first time in history. France's defeat caused some to question the choice of Llodra to play Troicki while Simon has a 4–0 Head-to-Head against the Serbian. Nevertheless, everyone agrees that Troicki and the Serbian team had displayed convincing performances over their French opponent and the victory was well deserved.

2011

Simon started his 2011 campaign by entering three tournaments in Australia: Brisbane, Sydney, and Australian Open. He lost in the first round of Brisbane to Santiago Giraldo 3–6, 3–6. One week later, he beat Alexandr Dolgopolov and Ernests Gulbis in the QF and SF and then captured his eighth title by defeating Viktor Troicki 7–5, 7–6 in the final of the Sydney International. In the Australian Open, he lost to Roger Federer in the 2nd round in a five-set match 2–6, 3–6, 6–4, 6–4, 3–6. Simon went on to defeat Nicolás Almagro 6–4, 4–6, 6–4 in Hamburg, capturing the most important title (in terms of ATP Rankings) of his career to date.

Playing style

Simon is known for his speed, agility, mental strength and tennis brain. His backhand is considered his best shot as he is capable of expertly creating angles and varying his shots in addition to taking the ball earlier and unleashing flat and penetrating backhand drives. He is also very capable on the forehand side, and his forehand is the wing with which he is able to attack opponents. His technique is seamless, and this enables him to absorb and redirect powerful shots. As mentioned before, he is also a tactical player who can vary his hit point on both sides, keeping the ball on his strings until the very last moment, and then suddenly taking the ball early with random injections of pace. This keeps his opponents off-guard; hence, although he is widely classed as a counter-puncher, it is often he who controls the points.

As his career kicked off in 2008, Simon began to work tirelessly on his volleys and net-game, and this has since come to form a prominent part of his game. Nowadays, he looks to sneak in and finish points off at the net whenever he can, and he often enjoys serving and volleying or rushing to the net off the return to break up his opponent's rhythm on break points and important points in general.

While his return is one of the best parts of his game, his serve has also become a pivotal part of his game, and he often manages to find his best serves on the biggest points. In general, Simon is often overlooked in an era filled with powerful players and big servers. However, he is a unique player with countless layers to his game. When lacking confidence, he has a tendency to retreat behind the baseline and play passively. However, when he is confident and lucid, he is a force to behold.

Equipment

Simon plays with a YouTek Prestige MP paintjob of a Prestige Tour 630 racquet and 2009 Team series bag, both from Head, a brand which he appeared in an advertisement for. His racquet is strung with Head IntelliTour 16 String. He is sponsored by Adidas.

Major finals

Masters Series finals

Singles: 1 (0–1)

{|class="sortable wikitable" style=font-size:97% !width=80|Outcome !width=50|Year !width=200|Championship !width=75|Surface !width=200|Opponent in the final !width=200|Score in the final |- |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up||2008|| Madrid||Hard (i)|| Andy Murray||4–6, 6–7(6–8) |}

Career finals

Singles: 11 (9–2)

{|width=43% |valign=top width=33%| {|class=wikitable style=font-size:97% !Legend (pre/post 2009) |-bgcolor=#e5d1cb |Grand Slam Tournaments (0–0) |-bgcolor=ffffcc |Tennis Masters Cup / ATP World Tour Finals (0–0) |-bgcolor=#dfe2e9 |ATP Masters Series / ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–1) |-bgcolor=#d0f0c0 |ATP International Series Gold / ATP World Tour 500 Series (1–0) |- |ATP International Series / ATP World Tour 250 Series (8–1) |} |valign=top width=33%| {|class=wikitable style=font-size:97% !Finals by Surface |- |Hard (5–1) |- |Clay (4–1) |- |Grass (0–0) |- |Carpet (0–0) |} {|class=wikitable style=font-size:97% !Finals by Surface |- |Outdoors (6–1) |- |Indoors (3–1) |} |}

{|class="sortable wikitable" style=font-size:97% !width=80|Outcome !width=50|No. !width=145|Date !width=280|Tournament !width=75|Surface !width=200|Opponent in the final !width=200|Score in the final |- |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up |1. |April 16, 2006 | Valencia, Spain |Clay | Nicolás Almagro |2–6, 3–6 |- |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner |1. |February 18, 2007 | Marseille, France |Hard (i) | Marcos Baghdatis |6–4, 7–6^{(8–6) |- |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner |2. |September 16, 2007 | Bucharest, Romania |Clay | Victor Hănescu |4–6, 6–3, 6–2 |- |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner |3. |May 24, 2008 | Casablanca, Morocco |Clay | Julien Benneteau |7–5, 6–2 |- |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner |4. |July 20, 2008 | Indianapolis, United States |Hard | Dmitry Tursunov |6–4, 6–4 |- |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner |5. |September 14, 2008 | Bucharest, Romania (2) |Clay | Carlos Moyà |6–3, 6–4 |-bgcolor=#dfe2e9 |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up |2. |October 19, 2008 | Madrid, Spain |Hard (i) | Andy Murray |4–6, 6–7(6–8) |- |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner |6. |September 28, 2009 | Bangkok, Thailand |Hard (i) | Viktor Troicki |7–5, 6–3 |- |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner |7. |September 26, 2010 | Metz, France |Hard (i) | Mischa Zverev |6–3, 6–2 |- |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner |8. |January 15, 2011 | Sydney, Australia |Hard | Viktor Troicki |7–5, 7–6(7–4) |-bgcolor=#d0f0c0 |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner |9. |July 24, 2011 | Hamburg, Germany |Clay | Nicolás Almagro |6–4, 4–6, 6–4 |}}

Singles performance timeline

''To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only after a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through to 2011 Wimbledon Championships. {|class=wikitable style=text-align:center;font-size:98% |- !Tournament!!2004!!2005!!2006!!2007!!2008!!2009!!2010!!2011!!W–L |- |colspan=12 align=left|'''Grand Slam Tournaments |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|Australian Open |A |Q3 |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#ffebcd|QF |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#efefef|9–5 |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|French Open |Q1 |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|4R |bgcolor=#efefef|6–6 |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|Wimbledon |A |Q3 |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|4R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#efefef|9–6 |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|US Open |Q1 |Q1 |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R | |bgcolor=#efefef|8–5 |- !style=text-align:left|Win–Loss !0–0 !0–1 !3–4 !3–4 !6–4 !11–4 !3–2 !6–3 !32–22 |- |colspan=12 align=left|'''Year-End Championship |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|ATP World Tour Finals |A |A |A |A |bgcolor=yellow|SF |A |A | !2–2 |- |colspan=12 align=left|'''Olympic Games |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|Summer Olympics |A |colspan=3 style=color:#ccc|Not Held |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |colspan=3 style=color:#ccc|Not Held !2–1 |- |colspan=12 align=left|'''ATP World Tour Masters 1000 |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|Indian Wells Masters |A |Q1 |Q1 |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#efefef|5–5 |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|Miami Masters |A |Q2 |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|4R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=#efefef|5–5 |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|Monte Carlo Masters |A |Q1 |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#efefef|4–5 |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|Rome Masters |A |Q2 |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#efefef|5–4 |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|Madrid Masters |A |Q1 |Q1 |A |bgcolor=#D8BFD8|F |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#efefef|7–3 |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|Canada Masters |A |Q1 |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |A |bgcolor=yellow|SF |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#efefef|6–5 |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|Cincinnati Masters |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |Q1 |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=#efefef|8–6 |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|Shanghai Masters |colspan=5 style=color:#ccc|Not Masters Series |bgcolor=#ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R | |bgcolor=#efefef|2–2 |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|Paris Masters |A |Q1 |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R | |bgcolor=#efefef|4–5 |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|Hamburg Masters |A |Q1 |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |colspan=3 style=color:#ccc|NMS |bgcolor=#efefef|4–3 |- |colspan=12 align=left|'''Career Statistics |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|Tournaments Played |1 |6 |24 |29 |28 |25 |18 |20 !151 |- !style=text-align:left|Titles–Finals !0–0 !0–0 !0–1 !2–2 !3–4 !1–1 !1–1 !2–2 !9–11 |- !style=text-align:left|Overall Win–Loss !0–1 !6–6 !24–24 !35–26 !51–27 !45–29 !23–18 !33–19 !217–150 |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|Year End Ranking |177 |124 |45 |29 |bgcolor=#eee8AA|'''7 |15 |41 | ! |}

ATP Tour career earnings

{|class="sortable wikitable" width=50% style=text-align:center !Year!!Majors!!ATP titles!!Total titles!!Earnings ($)!! oney list rank |- |2005 |0 |0 |0 |align=right|147,393 |140 |- |2006 |0 |0 |0 |align=right|378,760 |68 |- |2007 |0 |2 |2 |align=right|560,655 |38 |- |2008 |0 |3 |3 |align=right|1,425,489 |bgcolor=#eee8AA|7 |- |2009 |0 |1 |1 |align=right|$1,128,735 |15 |- |2010 |0 |1 |1 |align=right|$532,413 |58 |- |2011 |0 |2 |2 |align=right|$918,423 |10 |- !Career !0 !9 !9 |align=right bgcolor=#efefef|'''$5,135,958 !|- |}

