GOAT Tennis

Rafael Nadal

Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera (Catalan: [rəf(ə)ˈɛl nəˈðal pəˈɾeɾə], Spanish: [rafaˈel naˈðal paˈɾeɾa]; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis...

Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera (Catalan: [rəf(ə)ˈɛl nəˈðal pəˈɾeɾə], Spanish: [rafaˈel naˈðal paˈɾeɾa]; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is ranked No. 2 in the world by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), has been ranked No. 1 in the ATP rankings for 209 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 five times. Nadal has won 20 Grand Slam men's singles titles, tied for the most in history with Roger Federer. His 13 French Open titles in particular are a record at any tournament. Nadal's dominance on clay is also highlighted by 60 of his 86 ATP singles titles coming on this surface, including 25 of his 35 ATP Masters 1000 titles, and his 81 consecutive wins on clay is the longest single-surface win streak in the Open Era. Representing Spain, he has an Olympic gold medal in both singles and doubles. He has also led the Spain Davis Cup team to five titles while playing alongside fellow top 10 players including David Ferrer and his future coach Carlos Moyá. Outside of competing, Nadal opened a tennis academy in his hometown of Mallorca, and is also an active philanthropist.

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Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic (Serbian: Новак Ђоковић, romanized: Novak Đoković, pronounced [nôʋaːk dʑôːkoʋitɕ] (listen); born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional...

Novak Djokovic (Serbian: Новак Ђоковић, romanized: Novak Đoković, pronounced [nôʋaːk dʑôːkoʋitɕ] (listen); born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He is ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), has held the top ranking for 294 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 a joint-record six times. Djokovic has won 17 Grand Slam men's singles titles, the third-most in history behind only Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. He is the only player to complete the career Golden Masters – that is, winning all nine modern ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, which he has done twice. Overall, he has won 81 ATP singles titles, including a record eight Australian Open titles and a record 36 Masters events. Two of the main strengths of Djokovic's playing style are his powerful and consistent two-handed backhand and his ability to turn defense into offense. He excels at returning serve in particular, and regularly ranks among the tour leaders in return points, return games, and break points won. He has also led the ATP Tour in their career Under Pressure Rating statistic since 1991, in part because of his prowess at winning deciding sets. Djokovic has won the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award four times. He is also a recipient of the Order of St. Sava, the Order of Karađorđe's Star, and the Order of the Republika Srpska.

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