MAIN Sports Sports Stars Rafael Nadal

Exploding onto the international tennis scene with a stunning triumph in the French Open in 2005, Rafael Nadal made headlines the following year for a stunning defeat at the hands off Robin Soderling, a 24-year-old from Sweden, in one of the biggest upsets in tennis history at the French Open.

Born in Majorca, Spain on June 3, 1986, Nadal has been playing tennis since the age of five with his Uncle Toni, who later coached him into the world tennis arena.

In 2005, the 19-year-old rookie sensation with the massive arm strength became one of the youngest players in tennis history to reach the Top Ten. With 31-2 on clay the season before - and 41-6 for the year - Nadal was already red hot to take the men's 2005 French Open title - and made headlines for his scheduled performance against veteran Roger Federer, following his earlier loss to the Swiss champ at the Nasdaq-100 Open.

In a stunning victory, Nadal finally triumphed over Federer in the French Open semi-final at Roland Garros, and ultimately went up against Argentine strong man, 26-year-old Mariano Puerta in the final. The teenager battled for the men's final in a grueling 3 hour-plus match and won 6-7, 6-3, 6-1, 7-5. The first left-handed champion since Thomas Muster in 1995, Nadal became the tournament's fourth youngest champion.

In July 2005, Nadal went on to clinch his 32nd consecutive clay court win during the Mercedes Cup to break a record set by a handful of world champions, including Bjorn Borg who only held 31 consecutive wins.

In May 2006, Nadal beat Roger Federer for the Rome Masters title in a five-set match and tied Guillermo Vilas' record 53-match winning streak on clay. Nadal went on to break Vilas' record at the Roland Garros, where he once again defeated Roger Federer for the men's title, only later to be defeated by the Swiss champ at the 2006 Wimbledon championship.

In 2007, a leg injury led to an upset loss to Chilean player Fernando Goazalez who ended Nadal's hopes for another rematch with Federer at the Australian Open, although he did return to roundly defeat Federer on the clay courts at the Monte Carlo Masters in April.

A dramatic showdown with Federer loomed at Roland Garros in June after the Swiss champ scored a rare clay court victory over Nadal a month earlier in Hamburg. However, true to form, Nadal reclaimed his dominance by once again winning the 2007 French Open title over Federer 6-3 4-6 6-3 6-4.

He met Federer yet again in Paris in the 2008 men's final showdown in June, claiming his fourth consecutive French Open title. Rafael Nadal later took his first Wimbledon championship away from the Swiss champ in a grueling 4 hours 48 minutes for one of the longest men's final in tennis history.

Nadal later took the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics defeating Chile's Fernando Gonzalez in straight sets in the Olympic tennis final.

Returning to New York for the 2008 U.S. Open in August, a shirtless Nadal appeared on the cover of New York Magazine elevating his status as verified American sports idol.

His performance on the court in 2009-2010 has been less than stellar as injuries continued to plague the Spanish tennis star. However, Nadal managed to battle back Swedish champ Robin Soderling to reclaim the title of No. 1 men's champ at the 2010 French Open.

Meanwhile, in early 2010 he completed his crossover as music video star as he appeared frolicking with pop singer Shakira in "Gypsy".

Off the court, Nadal and low-profile girlfriend Maria Francisca Perello reportedly met while both she and Rafael attended school in their hometown, Majorca, and have been dating now for three years.

More about Rafael Nadal around the Web:

Rafael Nadal .com - The official site featuring the latest news and schedule, picture galleries, bio, career highlights, feature stories, interviews, FAQ, message board.

Rafael Nadal Website - The latest news headlines, career overview, vital stats and brief profile, along with current schedule, pictures.

Yahoo! Tennis Profile - Rafael Nadal - Headline news, photo gallery, career stats.

Rafael Nadal - Wikipedia - The online encyclopedia with an profile on the tennis champ including a brief biography, career stats and awards list.

Rafael Nadal News - Breaking news headlines and feature stories about the athlete from various sources around the Web.

also see-> Andre Agassi | Roger Federer | Lleyton Hewitt

Anna Kournikova | Andy Roddick | Marat Safin

Maria Sharapova | Serena Williams | Venus Williams

Australian Open | French Open | Wimbledon | U.S. Open