It was April 24, 2005 when Rafa Nadal secured his entry into the world’s top 10 for the first time in his career. To do this, the 18-year-old Spaniard had to beat Carlos Alcarath’s current coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, 6-1, 7-6(4), 6-3 (the final was best of 5) in the final of the Barcelona Open.
In fact, this was the first title, of the 11 that would follow, for Nadal in Barcelona, while that year the Spaniard was coming off the conquest of Monte Carlo for the first time in his career. In 2005 he also won Rome, but also Roland Garros immediately after.
On his way to the Barcelona Open title, Nadal defeated Gilles Miller, Dominic Hrbaty in the 3rd round, Agustin Cajeri of Argentina in the quarterfinals, and Radek Stepanek in the semifinals.
A day later (Monday, April 25, 2005), Nadal was for the first time in the Top-10 and specifically at No. 7 in the world, gaining 4 places by winning the title in Barcelona, surpassing Andre Agassi, his current coach, Carlos Moya, but also the Argentinian David Nalbandian.
From then on, the Spaniard would stay in the world’s top 10 for a full 16 years without falling out of it even once…
The Top-10 of April 25, 2005
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