On June 11, Rafael Nadal defeated Stanislas Wawrinka to win his 10th Roland Garros career championship. Nadal has become the first athlete to win a Grand Slam 10 times in the open era.
A week earlier, Real Madrid were the first team to successfully defend the UEFA Champions League title since the highest tournament for top European clubs with this name. As a result, Los Blancos have won this tournament for the 12th time in history.
Let's review the notable commonalities between these two names:
Never give up
They will never surrender soon, no matter who the opponent is. The strong comeback is already their brand. Real Madrid had a great start to the extra period, while Nadal won the fifth set, a tie-break. After all, Real Madrid have won many titles, while Nadal always bites into every trophy he gets.
Fight to the end
In the 2013-14 UEFA Champions League final, Sergio Ramos' header helped Real Madrid equalize 1-1 against Atletico Madrid and then have a 4-1 victory after 2 extra periods.
Nadal has also made equally unusual efforts. In the 2008 Wimbledon final, Rafael Nadal had to go through a 4-hour, 48-minute match with Roger Federer to become the winner. The rates after 5 sets are: 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5)), 6-7(8), 9-7. Up to now, this is still considered one of the most classic confrontations between Nadal and Federer.
mutual support
Nadal is a loyal Real Madrid fan and has been present at the Bernabeu's leadership area many times. The last time Nadal came to watch a match of the "White Vultures" on this field was Real Madrid's 3-1 victory over Napoli in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 in the 2016-17 season.
Nadal is also a friend of goalkeeper Iker Casillas and a fan of Cristiano Ronaldo. CR7 received a congratulatory message from Nadal when he won the Golden Ball award in 2015. On the other hand, the President and Real Madrid players have come to watch Rafael Nadal's matches at the Madrid Open tennis tournament.
Love for Paris
Real Madrid won the European Cup C1 (now UEFA Champions League) for the first time in 1956 at the Prince's Park Stadium in Paris, France. They beat Stade de Reims 3-1 in that year's final. Real Madrid later reached the top of Europe again after another final in Paris. That was in 2000 when they defeated Valencia at the Saint-Denis Stadium.
The Roland Garros tournament in Paris has been a familiar destination for Nadal. He was first crowned here in 2006 after defeating Argentine Mariano Puerta in the final. Nadal recently had his 10th "sweet rice" here.
Injuries at important moments
In the past, knee and wrist injuries prevented Rafael Nadal from winning titles. For Real Madrid, Luka Modric's absence in the final stages of the 2014-2015 season prevented them from having a satisfactory season.
Representing the image of Spain
There are not many symbolic images of this country that are more famous globally than Real Madrid and Rafael Nadal. Barcelona Club, F1 racer Fernando Alonso or a few other tennis players have such a large "coverage".
When competing in the Davis Cup, Nadal often wears a wristband with a national embossed image of Spain. Meanwhile, when playing for the Spanish national team, Sergio Ramos also recreated this image. Tennis player Feliciano Lopez gave Ramos this bracelet. In the 2008-2009 season, the Spanish national team was printed on Real Madrid's jersey.
Dominance of a tournament
Real Madrid is the team that has reached the top of the UEFA Champions League trophy the most times. As for Nadal, in his 10 French Open titles, the Mallorca native has had a 4-year run (2005-2008) and 5-year run (2010-2014) in a row at the top spot.
There are hatreds against the Swiss
Roger Federer is the one who made Nadal more and more mature but also the one who caused the Spaniard to go through many difficult matches in his career.
Real Madrid's arch-rivals, Barcelona, are strangely replaced by a Swiss-born Joan Gamper. Federer has never hidden his support for Barcelona. He is also a close friend of former Barca player Thierry Henry and has a great admiration for Lionel Messi.
Connection with Mallorca
Rafael Nadal is a son of Mallorca, Spain. He was proud that many Real Madrid football and basketball players came from the same background as him. The latest in this trend is Marco Asensio, the striker who sealed Real Madrid's 4-1 victory over Juventus in the recent UEFA Champions League final.
Values beyond sports
Both Real Madrid and Rafael Nadal have charity funds to help those in difficult circumstances. They had planned to join hands in a charity tennis match between Nadal and Novak Djokovic in 2012. However, it was not possible due to the Spaniard's wrist injury.
