Rafael Nadal began the hunt for a record-equaling 20th Grand Slam at the Australian Open on Tuesday. The current world number one was a finalist at the tournament last season. While he lost to Novak Djokovic in Australia, he won at the French and US Open and now trails Roger Federer by one title. The Spaniard also took an important step in his personal life.
Nadal’s busy schedule after his wedding
The Spaniard tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend Xisca Perelló. The wedding took place on 19th October last year. Around 350 guests attended the ceremony, among them the former King Juan Carlos, the former monarch of Spain. The famous La Forteza estate was the venue for their wedding. However, after the wedding, Nadal took a short break before participating in a hectic end of season schedule. He reached the semifinals at the Paris Masters and later played in the London ATP Finals. The 33-year-old won the race to end the year as world number one, fending of Novak Djokovic to finish the year as number one the fifth time in his career. He later led Spain to Davis Cup glory in November.
Nadal yet to do the “married life”
With so much time spent playing or preparing for tennis tournaments, Rafa did not spend a lot of time at home with his wife. The world number one revealed in a recent interview that he is yet to see much change after becoming a married man. “After the wedding, I was not able to give much time at home ‘doing married life.’” He added that having dated Perello since 2005, they were used to the hectic tennis schedule. Nadal also said that the wedding had gone as they had expected. The couple wanted to keep out of the public eye as much as possible and did not want the media turning their wedding into a news event.
Nadal played at the inaugural ATP Cup this month, taking Spain to the finals of the event. He lost out to rival Novak Djokovic and the Serbian team. The two are again battling for the number one position ahead as the first Grand Slam of the season continues. Djokovic trails him by only 510 points. If the Serbian wins the tournament and Rafa fails to reach the semifinal, he will leapfrog him on the standings after the tournament. A semifinals appearance by the Spaniard in Australia will be enough for him to retain the position even if Djokovic wins the title.
Nadal at the Australian Open, ranking, and results in 2020
Now the world no.1, the Spaniard has a 5-2 win-loss record in 2020. Nadal is now competing at the Australian Open where he defeated Hugo Dellien 6-2 6-3 6-0.
Rafael Nadal will take on Delbonis in the 2nd round. The head to head is 3-0 for Nadal.
The last time that they competed against each other, Nadal won 6-2 6-1 in the 1st round in Rio de Janeiro (Olympics) in August 2016.
Nadal was the finalist in Brisbane, Perth, Sydney.
The Spaniard won 84 titles in his career: 20 on hard courts, 59 on clay courts, 1 on indoor courts and 4 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
Rafael Nadal |
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