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A six-time major champion and arguably the greatest clay court player of all time, Nadal won four straight French Open titles from 2005 to 2008. He compiled a 31-0 record at Roland Garros until his stunning loss to Robin Soderling in the round of 16 in 2009. From April 2005 through May 2007, Nadal won 81 consecutive matches on clay, a single-surface winning streak that stands as an Open Era record. Nadal defeated his rival Roger Federer in 2008 Wimbledon final, considered one of the greatest matches of all time, and in doing so became the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win at Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year. Nadal also defeated Federer to win the 2009 Australian Open final; it was the seventh time the two met in a Grand Slam final (Nadal leads 5-2). A knee injury prevented him from defending his Wimbledon title in 2009. Nadal is the 2008 Olympic champion in men’s singles. After spending a record 160 weeks ranked No. 2 behind Roger Federer, Nadal ascended to the No. 1 spot on August 18, 2008. He ceded the No. 1 ranking to Federer on July 6, 2009. Nadal is the first left-handed man to finish the year with the No. 1 ranking since John McEnroe in 1984, and the first Spaniard ever to achieve that feat. A native of the island of Mallorca, he is coached by his uncle, Toni Nadal. (as of October 15, 2009)

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