Rafael Nadal just took victory over Feliciano Lopez, reaching the third rould of the Rolex Masters in Paris. More impressive, was that it marked his 1,000th ATP win of his career.
There are only three other players who have hit the 1,000 mark, including Jimmy Connors (1,274 wins), Roger Federer (1,242 wins) and Ivan Lendl (with 1,068 wins). Nadal actually has the highest winning percentage of all the players though, with a win rate of 83.3 per cent.
The 34-year-old became a professional tennis player at the age of 15, and quickly became one of only nine people to win an ATP match before his 16th birthday. He won his first Grand Slam when he was 19, defeating Roger Federer in the semifinals of the 2005 French Open. He was only the second male player to win the tournament on their first attempt, and the first teenager to win a Grand Slam since Pete Sampras’ US Open victory in 1990.
Nadal has held on to the World Number One ranking for 209 weeks, and has won the French Open 13 times, the US Open four times, and Wimbledon twice.
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