04 June,2012 06:46 AM IST | | Special Features
>> Rafael Nadal is the editor of the Barcelona daily newspaper El Periódicou00a0de Catalunya.
>> The ace tennis player plays tennis left-handed, but is right-handed.
>> The Spanish player began playing tennis at age four with his uncle Toni, who is his coach as well.
>> His uncle, Miguel Angel Nadal, is a professional soccer player with stints at FC Barcelona, Real Mallorca and Spanish national team, which competed in 2002 World Cup
>> Nadal is one of the seven players to have beaten Roger Federer since Federer attained the number 1 ranking.
>> When Nadal played Roger Federer in the finals of Wimbledon 2008, it was the longest men's singles final in the history of the prestigious tournament: four hours 48 minutes. Former Wimbledon champ John McEnroe proclaimed that it was the greatest match he'd ever seen.
>> At age eight, Nadal won an under-12 regional tennis championship at a time when he was also a promising football player.
>> In addition to tennis and association football, Nadal enjoys playing golf.
>> In February 2010, Nadal was featured in the music video of Shakira's Gypsy and part of her album release She Wolf.
>> 128036 Rafaelnadal is a main belt asteroid discovered in 2003 at the Observatorio Astronómico de Mallorca, Spain and named after Nadal.
>> Nadal took part in Thailand's âA Million Trees For The King' project, planting a tree in honour of King Bhumibol Adulyadej on a visit to Hua Hin in 2010. u00a0