References

Source: http://www.ntvmsnbc.com/news/450301.asp

External links

Category:1984 births Category:Living people Category:French tennis players Category:Olympic tennis players of France Category:Tennis players at the 2008 Summer Olympics

ar:جيل سيمون bg:Жил Симон ca:Gilles Simon cs:Gilles Simon da:Gilles Simon de:Gilles Simon es:Gilles Simon fr:Gilles Simon hi:जाइल्स सिमौं hr:Gilles Simon it:Gilles Simon (tennis) he:ז'יל סימון lv:Žils Simons lt:Gilles Simon hu:Gilles Simon mk:Жил Симон mr:जिल सिमाँ nl:Gilles Simon ja:ジル・シモン pl:Gilles Simon pt:Gilles Simon ru:Симон, Жиль sk:Gilles Simon sr:Жил Симон fi:Gilles Simon sv:Gilles Simon th:ชิลส์ ซิมง vi:Gilles Simon zh:吉爾·西蒙

Name	Rafael Nadal
Fullname	Rafael Nadal Parera
Country	Spain
Nickname	''Rafa''''The King of Clay''''The Matador''
Residence	Manacor, Majorca, Spain
Birth date	June 03, 1986
Birth place	Manacor, Majorca
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight
Turnedpro	2001
Plays	Left-handed (two-handed backhand)
Careerprizemoney	$42,747,677
Singlesrecord	526–111 (82.57%)
Singlestitles	46
Currentsinglesranking	No. 2 (29 August 2011)
Highestsinglesranking	No. 1 (18 August 2008)
Australianopenresult	W (2009)
Frenchopenresult	W (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011)
Wimbledonresult	W (2008, 2010)
Usopenresult	W (2010)
Othertournaments	Yes
Masterscupresult	F (2010)
Olympicsresult	20px Gold medal (2008)
Doublesrecord	91–57
Doublestitles	7
Highestdoublesranking	No. 26 (8 August 2005)
Grandslamsdoublesresults	yes
Australianopendoublesresult	3R (2004, 2005)
Wimbledondoublesresult	2R (2005)
Usopendoublesresult	SF (2004)
Updated	29 August 2011 }}

}}

Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera (born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time; his success on clay has earned him the nickname "The King of Clay", and has prompted many experts to regard him as the greatest clay court player of all time.

Nadal has won ten Grand Slam singles titles, including six French Open titles, the 2008 Olympic gold medal in singles, a record 19 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments, and also was part of the Spain Davis Cup team that won the finals in 2004, 2008 and 2009. He completed the career Grand Slam by winning the 2010 US Open, being the seventh player in history, and the youngest in the open era, to achieve it. He is the second male player to complete the Career Golden Slam (winner of the four grand slams and the Olympic Gold medal) after only Andre Agassi.

Nadal had a 32-match winning streak in 2008, starting at the 2008 Masters Series Hamburg to the 2008 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open, which included titles at Hamburg, the French Open (where he did not drop a set), Queen's Club, his first ever title at Wimbledon, and the Rogers Cup. In 2011, by winning the Monte Carlo Masters, he became the only player to have won seven editions of a tournament in a row at the ATP level. Nadal was ranked world No. 2, behind Roger Federer, for a record 160 consecutive weeks before earning the top spot, which he held from 18 August 2008 to 5 July 2009. He regained the world No.1 ranking on 7 June 2010, after winning his fifth French Open title. He held it until 3 July 2011, when Novak Djokovic replaced him as world No. 1.

Early life

Rafael Nadal was born in Manacor, Majorca, Spain to Sebastián Nadal, a businessman managing his own restaurant, Sa Punta; a glass and window glass company, Vidres Mallorca; and owns an insurance company as well. His mother is Ana María Parera, a housewife. He has a younger sister named María Isabel. His uncle, Miguel Ángel Nadal, is a retired professional footballer, who played for RCD Mallorca, FC Barcelona, and the Spanish national team. Nadal supports football clubs Real Madrid and RCD Mallorca. Recognizing that Nadal had a natural talent for tennis, another uncle, Toni Nadal, a former professional tennis player, introduced him to tennis when he was three years old.

At age eight, Nadal won an under-12 regional tennis championship at a time when he was also a promising football player. This made Toni Nadal intensify training, and at that time he encouraged Nadal to play left-handed for a natural advantage on the tennis court, as he noticed Nadal played forehand shots with two hands. When Nadal was 12, he won the Spanish and European tennis titles in his age group and was playing tennis and football all the time. Nadal's father made him choose between football and tennis so that his school work would not deteriorate entirely. Nadal said: "I chose tennis. Football had to stop straight away."

When he was 14, the Spanish tennis federation requested that he leave Majorca and move to Barcelona to continue his tennis training. Nadal's family turned down this request, partly because they feared it would hurt his education, but also because Toni said that "I don't want to believe that you have to go to America, or other places to be a good athlete. You can do it from your home." The decision to stay home meant that Nadal received less financial support from the federation; instead, Nadal's father covered the costs. In May 2001, he defeated former Grand Slam champion Pat Cash in a clay-court exhibition match.

At 15, he turned pro. Nadal participated in two events on the ITF junior circuit. In 2002, at the age of 16, Nadal reached the semifinals of the Boy's Singles tournament at Wimbledon, in his first ITF junior event.

By the age of 17, he beat Roger Federer the first time they played and became the youngest man to reach the third round at Wimbledon since Boris Becker. At 18, he helped pace Spain over the US in the junior Davis Cup in his second, and final, appearance on the ITF junior circuit. At 19, Nadal won the French Open the first time he played it, a feat not accomplished in Paris for more than 20 years. He eventually won it the first four times he played at Roland Garros. In 2003, he had won the ATP Newcomer of the Year Award. Early in his career, Nadal picked up the trademark habit of biting the trophies he won.

Tennis career

2002–2004

In April 2002, at 15 years and 10 months, the world No. 762 Nadal won his first ATP match, defeating Ramón Delgado, and became the ninth player in the open era to do so before the age of 16. The following year, Nadal won two Challenger titles and finished the year in the top 50. At his Wimbledon debut in 2003, Nadal became the youngest man to reach the third round since Boris Becker in 1984. During 2004, Nadal played his first match against world No. 1 Roger Federer at the 2004 Miami Masters, and won in straight sets. He is one of the six players that defeated Federer that year (along with Tim Henman, Albert Costa, Gustavo Kuerten, Dominik Hrbatý, and Tomáš Berdych). He missed most of the clay court season, including the French Open, because of a stress fracture in his left ankle. Nadal, at 18 years and six months, became the youngest player to register a singles victory in a Davis Cup final for a winning nation. By beating world No. 2 Andy Roddick, he helped Spain clinch the 2004 title over the United States in a 3–2 win. He finished the year ranked world No. 51.

2005

At the 2005 Australian Open, Nadal lost in the 4th round to eventual runner-up Lleyton Hewitt. Two months later, Nadal reached the final of the 2005 Miami Masters, and despite being two points from a straight-sets victory, he was defeated in five sets by world No. 1 Roger Federer. Both performances were considered to be breakthroughs for Nadal.

He then dominated the spring clay court season. He won 24 consecutive singles matches, which broke Andre Agassi's open era record of consecutive match wins for a male teenager. Nadal won the Torneo Conde de Godó in Barcelona and beat 2004 French Open runner-up Guillermo Coria in the finals of the 2005 Monte Carlo Masters and the 2005 Rome Masters. These victories raised his ranking to world No. 5 and made him one of the favorites at his career-first French Open. On his 19th birthday, Nadal defeated Federer in the 2005 French Open semifinals, being one of only four players who defeated the top-seeded player that year (along with Marat Safin, Richard Gasquet, and David Nalbandian). Two days later, he defeated Mariano Puerta in the final, becoming the second male player to win the French Open on his first attempt since Mats Wilander in 1982: He also became the first teenager to win a Grand Slam singles title since Pete Sampras won the 1990 US Open at age 19. Winning the French Open improved Nadal's ranking to World No. 3.

Three days after his victory in Paris, Nadal's 24-match winning streak was snapped in the first round of the grass court Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany, where he lost to the German Alexander Waske. He then lost in the second round of 2005 Wimbledon to Gilles Müller of Luxembourg.

Immediately after Wimbledon, Nadal won 16 consecutive matches and three consecutive tournaments, bringing his ranking to world No. 2 on 25 July 2005.

Nadal started his North American summer hard-court season by defeating Agassi in the final of the 2005 Canada Masters, but lost in the first round of the 2005 Cincinnati Masters. Nadal was seeded second at the 2005 US Open, where he was upset in the third round by World No. 49 James Blake in four sets.

In September, he defeated Coria in the final of the China Open in Beijing and won both of his Davis Cup matches against Italy. In October, he won his fourth ATP Masters Series title of the year, defeating Ivan Ljubičić in the final of the 2005 Madrid Masters. He then suffered a foot injury that prevented him from competing in the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup.

