1. King of the Clay strikes again. Rafael Nadal won his 14thFrench Open Sunday, the most in tournament history.Rafael boasts 112-3 French Open record at Stade Roland Garros, a clay surface court. He also has 81 consecutive victories on a clay surface, giving him his nickname King of the Clay.
2. Having a grand time. Rafael’s French Open victory was his 22nd Grand Slam title, the most titles in men’s singleshistory. His 22 titles are two more than fellow tennis greats Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, who both have 20.
3. Small screen star. In 2010, Rafael appeared in Shakira’s music video for her song “Gypsy” off her She Wolf album. He plays the international pop star’s love interest in the video that has over 59 million views on YouTube.
4. From the court to the pitch. Rafael is a huge soccer fan supporting Real Madrid and is a shareholder of his hometown club RCD Mallorca. During the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Rafael celebrated with the Spanish team in their dressing room after their World Cup victory, getting to hold the gold trophy.
5. An out of this world compliment. An asteroid was named after Rafael in 2008 after he won his first Wimbledon title. 128036 Rafaelnadal was discovered at the Astronomical Observatory of Mallorca in 2003.
