Rafael Nadal becomes the second player in history to join Roger Federer in this ‘exclusive club’

Rafael Nadal becomes the second player in history to join Roger Federer in this ‘exclusive club’

Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer

Rafael Nadal

To no one’s surprise, Rafael Nadal dominated the shortened season of 2020. The World No.2 levelled up with Swiss Maestro, Roger Federer’s Grand Slam record of 20. Rafa did so when he downed the World No.1, Novak Djokovic in straight-sets at the French Open final. 

Further, Nadal recorded his one-thousandth ATP Tour level victory during Paris Masters. However, that’s not where the lieu of magnificent moments end for Rafa. He has now become the second player in history to rank inside the Top-100 for 900 consecutive weeks.

With this splendid achievement, Nadal has joined the only other player to have done so in his career, Roger Federer. Further, the Spaniard has aced past Jimmy Connors, Feliciano Lopez, David Ferrer, Fernando Verdasco and Ivan Lendl to claim this feat. 

FS Video
Roger Federer1084
Rafael Nadal900
Jimmy Connors889
Feliciano Lopez877
David Ferrer857
Fernando Verdasco855
Ivan Lendl852
Most Consecutive Weeks Inside the Top-100

A look back at the years of toil which led to this glorious moment 

Rafael Nadal

Rafa is arguably the most consistent player on the ATP Tour. He cracked the Top-100 in April 2003 when he was a mere 16-year-old. 

Rafael Nadal

After some injury troubles which knocked him out of the Top-200, Nadal came with fire blazing from his racquet. He went on to claim 19 Challenger titles. Moreover, he advanced to the third round of Monte Carlo Masters on debut. This earned him sufficient points to become the youngest of the bunch to have a spot inside the world’s Top-100. 

Rafael Nadal

Rafa advanced to the semi-finals in Umang and won the Segovia Challenger. In addition, he claimed two victories in Hamburg and Wimbledon. This allowed him to finish the year inside the Top-50. 

Also, at 17-years and six months, Nadal became the fourth-youngest player to achieve this milestone since 1973. The likes of Bjorn Borg, Michael Chang and Aaron Krickstein were the last male players to have done so. 

Rafael Nadal

The year 2004 acted as a ceiling-shattering moment for the Spaniard. Ever since then, he has claimed a record 20 Major titles and 35 ATP Masters trophies.  

Furthermore, he also holds the record of scoring the highest percentage of wins on the ATP Tour, i.e, 83.1%.

Also Read: “Scariest moment I’ve had on a tennis court” – ‘This’ is the Most-Watched video of Rafael Nadal in 2020