"I guess it would be to go as far as I can to become a great tennis player" - When 16-year-old Rafael Nadal was asked about his ambitions
Rafael Nadal is now one of the legendary names in the tennis world, but there was a time when the Spaniard dreamt of making it big on the world stage as a tennis player.
A video that has now gone viral shows a young Nadal chatting about his aspirations and how he intended to realize them.
"I would just like to become a good tennis player."
16-year-old Rafael Nadal speaks about his career dreams 😊 https://t.co/VgXYv4mF40
When asked what his ambition was, the teenager replied that it would be to become a great tennis player while also asserting that he needed to work hard.
"Well, I guess it would be to go as far as I can to become a great tennis player. It's difficult. I have to keep on working hard every day," Nadal said.
The youngster reckoned that the going wasn't going to be easy because he realized that players who were older than him were also probably better.
"I know it won't be easy. Just training hard every day is tough, there's so much high-level competition out there. Normally, when I play tournaments, because I'm younger than everyone else, I always think they must be much better than me," the 16-year-old added.
Nadal's words also reflected the fact that he was a fighter right from his early playing days.
"But then you get on the court, and because I'm a fighter, and I really hate losing, things tend to level out."
Rafael Nadal's phenomenal tennis journey
Rafael Nadal turned professional at the age of 15 and won the Sevilla Challenger in September 2001.
After obtaining a wild card at the Mallorca Open, Nadal impressed by getting past Ramon Delgado of Paraguay in the opening round before losing to Olivier Rochus in the second.
At 16, the Mallorcan won his first ITF Futures event in Alicante before adding five more to his tally that season.
Nadal had broken into the top-200 before his 17th birthday, but had been modest enough to state that he was "only ranked 112" and had a long way to go.
"At the moment, I'm only ranked 112th in the world so there's a long way to go. I've go to continue improving but it's not going to be easy," Nadal stated.
Nadal went on to breach the top-50 by the end of 2003 and won his first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros in 2005.
The Spaniard reigned supreme at the French Open until 2008, winning his fourth Grand Slam title without dropping a set and handing Roger Federer a bagel in the final.
The King of Clay added a grasscourt Major to his impressive resume when he won the 2008 Wimbledon title soon after by defeating Federer in one of the longest Wimbledon finals ever.
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Nadal won the Australian Open in 2009 before winning three Grand Slams on three different surfaces during the course of a phenomenal 2010 season when he bagged the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open titles.
The Spaniard has now won a whopping 22 Grand Slam titles that includes 14 at the French Open.