Nadal's 1,000 victories on the professional circuit began on April 29, 2002. A boy from which Carlos Moya (now his coach) already said that he promised a lot he received a invitation to debut in the tournament of his land. The Mallorca Open celebrated its last edition in the Plaza de Toros de Palma. Rafa was 15 years old, 10 months and 21 days old and in interviews he was saying that he liked “playing more on grass or on an indoor court than on dirt”. He found himself in front of Ramon Delgado (81st in the world at that time) … and defeated by a double 6-4.
The Paraguayan, now his country's Davis Cup captain, recalled in an interview with the ITF that day: “You could see that he was a boy with supernatural energy, he had a different level. and then he turned out to be a tennis genius. “Delgado had just defeated a certain Pete Sampras at Roland Garros and he could not guess that he was facing a player who would end up winning 13 times in Paris. Nadal did not advance further, because in the second round Oliver Rochus (double 6-2 eliminated him), but he laid the first stone of a huge career.
After that match in Mallorca, which made him after Richard Gasquet in the youngest player to win an ATP match, Nadal continued through the challenger and futures circuit until the Monte Carlo Masters 1,000 the following year, where he dispatched Karol Kucera and Albert Costa. His first title fell in 2004 in Sopot (Poland) and won Andy Roddick in the Davis Cup final In sevilla. In 2005 came the explosion: 11 titles including the first Roland Garros. But it all started in Mallorca …