Both Nadal and Federer won eleven singles titles and four ATP Masters Series titles in 2005. Nadal broke Mats Wilander's previous teenage record of nine in 1983. Eight of Nadal's titles were on clay, and the remainder were on hard courts. Nadal won 79 matches, second only to Federer's 81. Nadal won the Golden Bagel Award for 2005, with eleven 6–0 sets during the year. Also, he earned the highest year-end ranking ever by a Spaniard and the ATP Most Improved Player of the Year award.

2006

Nadal missed the Australian Open due to a foot injury. In February, he lost in the semifinals of the first tournament he played, the Open 13 tournament in Marseille, France. Two weeks later, he handed Roger Federer his first loss of the year in the final of the Dubai Duty Free Men's Open (in 2006, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray were the only two men who defeated Federer). To complete the spring hard-court season, Nadal was upset in the semifinals of the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, by James Blake, and was upset in the second round of the 2006 Miami Masters.

On European clay, Nadal won all four tournaments he entered and 24 consecutive matches. He defeated Federer in the final of the Masters Series Monte Carlo in four sets. The following week, he defeated Tommy Robredo in the final of the Open Sabadell Atlántico tournament in Barcelona. After a one-week break, Nadal won the Masters Series Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, defeating Federer in a fifth-set tiebreaker in the final, after saving two match points and equaling Björn Borg's tally of 16 ATP titles won as a teenager. Nadal broke Argentinian Guillermo Vilas's 29-year male record of 53 consecutive clay-court match victories by winning his first round match at the French Open. Vilas presented Nadal with a trophy, but commented later that Nadal's feat was less impressive than his own because Nadal's winning streak covered two years and was accomplished by adding easy tournaments to his schedule. Nadal went on to play Federer in the final of the French Open. The first two sets of the match were hardly competitive, as the rivals traded 6–1 sets. Nadal won the third set easily and served for the match in the fourth set before Federer broke him and forced a tiebreaker. Nadal won the tiebreaker and became the first player to defeat Federer in a Grand Slam final.

Nadal injured his shoulder while playing a quarterfinal match against Lleyton Hewitt at the Artois Championships, played on grass at the Queen's Club in London. Nadal was unable to complete the match, which ended his 26-match winning streak. Nadal was seeded second at Wimbledon, but was two points from defeat against American qualifier Robert Kendrick in the second round before coming back to win in five sets. In the third round, Nadal defeated world No. 20 Andre Agassi in straight sets at Agassi's last career match at Wimbledon. Nadal also won his next three matches in straight sets, which set up his first Wimbledon final, which was against Federer, who had won this tournament the three previous years. Nadal was the first Spanish man since Manuel Santana in 1966, to reach the Wimbledon final, but Federer won the match in four sets 6–0, 7–6, 6–7, 6–3 to win his fourth consecutive Wimbledon title.

During the leadup to the US Open, Nadal played the two Masters Series tournaments in North America. He was upset in the third round of the Rogers Cup in Toronto and the quarterfinals of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio. Nadal was seeded second at the US Open, but lost in the quarterfinals to world No. 54 Mikhail Youzhny of Russia in four sets.

Nadal played only three tournaments the remainder of the year. Joachim Johansson, ranked world No. 690, upset Nadal in the second round of the Stockholm Open 6–4, 7–6. The following week, Nadal lost to Tomáš Berdych in the quarterfinals of the year's last Masters Series tournament, the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid. During the round-robin stage of the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup, Nadal lost to James Blake but defeated Nikolay Davydenko and Robredo. Because of those two victories, Nadal qualified for the semifinals, where he lost to Federer 6–4, 7–5. This was Nadal's third loss in nine career matches with Federer.

Nadal went on to become the first player since Andre Agassi in 1994–95 to finish the year as the world No. 2 in consecutive years.

2007

Nadal started the year by playing in six hard-court tournaments. He lost in the semifinals and first round of his first two tournaments and then lost in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open to eventual runner-up Fernando González. After another quarterfinal loss at the Dubai Tennis Championships, he won the 2007 Indian Wells Masters, before Novak Djoković defeated him in the quarterfinals of the 2007 Miami Masters.

He had comparatively more success after returning to Europe to play five clay-court tournaments. He won the titles at the Masters Series Monte Carlo, the Open Sabadell Atlántico in Barcelona, and the Masters Series Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, before losing to Roger Federer in the final of the Masters Series Hamburg. This defeat ended his 81-match winning streak on clay, which is the male open era record for consecutive wins on a single surface. He then rebounded to win the French Open for the third straight year, defeating Federer once again in the final.

Between the tournaments in Barcelona and Rome, Nadal defeated Federer in the "Battle of Surfaces" exhibition match in Majorca, Spain, with the tennis court being half grass and half clay.

Nadal played the Artois Championships at the Queen's Club in London for the second consecutive year. As in 2006, Nadal was upset in the quarterfinals. Nadal then won consecutive five-set matches during the third and fourth rounds of Wimbledon before being beaten by Federer in the five-set final. This was Federer's first five-set match at Wimbledon since 2001.

In July, Nadal won the clay court Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, which proved to be his last title of the year. He played three important tournaments during the North American summer hard court season. He was a semifinalist at the Masters Series Rogers Cup in Montreal before losing his first match at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was the second-seeded player at the US Open, but was defeated in the fourth round by David Ferrer.

After a month-long break from tournament tennis, Nadal played the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid and the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris. David Nalbandian upset him in the quarterfinals and final of those tournaments. To end the year, Nadal won two of his three round robin matches to advance to the semifinals of the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, where Federer defeated him 6–4, 6–1.

During the second half of the year, Nadal battled a knee injury suffered during the Wimbledon final. In addition, there were rumors at the end of the year that the foot injury he suffered during 2005, caused long-term damage, which were given credence by coach Toni Nadal's claim that the problem was "serious". Nadal and his spokesman strongly denied this, however, with Nadal himself calling the story "totally false".

2008

Nadal began the year in India, where he was comprehensively beaten by Mikhail Youzhny in the final of the Chennai Open. Nadal then reached the semifinals of the Australian Open for the first time. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated Nadal 6–2, 6–3, 6–2 in the semifinal of 2008 Australian Open. Tsonga's semifinal performance was characterized by his powerful and precise serve, finesse volleys, and aggressive baseline play; it was a performance that drew the Melbourne crowd to their feet. Tsonga did not face a break point until the third set, while breaking the Spaniard five times in the match. Nadal also reached the final of the Miami Masters for the second time.

During the spring clay-court season, Nadal won four singles titles and defeated Roger Federer in three finals. He beat Federer at the Masters Series Monte Carlo for the third straight year, capturing his open era record fourth consecutive title there. He won in straight sets, despite Federer's holding a 4–0 lead in the second set. Nadal then won his fourth consecutive title at the Open Sabadell Atlántico tournament in Barcelona. A few weeks later, Nadal won his first title at the Masters Series Hamburg, defeating Federer in the three-set final. He then won the French Open, becoming the fifth man in the open era to win a Grand Slam singles title without losing a set. He defeated Federer in the final for the third straight year, but this was the most lopsided of all their matches, as Nadal only lost four games and gave Federer his first bagel since 1999. This was Nadal's fourth consecutive French title, tying Björn Borg's all-time record. Nadal became the fourth male player during the open era to win the same Grand Slam singles tournament four consecutive years (the others being Borg, Pete Sampras, and Federer). Nadal then played Federer in the final of Wimbledon for the third consecutive year, in the most anticipated match of their rivalry. Nadal entered the final on a 23-match winning streak, including his first career grass-court title at the Artois Championships staged at the Queen's Club in London prior to Wimbledon. Federer had won his record fifth grass-court title at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, and then reached the Wimbledon final without losing a set. Unlike their previous two Wimbledon finals, though, Federer was not the prohibitive favorite, and many analysts picked Nadal to win. They played the longest (in terms of time on court, not in terms of numbers of games) final in Wimbledon history, and because of rain delays, Nadal won the fifth set 9–7 in near-darkness. The match was widely lauded as the greatest Wimbledon final ever, with some tennis critics even calling it the greatest match in tennis history. By winning his first Wimbledon title, Nadal became the third man in the open era to win both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year, after Rod Laver in 1969, and Borg in 1978–80, (Federer later accomplished this the following year) as well as the second Spaniard to win Wimbledon. He also ended Federer's record streak of five consecutive Wimbledon titles and 65 straight wins on grass courts. This is also the first time that Nadal won two Grand Slams back-to-back.

After Wimbledon, Nadal extended his winning streak to a career-best 32 matches. He won his second Rogers Cup title in Toronto, and then made it into the semifinals of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio. As a result, Nadal clinched the US Open Series and, combined with Federer's early-round losses in both of those tournaments, finally earned the world No. 1 ranking on 18 August, officially ending Federer's record four-and-a-half year reign at the top.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Nadal defeated Novak Djoković of Serbia in the semifinals 6–4, 1–6, 6–4 and Fernando González of Chile in the final to win his first Olympic gold medal. Nadal became the first male player ranked in the top five to win the gold medal.

