Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal has received the Spanish male athlete of the Year Award from the Deportes de la Agencia EFE beating motorcycle road racer Marc Marquez and basketball star Marc Gasol.
Nadal clinched year-end Number 1 for the fifth time in his career becoming the oldest number 1 player in ATP Ranking history at the age of 33. Nadal joins Novak Djokovic in the exclusive club of players with at least five ATP year-end number 1 awards.
Nadal owns 19 Grand Slam titles after winning his 12th Roland Garros and his 4th US Open. Nadal also two titles in Montreal and Rome and now owns a total of 35 Masters trophies. Nadal reached at least the semifinal in all four Grand Slam in the same season for the second time in his career.
The Mallorca-native player did not drop a set en route to his fifth Australian Open final before losing to Novak Djokovic in the title match. During the “Happy Slam” at Melbourne Park Nadal beat Alex De Minaur in the fourth round, Frances Tiafoe in the quarter final and Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinal.
Five weeks after beating Roger Federer in the semifinal at Roland Garros en route to his 12th title in the French capital, Nadal lost to his Swiss rival in the Wimbledon semifinal.
At the US Open Nadal dropped just one set against Marin Cilic en route to reaching the final. The world number 1 player won an epic five set final against Danil Madvedev. Nadal claimed his 4th US Open title and his 19th Grand Slam title. He won his first five-set Grand Slam final since the 2009 Australian Open.
At the Davis Cup Finals at the Caja Magica Nadal helped Spain win its sixth Davis Cup title. He extended his winning streak in Davis Cup singles matches to 29 without dropping a set or losing a game on serve. Nadal won the most valuable player award.
Nadal crowned a successful year with a record fifth title at the Mubadala World Tennis Championships in Abu Dhabi beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in an epic three-hour and 12-minute final.
His fellow players have chosen Nadal as the winner of the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for the second consecutive year and the third time overall for his fair play, professionalism and integrity on and off the court.
