
<p>Rafael Nadal, one of the all-time best tennis players with 20 Grand Slam titles under his belt, marked another watershed moment in his career Wednesday when he won his 1,000th tour match.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h3>



<p>With his victory over fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez at the Rolex Paris Masters, Nadal officially won his 1,000th tour-level match.</p>



<p>It took Nadal about 18 years to hit 1,000, having won&nbsp;<a href="https://www.atptour.com/en/news/nadal-lopez-paris-2020-wednesday" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">his first</a>&nbsp;in Mallorca, Spain in 2002.</p>



<p>Nadal is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.atptour.com/en/news/nadal-lopez-paris-2020-wednesday" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">only the fourth</a>&nbsp;tennis pro in history to hit four-figure wins, following i greats like Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl and Nadal rival Roger Federer, according to the ATP Tour.</p>



<p>Just last month, Nadal won the French Open, giving him his&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamzagoria/2020/10/11/rafael-nadal-destroys-novak-djokovic-for-13th-french-open-title-record-tying-20th-grand-slam/?sh=31c96fa56044">20th Grand Slam title</a>&nbsp;and tying him with Federer for the male player with the most Grand Slam titles in history.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h3>



<p>“[Winning 1,000 matches] means that I am old. That means that I played well for such a very long time,” Nadal said, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.atptour.com/en/news/nadal-lopez-paris-2020-wednesday" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the tour</a>. “I have been playing well for a lot of years and [that] is something that makes me feel happy.”</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h3>



<p>Besides his wins on the court, Nadal is one of the most commercially successful athletes.&nbsp;<em>Forbes</em>&nbsp;ranked him in May at #27 of the world’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/athletes/#56c1475a55ae">top-paid athletes</a>, with an estimated&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/athletes/#4f7fab7255ae">$40 million</a>&nbsp;in earnings up to that point in 2020. Since going professional in 2001, he has collected&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/rafael-nadal/?sh=330d25ba1bb0">$121 million</a>&nbsp;in prize money and can fetch&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/rafael-nadal/?sh=330d25ba1bb0">seven-figure fees</a>&nbsp;for appearances, according to&nbsp;<em>Forbes</em>.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">FURTHER READING</h3>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamzagoria/2020/10/11/rafael-nadal-destroys-novak-djokovic-for-13th-french-open-title-record-tying-20th-grand-slam/#:~:text=The%20No.,the%20all%2Dtime%20men's%20list.">Rafael Nadal Destroys Novak Djokovic For 13th French Open Title, Record-Tying 20th Grand Slam</a>&nbsp;(<em>Forbes</em>)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2020/10/11/tennis-goat-rafael-nadal-vs-roger-federer-by-the-numbers/?sh=9b4ace840b3c">Tennis’ GOAT? Rafael Nadal Vs. Roger Federer, By The Numbers</a>&nbsp;(<em>Forbes</em>)</p>



<p><em>-By Carlie Porterfield, Forbes Staff</em></p>


Tag: Spaniard Feliciano Lopez

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Rafael Nadal Marks 1,000th Career Win