Rafael Nadal’s Career and a Dream Trip Across America
Rafael Nadal: A Tennis Legend
Rafael Nadal is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. Nowadays he is ranked nº 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. Nadal grew up in a sports-minded family. Rafael began playing tennis at age four, guided by his uncle, Toni Nadal, who was his coach on the professional tour. In his early years, Nadal (who wrote with his right hand) played left-handed tennis with both a two-handed forehand and backhand. Nadal, who officially turned professional in 2001, had appeared in only one Grand Slam tournament as a junior competitor when he reached the semifinals at the 2002 Wimbledon championships. He began his professional career the next year, breaking into the top 50 in the world. In 2004 he played a crucial role in Spain’s defeat of the United States in the Davis Cup final. Nadal became the youngest player (at 18 years 6 months) in the history of the international team competition to win a singles match for a victorious country. In 2005 Nadal set a record for a teenage male player by registering 11 tournament victories, including a triumph at his French Open (Roland Garros) debut, when he upset Federer in the semifinals. The next year, Nadal secured five more titles on the ATP tour. He also reached his first final on the grass at Wimbledon. Then, in 2007 Nadal lost to Federer on May 20 in the final of the ATP Masters Series Hamburg (Ger.). The two met once again in the 2008 French Open final, where Nadal overpowered Federer to win his fourth straight tournament title. Nadal and Federer met in a third consecutive Wimbledon final in 2008. This time Nadal won his fifth career Grand Slam title. In August 2008 Nadal won the men’s singles gold medal at the Olympic Games in Beijing, and he took over the number one world ranking from Federer in the same month. In 2009 Nadal won his first Australian Open championship. He set a record for consecutive wins at the French Open the following May. At the end of the 2009 tennis season, Nadal helped Spain sweep the Czech Republic in the Davis Cup final. In 2010 he easily won the French Open event for the fifth time in his career and also his second Wimbledon title. In September he won his first U.S. Open to complete a career Grand Slam by having won all four of the slam’s component tournaments.
A Dream Trip Across the Americas
My perfect trip would be to travel over all America. I would like to start with Mexico, a country which hides amazing places. The Riviera Maya is a tourist area of Mexico located along the Caribbean Sea. It is popular for its white sand beaches and its forests. There are also places called “Cenotes” in which tourists can do many different activities like diving in underground rivers. Then I would continue with the “Atitlán” lake which is located in Guatemala. There are different volcanoes and several villages around the lake. It is possible to travel to these villages in boats that are on the edge of the lake. It is considered to be the most beautiful lake in the world. Then, I would follow with Venezuela, a country that I love for its people, costumes and food. I would go to visit the Iguazú waterfalls where foreign visitors can take boat rides under the waterfalls and hiking trails appreciating some subtropical jungle animals. It would be an awesome experience to see these waterfalls. Next, I could visit the highest waterfall in the world at 980 meters called “El Salto del Ángel”. People can reach the region through a plane from Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, to reach a camp next to the waterfall. Other tourists prefer to arrive to the waterfalls by crossing the forest by the river. I think I would choose this last option because I find it more interesting to see the flora and the fauna of that region. And the last but not least, I would like to finish my trip in Ecuador, where I was born. There I would go to the Galapagos Islands located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean next to Ecuador. Tourists can enjoy extraordinary landscapes in the midst of deep and transparent waters. Visitors can walk on trails through the dense vegetation and can also do underwater sports. I sincerely hope I can do this perfect trip one day!