20-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal rose to fame early in his teenage. Rafa became a Grand Slam champ at 19; however, before that, he had already made huge headlines all over the world.

From there on, he made huge strides and now has had a record-breaking career. But did the player himself expect so much from his career?

In a recent interview with Celebrity Magazine, Nadal admitted that he has overachieved in his career, if he looks back at his expectations when he was 16. The Spaniard had a simple goal of becoming a professional player and win a handful of titles. He never expected a trophy-laden career.

“It would be very arrogant of me to say I am achieving what I expected when I was 16. At that age, I only wanted to be a professional tennis player and to win one tournament someday.”

2002-2003: Rafael Nadal announces himself on the ATP Tour

When Nadal was 16, he took part in the Junior Wimbledon Championships. He lost in the semifinals, but the next year would be his breakthrough.

In 2003, he made his Wimbledon main draw debut and reached the third round. That year, he would leap into the top 100 of the ATP rankings. Interestingly, that same year, he defeated his current coach Carlos Moya as well.

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Nadal’s only ambition of a Wimbledon title

Further in the interview, Nadal spoke about his ambition of winning Wimbledon. He achieved that in 2008 and later won a second Wimbledon title in 2010.

“My dream was to win Wimbledon, and I managed to do that for the first in 2008. A lot has happened, good results wise, since that first interview when I was 16, and have to say I am very thankful to life. I never expected to achieve even half of what I achieving.”

Everybody will remember Nadal’s Wimbledon 2008 triumph. He played an absolute thriller against his rival Roger Federer.

Federer looked indisputable at Wimbledon and he was on a 35 match win streak at the tournament. But Nadal put his might into the clash and came out victorious.

Aged 34, Nadal is far from stopping. He is still challenging and winning Grand Slams. Rafa is at the top end of the rankings as well. Let’s see how long this juggernaut continues.

Coming in 2021: The Next-Gen Stars to Replace Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic