A nostalgic Rafa Nadal reminisced about his freewheeling teenage days after charging into the Australian Open third round on Thursday and forecast a visit to a local aquarium ahead of the next battle in his bid for a fourth consecutive Grand Slam title.
Rafa Nadal lost the Wimbledon final on Sunday and will concede the number one ranking to his conqueror Novak Djokovic but the gritty Spaniard has known worse times.
Twelve years after leaving home with a racket bag full of dreams Novak Djokovic saw two of them come true in three remarkable days at Wimbledon, culminating in an emphatic victory over Rafa Nadal in the men's singles final on Sunday.
Novak Djokovic proved he is the dominant force in men's tennis by outplaying defending champion Rafa Nadal to win Wimbledon for the first time with an emphatic 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 victory in the final on Sunday.
Often overshadowed by his classic duels with Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal's rivalry with Novak Djokovic has been brewing slowly and it will come to the boil on Sunday when the world's two best players contest the 125th Wimbledon men's final.
Milos Raonic demonstrated his claycourt credentials with a 6-4, 7-6 win over Andy Murray in the last eight of the Barcelona Open on Friday before top seed Rafa Nadal crushed Janko Tipsarevic 6-2, 6-2 to claim his semi-final place.
Rafa Nadal's possession of three grand slams makes him the deserving favourite to win the Australian Open, arch-rival and defending champion Roger Federer said on Saturday.
After seeing his world number one ranking slip away, Rafa Nadal refused to loosen his iron-fisted grip on the Wimbledon title by crushing Andy Murray Friday to set up a final against the man who has knocked him off his perch. Serbia's Novak Djokovic had earlier beaten flamboyant Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to reach his first Wimbledon final and guarantee top spot in next week's rankings.
Rafa Nadal's coach's mood changed when he found out the World No 1 was scheduled to play on uncovered Court One for his quarter-final against Mardy Fish on Wednesday.
The mercury was rising at Wimbledon on Saturday as the serial trophy hunters gathered in the last 16 with defending champions Rafa Nadal, Serena Williams and Roger Federer leading the charge.
It was Venus's turn to write the Williams plot line at Wimbledon on Wednesday as she survived a gripping three-set battle with 40-year-old Japanese Kimiko Date-Krumm.
Rafa Nadal made a dazzling start to his Wimbledon title defence with an easy win over American Michael Russell on Monday before home favourite Andy Murray produced some indoor fireworks to join the Spaniard in the second round.
If there was any doubt before, there is now no question that Rafa Nadal can and most probably will better Roger Federer's record of 16 Grand Slam titles following the Spaniard's French Open success over the Swiss.
One of her twin girls in one arm and a glass of champagne in the other hand, Roger Federer's wife Mirka looked far from dejected after her husband once again came up short against Rafa Nadal in a French Open final on Sunday.
Having conquered his anxiety and battled through tough situations, Rafa Nadal won possibly the sweetest of his six French Open titles on Sunday.
Images from the French Open Men's singles final between Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal at Roland Garros.
Rafa Nadal sealed a record-equalling sixth French Open title with a 7-5, 7-6, 5-7 6-1 win over Roger Federer on Sunday to continue his dominance on clay over his great rival.
Images from Day 13 at the French Open in Paris, on Friday.
Champion Rafa Nadal cut loose after a shaky French Open start to batter Robin Soderling 6-4, 6-1, 7-6 and Andy Murray again tried to tie himself in knots before easily sealing his semi-final spot on Wednesday.
Rafa Nadal said he was not playing well enough to lift the French Open title despite breezing past Ivan Ljubicic in their fourth-round match on Monday.
World number one Rafa Nadal called on tennis authorities to enforce a two-year rolling ranking system to preserve the health of players.
A relentless Novak Djokovic shrugged off Juan Martin Del Potro while Andy Murray overcame a nasty ankle injury as the second and fourth seeds joined champion Rafa Nadal in the French Open fourth round on Saturday.
Images from Day 7 at the French Open in Paris, on Saturday.
Novak Djokovic's tremendous run of form since the start of the year means the Serb has already booked his spot at the ATP World Tour finals in London.
Novak Djokovic continued his domination over world number one Rafa Nadal ahead of the French Open by claiming the Rome Masters crown 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday to stretch his unbeaten run this year to 37 matches.
Rafa Nadal made sure of retaining his world number one status at the French Open after cruising past Croat Marin Cilic 6-1, 6-3 in the quarter-finals of the Rome Masters on Friday.
Roger Federer failed to make the quarter-finals of a tournament for the first time in a year on Thursday while Rafa Nadal returned to form in the third round of the Rome Masters despite almost withdrawing with a fever.
World number one Rafa Nadal began his quest for a third claycourt title in a month with a 6-1, 6-3 drubbing of unseeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis in the Madrid Masters second round Wednesday.
Rafa Nadal underlined his crushing dominance on clay when he overwhelmed Spanish compatriot David Ferrer 6-2, 6-4 to win a sixth Barcelona Open title in seven years on Sunday.
World number one Rafa Nadal underlined his crushing dominance on clay when he overwhelmed Spanish compatriot David Ferrer 6-2, 6-4 to win a sixth Barcelona Open title in seven years on Sunday.
World number one Rafa Nadal notched up his 500th career win on Saturday and clinched a place in the Barcelona Open final by beating unseeded Croatian Ivan Dodig 6-3, 6-2.
Spaniards Rafa Nadal and David Ferrer will lock horns again in the Monte Carlo Masters final after the claycourt conquistadors sealed contrasting victories in their semi-finals on Saturday.
Spain's David Ferrer has pulled out of Wimbledon on the eve of the tournament because of an elbow injury, the All England Club said in a statement on Sunday.
Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer remained on course for their first head-to-head clash this year after easily winning their third round matches at the Sony Ericsson Open on Monday.
Rafa Nadal soothed his disappointment at yet another loss to Novak Djokovic in the longest ever Grand Slam final by declaring he was at least free of the mental chokehold the Serb had placed him under throughout last year.
Novak Djokovic claimed his third ATP World Tour title in a perfect season by beating top-seeded Spaniard Rafa Nadal 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the final of the Indian Wells ATP tournament on Sunday.
In an epic encounter, Rafael Nadal rallied from a set down to defeat Roger Federer 6-7, 6-2, 7-6, 6-4 in the Australian Open semi-final at Melbourne Park on Thursday.
Novak Djokovic extended his perfect record this season to 17-0 with a thrilling 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 victory over three-times champion Roger Federer on Saturday to reach the Indian Wells final.
World number one Rafa Nadal withstood a barrage of power serving by Croat Ivo Karlovic to reach the semi-finals of the Indian Wells ATP tournament with a thrilling 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 victory on Thursday.
Indian qualifier Somdev Devvarman ended a dream run at the Indian Wells ATP tournament on Wednesday on a high, despite losing 7-5, 6-4 to world number one Rafa Nadal in the fourth round.
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