At the US Open, Nadal was the top-seeded player for the first time at a Grand Slam tournament. He did not lose a set during his first three matches, defeating qualifiers in the first and second rounds and Viktor Troicki in the third round. He then needed four sets to defeat both Sam Querrey in the fourth round and Mardy Fish in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, he lost to eventual runner up, Andy Murray 6–2, 7–6, 4–6, 6–4. Later in the year in Madrid, Nadal helped Spain defeat the United States in the Davis Cup semifinals.

At the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid, Nadal lost in the semifinals to Gilles Simon 3–6, 7–5, 7–6. However, his performance at the event guaranteed that he would become the first Spaniard during the open era to finish the year as the world No. 1. On 24 October at the Campoamor theatre in Oviedo, Spain, Nadal was given the Prince of Asturias Award for Sports, in recognition of his achievements in tennis. Two weeks after the Madrid Masters at the BNP Paribas Masters in France, Nadal reached the quarterfinals, where he faced Nikolay Davydenko. Nadal lost the first set 6–1, before retiring in the second with a knee injury. The following week, Nadal announced his withdrawal from the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, citing tendinitis of the knee. On 10 November, Nadal withdrew from Spain's Davis Cup final against Argentina, as his knee injury had not healed completely.

2009

Nadal's first official ATP tour event for the year was the 250 series Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha. After his first-round match with Fabrice Santoro, Nadal was awarded the 2008 ATP World Tour Champion trophy. Nadal eventually lost in the quarterfinals to Gaël Monfils. Nadal also entered and won the tournament's doubles event with partner Marc López, defeating the world No. 1 doubles team of Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić in the final. As noted by statistician Greg Sharko, this was the first time since 1990, that the world No. 1 singles player had played the world No. 1 doubles player in a final.

At the 2009 Australian Open, Nadal won his first five matches without dropping a set, before defeating compatriot Fernando Verdasco in the semifinals in the longest match in Australian Open history at 5 hours and 14 minutes. This win set up a championship match with Roger Federer, their first meeting ever in a hard-court Grand Slam tournament and their nineteenth meeting overall. Nadal defeated Federer in five sets to earn his first hard-court Grand Slam singles title, making him the first Spaniard to win the Australian Open and the fourth male tennis player—after Jimmy Connors, Mats Wilander, and Andre Agassi—to win Grand Slam singles titles on three different surfaces. This win also made Nadal the first male tennis player to hold three Grand Slam singles titles on three different surfaces at the same time. Nadal then played the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam. In the final, he lost to second-seeded Murray in three sets. During the final, Nadal called a trainer to attend to a tendon problem with his right knee, which notably affected his play in the final set. Although this knee problem was not associated with Nadal's right knee tendonitis, it was serious enough to cause him to withdraw from the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships a week later.

In March, Nadal helped Spain defeat Serbia in a Davis Cup World Group first-round tie on clay in Benidorm, Spain. Nadal defeated Janko Tipsarević and Novak Djokovic. The win over world No. 3 Djokovic was Nadal's twelfth consecutive Davis Cup singles match win and boosted his career win–loss record against Djokovic to 11–4, including 6–0 on clay.

At the 2009 Indian Wells Masters, Nadal won his thirteenth Masters 1000 series tournament. In the fourth round, Nadal saved five match points, before defeating David Nalbandian for the first time. Nadal defeated Juan Martín del Potro in the quarterfinals and Andy Roddick in the semi-finals, before defeating Murray in the final. The next ATP tour event was the 2009 Miami Masters. Nadal advanced to the quarterfinals, where he again faced Argentinian del Potro, this time losing the match. This was the first time del Potro had defeated Nadal in five career matches.

Nadal began his European clay court season at the 2009 Monte Carlo Masters, where he won a record fifth consecutive singles title there. He defeated Novak Djokovic in the final for his fifth consecutive win, a record in the open era. Nadal is the first male player to win the same ATP Master series event for five consecutive years.

Nadal then competed in the ATP 500 event in Barcelona. He advanced to his fifth consecutive Barcelona final, where he faced David Ferrer. Nadal went on to beat Ferrer 6–2, 7–5 to record five consecutive Barcelona victories. At the Rome Masters, Nadal reached the final, where he defeated Novak Djokovic to improve his overall record to 13–4 and clay record to 8–0 against the Serb. He became the first player to win four Rome titles.

After winning two clay-court Masters, he participated in the Madrid Open. He lost to Roger Federer 4–6, 4–6 in the final. This was the first time that Nadal had lost to Federer since the semifinals of the 2007 Tennis Masters Cup.

On 19 May, the ATP World Tour announced that Nadal was the first player out of eight to qualify for the 2009 ATP World Tour Finals, to be played at the O2 Arena in London.

By beating Lleyton Hewitt in the third round of 2009 French Open, Nadal (2005–09 French Open) set a record of 31 consecutive wins at Roland Garros, beating the previous record of 28 by Björn Borg (1978–81 French Open). Nadal had won 32 consecutive sets at Roland Garros (since winning the last 2 sets at the 2007 French Open final against Federer), the second-longest winning streak in the tournament's history behind Björn Borg's record of 41 consecutive sets. This run came to an end on 31 May 2009, when Nadal lost to eventual runner-up, Robin Söderling in the 4th round. The Swede triumphed 6–2, 6–7, 6–4, 7–6. This was Nadal's first loss at the French Open.

After his surprise defeat at Roland Garros, Nadal withdrew from the AEGON Championships. It was confirmed that Nadal was suffering from tendinitis in both of his knees. On 19 June, Nadal withdrew from the 2009 Wimbledon Championship, citing his recurring knee injury. He was the first champion to not defend the title since Goran Ivanišević in 2001. Roger Federer went on to win the title, and Nadal consequently dropped back to world No. 2 on 6 July 2009. Nadal later announced his withdrawal from the Davis Cup.

On 4 August, Nadal's uncle, Toni Nadal, confirmed that Nadal would return to play at the Rogers Cup in Montreal. There, in his first tournament since Roland Garros, Nadal lost in the quarterfinals to Juan Martín del Potro. With this loss, he relinquished the No. 2 spot to Andy Murray on 17 August 2009, ranking outside the top two for the first time since 25 July 2005.

In the quarterfinals of the US Open he defeated Fernando González 7–6, 7–6, 6–0 in a rain-delayed encounter. However, like his previous US Open campaign, he fell in the semifinals, this time losing to eventual champion Juan Martín del Potro 2–6, 2–6, 2–6. Despite the loss, he regained his No. 2 ranking after Andy Murray's early exit.

At the World Tour Finals, Nadal lost all three of his matches against Robin Söderling, Nikolay Davydenko, and Novak Djokovic respectively without winning a set.

In December, Nadal participated in the second Davis Cup final of his career. He defeated Czech No. 2 Tomáš Berdych in his first singles rubber to give the Spanish Davis Cup Team their first point in the tie. After the Spanish Davis Cup team had secured its fourth Davis Cup victory, Nadal defeated Jan Hájek in the first Davis Cup dead rubber of his career. The win gave Nadal his 14th consecutive singles victory at Davis Cup (his 13th on clay).

Nadal finished the year as No. 2 for the fourth time in five years. Nadal won the Golden Bagel Award for 2009, with nine 6–0 sets during the year. Nadal has won the award three times (a tour record).

2010

Nadal began the year by participating in the Capitala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. He defeated compatriot David Ferrer 7–6, 6–3 to reach his second final in the exhibition tournament. In the final, Nadal defeated Robin Söderling 7–6, 7–5.

Nadal participated in an Australian Open warm-up tournament, the Qatar ExxonMobil Open ATP 250 event in Doha, where he lost in the finals to Nikolay Davydenko 6–0, 6–7, 4–6.

In the first round of the Australian Open, Nadal defeated Peter Luczak of Australia 7–6, 6–1, 6–4. In the second round, he beat Lukáš Lacko 6–2, 6–2, 6–2. In the third round, he was tested by Philipp Kohlschreiber, finally beating him 6–4, 6–2, 2–6, 7–5. In the fourth round, he beat Ivo Karlović of Croatia, 6–4, 4–6, 6–4, 6–4. In the quarterfinals, Nadal pulled out at 3–0 down in the third set against Andy Murray, having lost the first two sets 6–3, 7–6. After examining Nadal's knees, doctors told him that he should take two weeks of rest, and then two weeks of rehabilitation.

Nadal reached the semifinals in singles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, where he was the defending champion; however, eventual champion Ivan Ljubičić defeated him in three sets. He and countryman López won the doubles title, though, as wildcard entrants against number one seeds Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić. This boosted his doubles ranking 175 places to world number 66, whereas he was 241st before Indian Wells. After Indian Wells, Nadal reached the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open, where he lost to eventual champion Andy Roddick in three sets.

Nadal reached the final of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters in Monaco, after beating fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 6–3, 6–2 in the semifinals. This was Nadal's first tour final since Doha earlier in the year. He won the final 6–0, 6–1 over his compatriot Fernando Verdasco. He lost 14 games throughout all five matches, the fewest he had ever lost en route to a championship, and the final was the shortest Masters 1000 final in terms of games. With this win, Nadal became the first player in the open era to win a tournament title for six straight years.

