“Breaking the Previous Record”: 12-time Grand Slam Champion Lauds Rafael Nadal for His “Incredible Achievement”

Tennis legend Billie Jean King has commended Rafael Nadal for ranking in the Top-10 of ATP players’ standings for a record 790 consecutive weeks. Nadal upstaged stalwart Jimmy Connors, who held the previous record of being in the Top-10 for 789 straight weeks.

Rafael Nadal in Top-10 for record 790 straight weeks

Though tied at 20 Grand Slam titles apiece, Roger Federer trails Nadal, as well as Connors, on this count. Federer’s best was to finish 734 consecutive weeks in the Top-10.

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Commending Nadal’s feat, King tweeted, “Congratulations to @RafaelNadal on ranking inside the world’s top 10 for 790 consecutive weeks, breaking the previous record held by Jimmy Connors. This is truly an incredible achievement…#champion.”

Though plagued with injuries, Nadal’s never-say-die spirit and hunger for titles have kept him in the top echelons of men’s tennis.

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Nadal also holds an incredible 13 French Open titles, the most by any player past and present. Currently, at the second spot in the ATP singles rankings, Nadal clinched his 13th French Open trophy this year.

However, Rafa’s run at the Rolex Paris Masters ended in the semi-final, as he lost to German Alexander Zverev. Apart from his glory-run at the Roland-Garros, Nadal also won the outdoor hardcourt event at Acapulco, Mexico, this year.

Though nowhere near his best, Nadal’s win-loss percentage this year stands at 83.3%. He has posted 25 wins on the circuit this year while suffering five losses, the latest of which came at the Paris Masters.

Nadal fell in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open this year, losing to World Number 3 Dominic Thiem in four sets. He pulled out of the US Open this year, citing concerns over the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Among the countries worst-hit by the virus, the US was reporting record caseloads at the time of the year-end Major. Though mired in uncertainties initially, the US Open eventually went ahead in the secure confines of a ‘biosecure bubble’.