In 2005, 19-year-old Rafael Nadal became the greatest teenager since the days of Bjorn Borg, Mats Wilander and Boris Becker. Furthermore, the Spaniard established himself as the second strongest link on the Tour behind Roger Federer.
Nadal followed Federer with 11 ATP titles that year, including Roland Garros and four Masters 1000 crowns. The Spaniard earned enough points to finish the season well ahead of Andy Roddick and others, launching the ultimate quest for world No.
Nadal strove to improve his game on hard and grass in the following two seasons, closing the gap on the Swiss, who ranked above him between 2004 and 2007. After four brilliant years that brought him impressive records, Roger began to lower the beat in 2008.
He had to leave the ATP throne on August 18, when Rafa overtook him and conquered the tennis world at the age of 22. The Spaniard had to wait until the clay court season to win the first title of that year, after losing in the finals in Chennai and Miami and in the semifinals of the Australian Open and Indian Wells.