Unlike in previous years, Nadal next chose to skip the Barcelona tournament (despite being that event's five-time defending champion), and his next tournament was the 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia. He defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber, Victor Hănescu, and Stanlias Wawrinka, all in straight sets, to win his 57th straight match in April. In the semis, he faced a resilient Ernests Gulbis, who defeated Roger Federer earlier in the tournament and took Nadal to three sets for the first time this clay-court season. Nadal eventually prevailed with a 6–4, 3–6, 6–4 in 2 hours and 40minutes. He then defeated compatriot David Ferrer in the final 7–5, 6–2 for his fifth title at Rome to equal Andre Agassi's record of winning 17 ATP Masters titles.

Nadal then entered the 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, where he had finished runner-up the previous year. Being one of the top eight seeds, he received a bye in the first round. In the second round, he defeated qualifier Oleksandr Dolgopolov Jr in straight sets. He then played the six-foot-nine-inch American John Isner. Nadal comfortably came through in straight sets, 7–5, 6–4. He defeated Gaël Monfils in the quarterfinals 6–1, 6–3 and his countryman Nicolás Almagro in the next round, who was playing in his first Masters 1000 semifinal, 4–6, 6–2, 6–2. The first set of his match against Almagro would be just the second set he lost on clay up to this point in 2010. Nadal then defeated longtime rival Roger Federer 6–4, 7–6, avenging his 2009 finals loss to Federer. The win gave him his 18th Masters title, breaking the all-time record. He became the first player to win all three clay-court Masters titles in a single year and the first player to win three consecutive Masters events. Nadal moved back to No. 2 the following day.

Entering the French Open, many were expecting another Nadal-Federer final. However, this became impossible when rival Robin Söderling defeated Federer 3–6, 6–3, 7–5, 6–4 in the quarterfinals. The failure of Federer to reach the semifinals allowed Nadal to regain the world No. 1 ranking if he were to win the tournament. Nadal advanced to the final and defeated Soderling 6–4, 6–2, 6–4 to win the French Open. The win gave Nadal his seventh Grand Slam, tying him with John McEnroe, John Newcombe, and Mats Wilander on the all-time list, and allowed Nadal to reclaim the position of world No. 1, denying his biggest rival Roger Federer the all-time record for weeks at No. 1. By this win, Nadal became the first man to win the three Masters series on clay and the French Open. This was dubbed by the media as the "Clay Slam". This victory at Roland Garros marked the second time (2008) that Nadal had won the French Open without dropping a single set (tying the record held by Björn Borg). With the win in Paris he also booked his place at the World Tour Finals in London and became the first player to win five French Open titles in six years.

In June, Nadal entered the AEGON Championships, which he had won in 2008, at the prestigious Queen's Club. He played singles and doubles at this grass court tournament as a warmup for Wimbledon. Being one of the top eight seeds, he received a bye in the first round. In the second round, where he played his first match on grass since winning Wimbledon 2008, he defeated Marcos Daniel easily, 6–2, 6–2. In the third round, he played Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan, whom he defeated 7–6, 4–6, 6–4, to advance to the quarterfinals. However, he was defeated by compatriot Feliciano López 6–7, 4–6.

At the Wimbledon, Nadal beat Kei Nishikori 6–2, 6–4, 6–4. Nadal was taken to the limit by Robin Haase winning 5–7, 6–2, 3–6, 6–0, 6–3. He defeated Philipp Petzschner in the third round. The match was a 5-set thriller, with Nadal triumphing 6–4, 4–6, 6–7, 6–2, 6–3. During his match with Petzschener, Nadal was warned twice for receiving coaching from his coach and uncle, Toni Nadal, resulting in a $2000 fine by Wimbledon officials. Allegedly, encouraging words for Nadal shouted during the match were some sort of coaching code signal. He met Paul-Henri Mathieu of France in the round of 16 and comfortably beat Mathieu 6–4, 6–2, 6–2. In the quarterfinals, he got past Robin Söderling of Sweden in four sets 3–6, 6–3, 7–6, 6–1. He defeated Andy Murray in straight sets 6–4, 7–6, 6–4 to reach his fourth Wimbledon final.

Nadal won the 2010 Wimbledon men's title by defeating Tomáš Berdych in straight sets 6–3, 7–5, 6–4. After the win, Nadal said "it is more than a dream for me" and thanked the crowd for being both kind and supportive to him and his adversary during the match and in the semifinal against Andy Murray. The win gave him a second Wimbledon title and an eighth career major title just past the age of 24. The win also gave Nadal his first "Old World Triple"; the last person to achieve this was Björn Borg in 1978 ("Old World Triple" is a term given to winning the Italian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon in the same year).

In his first hard-court tournament since Wimbledon, Nadal advanced to the semifinals of the Rogers Cup, along with No. 2 Novak Djokovic, No. 3 Roger Federer, and No. 4 Andy Murray, after coming back from a one-set deficit to defeat Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4. In the semifinal, defending champion Murray defeated Nadal 6–3, 6–4, becoming the only player to triumph over the Spaniard twice in 2010. Nadal also competed in the doubles with Djokovic in a one-time, high-profile partnership of the world No. 1 and No. 2, the first such team since the Jimmy Connors and Arthur Ashe team in 1976. However, Nadal and Djokovic lost in the first round to Canadians Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil. The next week, Nadal was the top seed at the Cincinnati Masters, losing in the quarterfinals to 2006 Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis.

At the 2010 US Open, Nadal was the top seed for the second time in three years. He defeated Teymuraz Gabashvili, Denis Istomin, Gilles Simon, number 23 seed Feliciano López, number 8 seed Fernando Verdasco, and number 12 seed Mikhail Youzhny all without dropping a set, to reach his first US Open final, becoming only the eighth man in the Open Era to reach the final of all four majors, and at age 24 the second youngest ever to do so, behind only Jim Courier. In the final, he defeated Novak Djokovic 6–4, 5–7, 6–4, 6–2 which completed the Career Grand Slam for Nadal and he became the second male after Andre Agassi to complete a Career Golden Slam. Nadal also became the first man to win grand slams on clay, grass, and hard court in the same year, and the first to win the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open in the same year since Rod Laver in 1969. Nadal and Mats Wilander are the only male players to win at least two Grand Slams each on clay, grass, and hardcourts in their careers. Nadal also became the first left-handed man to win the US Open since John McEnroe in 1984. Nadal's victory also clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking for 2010, making Nadal only the third player (after Ivan Lendl in 1989 and Roger Federer in 2009) to regain the year-end number one ranking after having lost it. Nadal began his Asian tour at the 2010 PTT Thailand Open in Bangkok where he reached the semifinals, losing to compatriot Guillermo García López. Nadal was able to regroup, and at the 2010 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo (debut), he defeated Santiago Giraldo, Milos Raonic, and Dmitry Tursunov. In the semifinals against Viktor Troicki, Nadal saved two match points in the deciding set tiebreaker to win it 9–7 in the end. In the final, Nadal comfortably defeated Gaël Monfils 6–1, 7–5 for his seventh title of the season.

Nadal next played in the 2010 Shanghai Rolex Masters in Shanghai, where he was the top seed, but lost to world No. 12 Jürgen Melzer in the third round, snapping his record streak of 21 consecutive Masters quarterfinals. On the 5 November, Nadal announced that he was pulling out of the Paris Masters due to tendinitis in his left shoulder. On 21 November 2010, in London, Nadal won the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for the first time.

At the 2010 ATP World Tour Finals in London, Nadal defeated Roddick 3–6, 7–6, 6–4 in the first match, Djokovic 7–5, 6–2 in the second match, and Berdych 7–6, 6–1 in the third match, to advance to the semifinals for the third time in his career. This is the first time that Nadal achieved three wins in the round-robin stage. In the semifinal, he defeated Murray 7–6, 3–6, 7–6 in a hard-fought match to reach his first final at the tournament. In only their second meeting of the year, Federer beat Nadal in the final by a score of 6–3, 3–6, 6–1. After the match, Nadal stated: "Roger is probably the more complete player of the world. I'm not going to say I lost that match because I was tired." This was a reference to his marathon victory over Murray on Saturday. "I tried my best this afternoon, but Roger was simply better than me."

Nadal ended the 2010 season having won three Slams and three Masters 1000 tournaments, and having regained the No. 1 ranking.

Next up for Nadal was a two-match exhibition against Federer for the Roger Federer Foundation. The first match took place in Zürich on 21 December 2010, and the second in Madrid the next day.

2011

Nadal started 2011, by participating in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. He defeated Tomáš Berdych 6–4, 6–4 to reach his third final in the exhibition tournament. In the final, he won over his main rival Roger Federer 7–6, 7–6.

