16-year-old rising star Rafael Nadal was ready to rumble in 2003 after gaining many spots on the ATP ranking list in the previous year. Rafa surpassed more than 500 rivals on the ATP list at such a young age and he wanted more during the new 2003 campaign. The man from Manaco lost three finals earlier in the year before winning the first Challenger crown in the last week of March in Barletta. With those points he was on the verge of breaking into the top-100, and the entire tennis world got to see his talent during his debut at the Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo a few weeks later. Nadal qualified for his first Masters 1000 tournament on the beloved clay and entered the second ATP event of his career after Manacor last spring. Making an impressive debut at the top level of the ATP, Rafa dispatched world no.49 in the world, Karol Kucera, 6-1 and 6-2 in 63 minutes. The 16-year-old gave up 12 points in eight service games and fended off all three of his break chances to keep the pressure on the Slovakian. Dominating every segment and having the upper hand from start to finish, Rafa claimed 56% of the return points and delivered four breaks from six chances to race to the second ATP victory. In the second round, a teenager faced the current Roland Garros champion, Albert Costa.
Ruud pays tribute to Rafa Nadal
World No. 7 Casper Ruud has hailed Rafael Nadal for his humility despite the Spaniard’s stellar on-court accomplishments. Nadal recently won the 2022 Australian Open to take his Grand Slam tally to a record-breaking 21 titles. “If you met him in the street, you would have no idea that he had won 21 Grand Slams, because he’s very humble, and never gets ahead of himself,” said Ruud. “He always takes every match and every day seriously.” The Spaniard coasted to the Melbourne 250 title without dropping a set. He built on that form by playing some stellar tennis at the Australian Open. Nadal reached the quarterfinals, conceding just one set along the way, where he took on Denis Shapovalov. He appeared on course for a routine win over Shapovalov after taking a two-set lead. However, the young Canadian fought back to force a decider. To his credit, Nadal regrouped in the fifth to take the match before beating Matteo Berrettini in the semifinals to reach his sixth Australian Open final.