Rafael Nadal, the 22-time Grand Slam champion, built himself from scratch. He spent most of his career on the elite list. This year is one of his most successful ones on Tour, as he secured two Grand Slam titles and a run to the semifinals of Wimbledon. Therefore, Nadal can be regarded as one of the calmest and most calculated players on the tour right now.

However, his father thinks otherwise. Here’s a peak father-son incident that took place while Nadal was starting to emerge as Roger Federer’s biggest rival.

Rafael Nadal had to win a Wimbledon trophy to get a car

Nadal in his book tells the story of him trying to buy a luxurious sports car. His eyes were set on a vehicle. However, his father, who thought he had gone ‘nuts’, believed that it was too soon to start enjoying his success. Thus, he placed an offer. Just like every parent, his father gave him a target and said that when he achieves that, he will get his reward. “Look, if you win Wimbledon this year, you can buy yourself one of those,” Nadal quoted his father in his autobiography.

To which the former World no.1, who knew that Wimbledon wasn’t in his range, sensing the ‘mischievous’ intent gave a response. “How about if I win the French Open here in Paris this week?” His father, with a smile on his face, said, “No, no, you win Wimbledon, then you can buy it.”

Nadal claimed his first trophy on the grass-courts of London in the year 2008. He got the better of the five-time defending champion Roger Federer in a five-set long match, which is still considered one of the best in the history of the sport. Though, by then, he already had four French Open trophies.

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The Spaniard today has 14 clay-based majors, two Australian Open, 2 Wimbledon, and four US Open trophies. Further, he has won his country two Olympic gold medals.

The current state of Nadal’s game

The 36-year-old had a great start to the season by reigning in the hard courts of Australia. Though after that, in Indian Wells, he fell prey to a rib injury and his long-standing foot problems resurfaced during the French Open. Even so, Nadal made a comeback in the grass swing and took part in Wimbledon.

Watch this story: Rafael Nadal’s biggest fan, Serena Williams, cheers for his success at Wimbledon Championships 2022

But, he again suffered an unfortunate abdominal injury that affected his game severely. He was forced to withdraw from Wimbledon and wasn’t at his best in the US Open. Following that, Nadal faced opening-round defeat in the Paris Masters and lost all but one of his matches at the ATP Finals.

Do you think Nadal can defend his Australian Open and Roland Garros titles in 2023?