At his first tour event of the year in an Australian Open warm-up tournament, the Qatar ExxonMobil Open ATP 250 event in Doha, Qatar, Nadal barely struggled past his first three opponents, Karol Beck 6–3, 6–0, Lukáš Lacko 7–6, 0–6, 6–3, and Ernests Gulbis 7–6, 6–3 citing fever as the primary reason for his poor performance. He fell in straight sets to a resurgent Nikolay Davydenko in the semifinals, 6–3, 6–2. He and countryman López won the doubles title by defeating the Italian duo Daniele Bracciali and Andreas Seppi 6–3, 7–6.

In the first round of the Australian Open, Nadal defeated Marcos Daniel of Brazil 6–0, 5–0 ret. In the second round, he beat upcoming qualifier Ryan Sweeting of the United States 6–2, 6–1, 6–1. In the third round, he was tested by emerging player Bernard Tomic of Australia, who previously ousted Nadal's countryman Feliciano López, but Nadal was victorious with a score of 6–2, 7–5, 6–3. He went on to defeat Marin Čilić of Croatia 6–2, 6–4, 6–3 in the fourth round. He suffered an apparent hamstring injury against fellow Spaniard David Ferrer early in the pair's quarterfinal match and ultimately lost in straight sets 4–6, 2–6, 3–6, thus ending his effort to win four major tournaments in a row.

On 7 February 2011, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Nadal won the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for the first time, ahead of footballer Lionel Messi, Sebastian Vettel, Spain's Andres Iniesta, Lakers star Kobe Bryant and Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao.

In March, Nadal helped Spain defeat Belgium in a 2011 Davis Cup World Group first-round tie on hard indoor in Spiroudome, Charleroi, Belgium. Nadal defeated Ruben Bemelmans 6–2, 6–4, 6–2. After Spain's victory in three matches, Nadal played a second unnecessary match against Olivier Rochus and won 6–4, 6–2.

At the 2011 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Nadal defeated upcoming qualifier Rik de Voest of South Africa 6–0, 6–2 in the first match. In the Third round, he beat upcoming qualifier Ryan Sweeting of the United States 6–3, 6–1. He then defeated upcoming Indian qualifier Somdev Devvarman 7–5, 6–4 in the Fourth round. In the quarterfinals Nadal had a hard time against Croatian Ivo Karlovic but won 5–7, 6–1, 7–6, and in the semi-finals he met Argentine player Juan Martin del Potro, back from a long injury. The last three confrontations between the players was in favor of Del Potro, and despite some difficulties Nadal won 6–4, 6–4. He reached his third final at Indian Wells, and in the final lost against Novak Djokovic. The Serbian player won 6–4, 3–6, 2–6. The next day Nadal and Djokovic played a friendly match in Bogota, Colombia which Nadal won.

Nadal started the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open win over Japanese player Kei Nishikori 6–4, 6–4, then met his compatriot Feliciano Lopez in the third round, whom he defeated 6–3, 6–3, and in the fourth round defeated Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine 6–1, 6–2. In the quarterfinals Nadal had the first real test of the tournament where he met the world No. 7 seed Tomas Berdych. After a good first set, Nadal's level of play fell significantly due to an injured right shoulder, and he lost the second set. He eventually triumphed 6–2, 3–6, 6–3. in the semi-finals Nadal met main rival Roger Federer, their first meeting in a semi-final since the 2007 Masters Cup. Nadal was swiftly victorious at 6–3, 6–2; this match was one of the fastest matches played on hard courts. For the second time in two weeks, Nadal faced Novak Djokovic in the final. As in the Indian Wells tournament, Nadal won the first set, and Djokovic the second. The third set ended in a tiebreak with Djokovic winning the match 4–6, 6–3, 7–6. This is the first time Nadal reached the finals of Indian Wells and Miami in the same year.

Nadal began his clay-court season in style, winning the 2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters with the loss of just one set. Nadal defeated Jarkko Nieminen 6–2, 6–2, Richard Gasquet 6–2, 6–4, Ivan Ljubicic 6–1, 6–3 and Andy Murray 6–4, 2–6, 6–1 in the semi-final to reach his seventh consecutive final in Monte Carlo. In the final, Nadal avenged his defeat by David Ferrer in the quarter-finals of the 2011 Australian Open and won the match 6–4, 7–5. He is the first man to have won the same tournament seven times in a row at the ATP level in the open era. Nadal chalked up his 37th straight win at the clay-court event, where he has not lost since the 2003 Monte Carlo Masters. It was his 44th career title and 19th at a Masters event. Nadal lost his three previous finals, twice to world No. 2 Novak Djokovic and once to No. 3 Roger Federer. It was his first title since winning the Japan Open. Guillermo Coria was the last player to beat Nadal at Monte Carlo, in the third round in 2003. Nadal missed the 2004 tournament because of an injury. Nadal shares third place with Björn Borg and Manuel Orantes in the list of players with the most titles on clay.

Just a week later won his sixth Barcelona Open crown, winning the 2011 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell in straight sets. He won the final over Ferrer again (3rd Barcelona final and 5th clay court final), 6–2, 6–4. In doing so Nadal became the first man in the open era to have won two specific tournaments at least six times each. Nadal is now the leader in terms of matches won this year, with 29. He did not gain any points for this victory, however, as only four ATP 500 tournaments can be counted towards a players ranking at one time, but they will go into effect 08.08.2011 when the result of the 2010 Legg Mason Tennis Classic ATP 500 tournament of Washington expires.

At the Madrid in May, he defeated Marcos Baghdatis, had a walkover against Juan Martin del Potro, and defeated Michael Llodra and Roger Federer, before losing the final to Novak Djokovic, 7–5, 6–4. Nadal lost in straight sets to Novak Djokovic in the Rome Masters final, 6–4, 6–4. This marked the first time that Nadal has lost twice on clay, to the same player, in a single season. However, Nadal retained his number one ranking during the clay court season and won his sixth French Open title by defeating Roger Federer 7–5, 7–6, 5–7, 6–1.

At Wimbledon, Nadal beat Michael Russell in the first round 6–4, 6–2, 6–2, Ryan Sweeting 6–3, 6–2, 6–4 in the second round, Gilles Muller 7–6, 7–6,6–0 in the third round. He then faced former US Open Champion Juan Martin del Potro in the fourth round prevailing 7–6, 3–6, 7–6, 6–4. He then faced tenth seeded Mardy Fish in the Quarter Final prevailing in four sets 6–3, 6–3, 5–7, 6–4. His Semifinal opponent was World no 4 Andy Murray, Murray took the first set but Nadal upped his game and won in four sets 5–7, 6–2, 6–2, 6–4. This set up a final against the World No. 2 Novak Djokovic, who had beaten Nadal in all four of their matches in 2011 (all in Masters finals). Djokovic broke in the 10th game of the first set to take it 6–4; he then won the second comfortably 6–1, but Nadal fought back breaking earlier in the third to win it 6–1. In a tense fourth set Djokovic broke in the ninth game and clinched the title, with Nadal losing 4–6, 1–6, 6–1, 3–6. This was the first Grand Slam final that Nadal had lost to someone other than Roger Federer and his first loss at Wimbledon since his 5-set loss to Federer in the 2007 final. The loss ended Nadal's winning streak in Grand Slam finals at seven, preventing him from tying the all-time record of eight victories in a row set by Pete Sampras. Djokovic's success at the tournament also meant the Serb ascended to World No. 1 for the first time, breaking the dominance of Federer and Nadal on the position, which one of them had held for every week since 2 February 2004. Nadal fell to World No. 2 in the rankings for the first time since June 2010.

After resting from a foot injury sustained during Wimbledon for a month, he contested the 2011 Rogers Cup, where he was shocked by Croatian Ivan Dodig in a third set tiebreak. He next played in the 2011 Cincinnati Masters, where he lost to Mardy Fish in the quarterfinals.

Major Titles

Grand Slam performance timeline

''To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through the 2011 Wimbledon Championships.''

{|class=wikitable style=text-align:center;font-size:97% |- !Tournament!!2003!!2004!!2005!!2006!!2007!!2008!!2009!!2010!!2011!!width=65|Career SR!!width=65|Career W-L!!width=65|'''Win % |- | colspan="15" style="text-align:left;"|'''Grand Slam Tournaments |- | style="background:#efefef; text-align:left;"|Australian Open |A | style="background:#afeeee;"|3R | style="background:#afeeee;"|4R |A | style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF | style="background:yellow;"|SF |bgcolor=lime|'''W | style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF | style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF | style="background:#efefef;"|1 / 7 | style="background:#efefef;"|29–6 | style="background:#efefef;"|82.86 |- | style="background:#efefef; text-align:left;"|French Open |A |A |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=lime|'''W | style="background:#afeeee;"|4R |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=lime|'''W | style="background:#efefef;"|6 / 7 | style="background:#efefef;"|45–1 | style="background:#efefef;"|97.83 |- | style="background:#efefef; text-align:left;"|Wimbledon | style="background:#afeeee;"|3R |A | style="background:#afeeee;"|2R | style="background:thistle;"|F | style="background:thistle;"|F |bgcolor=lime|'''W |A |bgcolor=lime|'''W |style="background:thistle;"|F | style="background:#efefef;"|2 / 7 | style="background:#efefef;"|35–5 | style="background:#efefef;"|87.50 |- | style="background:#efefef; text-align:left;"|US Open | style="background:#afeeee;"|2R | style="background:#afeeee;"|2R | style="background:#afeeee;"|3R | style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF | style="background:#afeeee;"|4R | style="background:yellow;"|SF | style="background:yellow;"|SF |bgcolor=lime|'''W | | style="background:#efefef;"|1 / 8 | style="background:#efefef;"|28–7 | style="background:#efefef;"|80.00 |- style="background:#efefef;" |align=left|'''Win–Loss !3–2 !3–2 !13–3 !17–2 !20–3 !24–2 !15–2 !25–1 !17–2 !10 / 29 !137–19 !87.82 |}

Grand Slam Finals

Singles: 13 (10 titles, 3 runner-ups)

Olympic finals

Singles: 1 (1 title)

{|class="sortable wikitable" |- |width=100|'''Outcome |width=50|'''Year |width=200|'''Championship |width=75|'''Surface |width=200|'''Opponent in the final |width=220|'''Score in the final |- style="background:gold;" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner||2008||Beijing Olympics||Hard|| Fernando González||6–3, 7–6^(7–2), 6–3 |}

Career statistics

ITF Grand Slams records

These records were attained in the Open Era of tennis.

