Lopez was cheered on by 22-time Grand Slam champion Nadal during his final event as a professional.
'I don't understand Spain without Catalonia. I don't want to understand or see it'
Thirteen years on and his record next to the Bois de Boulogne stands at an incredible 85 wins and two losses.
Rafael Nadal extended his astonishing winning run on clay to 42 consecutive sets as he reached the semi-finals of the Barcelona Open with a 6-0, 7-5 victory over Slovakia's Martin Klizan.
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic won their matches for their respective countries on Day 4 of the ATP Cup on Monday.
IMAGES from the Australian Open Men's semi-finals played on Friday.
Rafa Nadal's return to form was stopped in its tracks when he lost his opening match at the Aegon Championships to Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-4 on Tuesday.
Predicting Rafael Nadal's downfall as he prepares to try and win a record-extending 10th French Open title is disrespectful to the Spaniard, double Roland Garros champion Maria Sharapova said on Friday.
The victory earned the American a place in the Pacific Life Open final against Roger Federer.
A hoped-for fight to the finish for the year-end number one ranking at next month's ATP World Tour Finals in London will likely be a coronation for Rafael Nadal, who is virtually guaranteed ending 2017 top of the pile.
Ukrainian fourth seed Elina Svitolina powered into the third round of the U.S. Open with a 6-4, 6-4 win against Russian Evgeniya Rodina on Thursday.
World number one Rafa Nadal won a record extending ninth French Open title when he beat Serbian second seed Novak Djokovic 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 in Sunday's final.
Indian tennis ace Leander Paes is set to partner Spanish legend Rafael Nadal in the men's doubles event at the 3,288,530 euro Paris Masters to be played on the indoor hard courts of the Palais Omnisports in Bercy next week.
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are just one step away from a US Open semi-final clash but both face tricky challenges to set up what would be their maiden encounter at Flushing Meadows.
Second seed Rafael Nadal ground down German Philipp Kohlschreiber to win a tough match 7-5 6-3 4-6 6-2 in the Australian Open second round on Thursday.
With fire in their bellies, former Grand Slam champs Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are targetting a fresh return to the tennis courts in 2017.
Rafa Nadal made light work of Italian Andreas Seppi to reach the final of the Hamburg Open on Saturday and will now face Fabio Fognini, who is chasing an almost unthinkable third claycourt victory over the Spaniard this season.
Twice former champion Rafael Nadal will not play at this year's Wimbledon due to the wrist injury that forced the Spaniard out of the French Open, he said on Thursday.
No matter where Rafael Nadal goes at Queen's Club, there seems to be no hiding place for the popular Spaniard.
Rafael Nadal's day-glo outfit and his ferocious forehands lit up a gloomy Queen's Club on Wednesday as the Spaniard marked his return to grass with a 6-2, 6-2 demolition of Brazilian journeyman Marcos Daniel.
German Alexander Zverev says he cannot rest on his laurels after beating Novak Djokovic to win the Italian Open on Sunday and has set his sights on bigger titles in order to retain his place in the world's top 10.
Nadal will next face Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov.
Djokovic's sixth trophy this season helped him to extend his lead over the second-ranked Carlos Alcaraz in the race to the year-end number one spot
A dominant Rafa Nadal dismantled fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 6-0, 6-2 on Saturday to win his second Mexican Open title and continue his successful comeback from a long injury lay-off.
Spanish Tennis ace Rafael Nadal has dismissed reports that he's romancing pop star Shakira.
The world number two acknowledges it may be some time before he can return to the level he reached last year
One of sport's great rivalries, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have clashed 37 times over the years but never stood across from each other on Flushing Meadows' hardcourts.
Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal is recovering well from a left wrist injury and is on track to compete at the Olympics in Rio, his doctor said on Tuesday.
Nadal, whose last grasscourt final came at Wimbledon in 2011, has dropped to 10th in the ATP rankings after a difficult year in which he has won only a single title.
A struggling and edgy Rafael Nadal crashed out of the Miami Open.
The marquee clash between a vintage Roger Federer and classy Rafael Nadal, the legends of the game will be awaited keenly by the fans as the third leg of the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) in New Delhi on Friday.
Spain and World No 1 Rafael Nadal visited the popular Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio before the Rio Open tennis tournament.
Rafael Nadal's preparations for Wimbledon were cut short when he was knocked out of the Halle Open by defending champion Philipp Kohlschreiber on Friday.
For all his renowned mental strength it was psychological exhaustion that made Rafael Nadal consider skipping the season-ending ATP World Tour finals this year, the 14-times grand slam champion said on Tuesday.
Rafael Nadal was made to wait before his second-round Rogers Cup match due to several rain delays but did his part to put the schedule back on track with a speedy 6-2 6-3 win over Frenchman Benoit Paire on Wednesday.
World number one Karolina Pliskova needed just 46 minutes to defeat American Jennifer Brady 6-1, 6-0 at Arthur Ashe Stadium and punch her ticket to the quarter-finals at the US Open on Monday.
Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka advanced to the Rogers Cup quarter-finals on Thursday to set up their first meeting since the American's infamous row with an umpire overshadowed last year's US Open final.
Not only the senior team but the young Blue Colts also emerged victorious in the SAFF Men's U-19 champions after hammering Pakistan in the final and clinching a vigorous 3-0 victory.
The 29-year-old Spaniard, who needed a final-set tiebreak to fight past Lukas Rosol in the first round, produced a performance of defiant persistence to fend off the challenge of the 24-year-old Dimitrov.
Rafael Nadal's match was interrupted by a female spectator campaigning for Catalan independence
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