{|class=wikitable |- bgcolor= |width=345|''ITF Grand Slams|| style="width:105px; text-align:center;"|''Year(s)||width=400|''Record accomplished''||width=200|'''''Player tied |- |Australian OpenFrench OpenWimbledonUS OpenOlympics||align=center|20092005200820102008||Career Golden Slam||Andre Agassi |- |Australian OpenFrench OpenWimbledonUS Open||align=center|2009200520082010||Career Grand Slam||Rod Laver Andre Agassi Roger Federer |- |Australian Open – French Open – Wimbledon – US Open||align=center|2005–2010||At least two Grand Slams on grass, clay, and hard courts||Mats Wilander |- |French Open – US Open||align=center|2010||Winner of grand slams on clay, grass, and hard court in calendar year||'''Stands alone |- |French Open – US Open||align=center|2010||Winner of three consecutive grand slams in calendar year||Rod Laver |- |French Open – US Open||align=center|2008–2010||Simultaneous holder of grand slams on clay, grass, and hard court||Roger Federer |- |Olympics – US Open||align=center|2008–2010||Simultaneous holder of Olympic singles gold medal and grand slams on clay, grass, and hard court||'''Stands alone |- |Olympics – Wimbledon||align=center|2008–2010||Simultaneous holder of Olympic singles gold medal and Wimbledon||'''Stands alone |- |Olympics – French Open||align=center|2008–2010||Simultaneous holder of Olympic singles gold medal and three grand slams||Andre Agassi |- |Olympics – US Open||align=center|2008–2010||Simultaneous holder of Olympic singles gold medal and clay & hard court grand slams||Andre Agassi |- |French Open||align=center|2005–2011||6 titles in 7 years||'''Stands alone |- |French Open||align=center|2005–2011||6 titles||Björn Borg |- |French Open||align=center|2005–2009||31 consecutive match wins||'''Stands alone |- |French Open—Wimbledon||align=center|2008, 2010||1 "Channel Slam": Winning both tournaments in the same year||Rod Laver Björn Borg Roger Federer |- |French Open||align=center|2005–2008||4 consecutive wins||Björn Borg |- |French Open||align=center|2005–2008||4 consecutive finals||Björn Borg Ivan Lendl Roger Federer |- |French Open||align=center|2008, 2010||Most French Open championships without losing a set (2)||Björn Borg |- |French Open||align=center|2005–2008, 2010–2011||6 French Open Finals overall||Björn Borg |- |Australian Open French Open Wimbledon US Open||align=center|2005–2010||Finalist in all the 4 majors||Rod Laver Ken Rosewall Ivan Lendl Stefan Edberg Jim Courier Andre Agassi Roger Federer |}

ATP Masters records

{|class=wikitable |- bgcolor= |width=345|''ATP Masters Series|| style="width:105px; text-align:center;"|''Year(s)||width=400|''Record accomplished||width=200|''Player tied |- |Monte Carlo Masters—Madrid Masters||align=center|2005–2011||Most Masters singles titles (19)||'''Stands alone |- |Monte Carlo Masters—Rome Masters||align=center|2005–2011||Most Masters singles finals (29)|| Roger Federer |- |Madrid Masters||align=center|2009||Longest best-of-three sets Men's singles match ever played (4 hours, 3 minutes)||Novak Djokovic |- |Monte Carlo Masters—Roland Garros||align=center|2010||1 Clay Slam: 3 Masters series on clay and Roland Garros||'''Stands alone |- |Monte Carlo Masters||align=center|2005–2011||7 consecutive titles||'''Stands alone |- |Rome Masters||align=center|2005–2010||5 titles in 6 years||'''Stands alone |- |ATP Masters||align=center|2008–2010||21 consecutive Quarter-Finals||'''Stands alone |- |ATP Masters||align=center|2008||Consecutive tournaments won on 3 different surfaces||Roger Federer (2004) |- |ATP Masters||align=center|2005–2011||Most consecutive years winning at least ONE Masters Title – 7||'''Stands alone |- |Monte Carlo Masters—Rome Masters||align=center|2005–20072009–2010||Most years winning both Titles – 5||'''Stands alone |- |ATP Masters||align=center|2007–2010||Consecutive years winning at least 3 Masters Titles – 4||'''Stands alone |- |ATP Masters||align=center|2005–2011||Highest Winning Percentage: 83.5% (208–41)||'''Stands alone |- |Monte Carlo Masters-Rome Masters-Madrid Masters||align=center|2010||Winning 3 consecutive ATP Masters Titles||Novak Djokovic (2011) |- |Monte Carlo Masters||align=center|2008||Winner of the Singles and Doubles Tournament at the same Tournament and the same year ||Jim Courier (Indian Wells 1991) |- |ATP Masters||align=center|2011||Most Consecutive Finals reached – 5||'''Stands alone |}

Rivalry with Roger Federer

Nadal and Federer have been playing against each other since 2004, and this rivalry is a significant part of both men's careers: They are the only men in the open era who have played each other in eight Grand Slam finals, with Nadal winning six of the eight finals. Four of these six wins were on Nadal's best surface (clay), and he has beaten Federer twice in non-clay major finals: Wimbledon 2008 and the Australian Open 2009. Their 2008 Wimbledon final has been lauded as the greatest match of all time by many long-time tennis critics. Many critics consider their rivalry to be the greatest in tennis history.

Twelve of Nadal's 17 wins over Federer have come on clay courts, Nadal's best surface. Nadal leads their overall head-to-head series 17–8 (Nadal leads 12–2 on clay, Federer leads 2–1 on grass, tie 4–4 on hard courts).

Playing style

Nadal generally plays an aggressive, behind-the-baseline game founded on heavy topspin groundstrokes, consistency, speedy footwork and tenacious court coverage thus making him an aggressive counterpuncher. Known for his athleticism and speed around the court, Nadal is an excellent defender who hits well on the run, constructing winning plays from seemingly defensive positions. He also plays very fine dropshots, which work especially well because his heavy topspin often forces opponents to the back of the court. Nadal is primarily a baseliner, although he has been noted by several commentators (including John McEnroe) as an excellent volleyer, which has contributed to his reaching four Wimbledon finals on grass, winning two of them, and has been observed approaching the net more often since 2009.

In recent years, Nadal employs a full western grip forehand, often with a "lasso-whip" follow through, where his left arm hits through the ball and finishes above his left shoulder – as opposed to a more traditional finish across the body or around his opposite shoulder. Nadal's forehand groundstroke form allows him to hit shots with heavy topspin – more so than many of his contemporaries. San Francisco tennis researcher John Yandell used a high-speed video camera and special software to count the average number of revolutions of a tennis ball hit full force by Nadal. "The first guys we did were Sampras and Agassi. They were hitting forehands that in general were spinning about 1,800 to 1,900 revolutions per minute. Federer is hitting with an amazing amount of spin, too, right? 2,700 revolutions per minute. Well, we measured one forehand Nadal hit at 4,900. His average was 3,200." While Nadal's shots tend to land short of the baseline, the characteristically high bounces his forehands achieve tend to mitigate the advantage an opponent would normally gain from capitalizing on a short ball. Although his forehand is based on heavy topspin, he can hit the ball deep and flat with a more orthodox follow through for clean winners.

Nadal's serve was initially considered a weak point in his game, although his improvements in both first serve points won and break points saved since 2005, have allowed him to consistently compete for and win major titles on faster surfaces. Nadal relies on the consistency of his serve to gain a strategic advantage in points, rather than going for service winners. However, before the 2010 season, he altered his service motion, arriving in the trophy pose earlier and pulling the racket lower during the trophy pose. Before the 2010 U.S. Open, Nadal modified his service grip to a more continental one. These two changes in his serve have increased its average speed by around 10 mph, maxing out at 135 mph (217 km), allowing him to win more free points on his serve.

Nadal's mental resilience and strategic approach to the game are other noted strengths. Nadal is able to avoid discouragement regardless of match score, allowing him to singularly focus on winning the current point and gaining an advantage. As a strategic player, Nadal can assess outside variables such as court surface, weather conditions, and his opponent's tactics in order to adjust his own play to best adapt to present conditions.

Nadal is a clay court specialist in the sense that he has been extremely successful on that surface. Since 2005, he won six times at Roland Garros, seven times at Monte Carlo and five at Rome. However, Nadal has shed that label due to his success on other surfaces, including holding Grand Slams simultaneously on grass, hard courts, and clay on two separate occasions, winning five Masters series titles on hardcourt, and winning the Olympic gold medal on hardcourt. Despite praise for Nadal's talent and skill, some have questioned his longevity in the sport, citing his build and playing style as conducive to injury. Nadal himself has admitted to the physical toll hard courts place on ATP Tour players, calling for a reevaluated tour schedule featuring fewer hard court tournaments.

Public image

Equipment and endorsements

Nadal has appeared in advertising campaigns for Kia Motors as a global ambassador for the company. In May 2008, Kia released a claymation viral ad featuring Nadal in a tennis match with an alien. Nadal also has an endorsement agreement with Universal DVDs.

Nike serves as Nadal's clothing and shoe sponsor. Nadal's signature on-court attire entailed a variety of sleeveless shirts paired with 3/4 length capri pants. For the 2009 season, Nadal adopted more-traditional on-court apparel. Nike encouraged Nadal to update his look in order to reflect his new status as the sport's top player at that time and associate Nadal with a style that, while less distinctive than his "pirate" look, would be more widely emulated by consumers. At warmup tournaments in Abu Dhabi and Doha, Nadal played matches in a polo shirt specifically designed for him by Nike, paired with shorts cut above the knee. Nadal's new, more conventional style carried over to the 2009 Australian Open, where he was outfitted with Nike's Bold Crew Men's Tee and Nadal Long Check Shorts. Nadal wears Nike's Air CourtBallistec 2.3 tennis shoes, bearing various customizations throughout the season, including his nickname "Rafa" on the right shoe and a stylized bull logo on the left.

Becomes the face of Lanvin's ''L'Homme Sport'' cologne, launched April 2009.

Nadal uses an AeroPro Drive racquet with a 4 1/4-inch L2 grip. , Nadal's racquets are painted to resemble the new Babolat AeroPro Drive with Cortex GT racquet in order to market a current model which Babolat sells. Nadal uses no replacement grip, and instead wraps two overgrips around the handle. He used Duralast 15L strings until the 2010 season, when he switched to Babolat's new, black-colored, RPM Blast string. Nadal's rackets are always strung at , regardless of which surface or conditions he is playing on.

, Nadal is the international ambassador for Quely, a company from his native Majorca that manufactures biscuits, bakery and chocolate coated products; he has consumed their products ever since he was a young child.

In 2010, luxury watchmaker Richard Mille announced that he had developed an ultra-light wristwatch in collaboration with Nadal called the Richard Mille RM027 Tourbillon watch. The watch is made of titanium and lithium and is valued at US$525,000; Nadal was involved in the design and testing of the watch on the tennis court. During the 2010 French Open, Men's Fitness reported that Nadal wore the Richard Mille watch on the court as part of a sponsorship deal with the Swiss watchmaker.

Nadal replaces Cristiano Ronaldo as the new face of Emporio Armani Underwear and Armani Jeans for the spring/summer 2011 collection that will launch in February. This is the first time that the label has chosen a tennis player for the job; association football has ruled lately prior to Ronaldo, David Beckham graced the ads since 2008. Armani said that he selected Nadal as his latest male underwear model because "...he is ideal as he represents a healthy and positive model for youngsters."

In popular culture

In February 2010, Rafael Nadal was featured in the music video of "Gypsy", the forthcoming single from Shakira and part of her album release ''She Wolf''. In explaining why she chose Nadal for the video, Shakira was quoted as saying in an interview with the ''Latin American Herald Tribune'': "I thought that maybe I needed someone I could in some way identify with. And Rafael Nadal is a person who has been totally committed to his career since he was very young. Since he was 17, I believe." She added about "Gypsy": "I've been on the road since I was very, very young, so that's where the gypsy metaphor comes from."

Misc

128036 Rafaelnadal is a Main belt asteroid discovered in 2003 at the Observatorio Astronómico de Mallorca, Spain and named after Rafael Nadal.

Off the court

Involvement in football

Nadal has recently become seriously involved in Spanish football. Nadal is an avid fan of soccer club Real Madrid. On 8 July 2010, it was reported that Nadal has become a shareholder of RCD Mallorca, his local club by birth, in an attempt to assist the club from debt. Rafa reportedly owns 10 percent and was offered the role of vice president, but he rejected that offer. Though, his uncle Miguel Ángel Nadal, became assistant coach under Michael Laudrup. Nadal remains a passionate Real Madrid supporter; ''ESPN.com'' writer Graham Hunter wrote, "He's as ''Merengue'' as [Real Madrid icons] Raúl, Iker Casillas and Alfredo Di Stéfano." Shortly after acquiring his interest in Mallorca, he called out UEFA for apparent hypocrisy in ejecting the club from the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League for excessive debts, saying through a club spokesperson, "Well, if those are the criteria upon which UEFA is operating, then European competition will only comprise two or three clubs because all the rest are in debt, too."

He is also a fervent supporter of the Spanish national team, and was one of only six people not affiliated with the team or the national federation allowed into the team's locker room immediately following Spain's victory in the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final.

Philanthropy

Rafael Nadal took part in Thailand's 'A Million Trees For The King' project, planting a tree in honour of King Bhumibol Adulyadej on a visit to Hua Hin during his Thailand Open 2010. "For me it's an honour to part of this project," said Nadal. "It's a very good project. I want to congratulate the Thai people and congratulate the King for this unbelievable day. I wish all the best for this idea. It's very, very nice."

Fundación Rafa Nadal

The creation of the Fundación Rafa Nadal took place in November 2007, and its official presentation was in February 2008, at the Manacor Tennis Club in Mallorca, Spain. The foundation will focus on social work and development aid particularly on childhood and youth. On deciding why to start a foundation, Nadal said "This can be the beginning of my future, when I retire and have more time, [...] I am doing very well and I owe society, [...] A month-and-a-half ago I was in Chennai, in India. The truth is we live great here....I can contribute something with my image..." Nadal was inspired by the Red Cross benefit match against malaria with Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas, recalling, "We raised an amount of money that we would never have imagined. I have to thank Iker, my project partner, who went all out for it, [...] That is why the time has come to set up my own foundation and determine the destination of the money." Ana Maria Parera, Rafa's mom, chairs the organization and father Sebastian is vice-chairman. Coach and uncle Toni Nadal and his agent, former tennis player Carlos Costa, are also involved. Roger Federer has been giving Nadal advice on getting involved in philanthropy. Despite the fact that poverty in India struck him particularly hard, Nadal wants to start by helping "people close by, in the Balearic Islands, in Spain, and then, if possible, abroad."

On 16 October 2010, Nadal traveled to India for the first time to assist in the transformation of one of the poorest and most needy areas of India, Andhra Pradesh. He has an academy in the south of the country, in the state of Andhra Pradesh. His foundation has also worked in the Anantapur Educational Center project, in collaboration with the Vicente Ferrer Foundation.

Personal life

Nadal owns an Aston Martin DBS. Nadal lived with his parents and younger sister Maria Isabel, at an age when many tennis stars have long moved out, in a five-story apartment building in their hometown of Manacor, Mallorca. In June 2009, Spanish newspaper ''La Vanguardia'' and then ''The New York Times'' reported that Nadal's parents, Ana Maria and Sebastian, had separated. This news came after weeks of heated speculation in Internet posts and message boards over Nadal's personal issues as the cause of his setback. Nadal has revealed himself to be Agnostic.

Nadal's autobiography, ''Rafa'', written with assistance from John Carlin was published in August 2011.

See also

ATP World Tour records

List of ATP number 1 ranked players

List of Grand Slam men's singles champions

List of non-Grand Slam tennis statistics and records

128036 Rafaelnadal asteroid

List of open era tennis records

ATP Awards

References

External links

Rafael Nadal's Official Site

Zen and the Art of Rafael Nadal

{{navboxes|title=Rafael Nadal in the Grand Slam Tournaments |list1= }} {{navboxes|title=Rafael Nadal Achievements |list1= }}

Category:1986 births Category:Australian Open (tennis) champions Category:French Open champions Category:Laureus World Sports Awards winners Category:Living people Category:Male tennis players Category:Olympic gold medalists for Spain Category:Olympic medalists in tennis Category:Olympic tennis players of Spain Category:People from Manacor Category:Spanish agnostics Category:Spanish football chairmen and investors Category:Spanish tennis players Category:Tennis players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Category:Tennis players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:United States Open champions (tennis) Category:Wimbledon champions Category:World No. 1 tennis players

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