On this day in 2004: 17-year-old Rafael Nadal reached his first ATP final
On 17 January 2004, 17-year-old Rafael Nadal reached an ATP tour final for the first time in his career at the Auckland Open. The Spaniard was defeated 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 by Slovakia's Dominik Hrbaty.
The Mallorcan has gone on to claim 89 ATP singles titles - the fourth most by a male player in the Open era. His most recent tour triumph came last week at the Melbourne Summer Set ATP 250 event.
Background
Nadal was the World No. 48 at the time of the 2004 Auckland Open, having been ranked 198th at the start of the previous year. In 2003, he won two of the six ATP Challenger tour finals he reached and posted a 14-11 main tour record.
The Spaniard also earned his first two victories against top 10 opponents - beating compatriots Albert Costa and Carlos Moya (who now coaches him) - that season.
Heading into the event, Hrbaty was ranked 54th in the world and had won his fourth ATP singles title in Adelaide the previous week. The Slovakian, aged 26 at the time, had claimed the title in Auckland in 2001 and was also a runner-up in 2003.
Hrbaty defeated Nadal 6-3, 7-5 in the pair's only prior encounter in Lyon, on indoor carpet courts, three months earlier.
The ATP Auckland Open - which was first held in 1956 - is staged at the ASB Tennis Center in Auckland, New Zealand and has been staged on outdoor hard courts since 1978. In 2004, it was part of the ATP International Series - the lowest tier of events on the main ATP tour which were replaced by ATP 250 tournaments in 2009.
Nadal's first ATP title match
Nadal, who was unseeded, started his campaign at the event by downing No. 4 seed Sjeng Schalken 7-6(2), 6-4 in his opening match. He followed that up by beating Croatian qualifier Mario Ancic, who would climb to World No. 7 in 2006, 7-6(0), 7-6(6) in the second round.
In the quarterfinals, the 17-year-old was leading 2-1 in the first set when unseeded French opponent Gregory Carraz retired through injury.
The Spaniard then scored an impressive 6-1, 6-3 victory over second seed and former World No. 5 Jiri Novak in the last four to advance to his maiden ATP final. After the semifinal clash, Novak spoke of the teenage star's potential.
"He (Nadal) is the future generation," Novak said. "I think he is going to be one of the best players in the world."
Hrbaty was also unseeded and progressed to the title round after wins over wildcard Mark Nielsen, qualifier Philipp Kohlschreiber and third seed and defending champion Gustavo Kuerten. He also benefitted from receiving a second-round walkover when No. 2 seed Guillermo Coria withdrew.
In the final, Nadal took the first set 6-4, before Hrbaty responded by winning the second set 6-2. In the decider, the 17-year-old led 3-0, but Hrbaty recovered to clinch it 7-5 and secure his fifth ATP title.
Speaking to ATPTour.com in 2019, the legendary Spaniard reflected on his run in Auckland in 2004.
"I think I was winning 3-0 in the third set, so the memories are not good at all," Nadal said with a laugh. "Obviously it was my first final, and it was a surprise because I arrived practically the day before in Auckland devastated from a very long trip from Chennai. It was a very positive week, I think I played a very good level of tennis and then I confirmed it at the Australian Open."
"It is true that later that year my progression stopped completely, because I had a stress fracture in my foot in Estoril," the 20-time Major champion added. "But until that moment, for the first year that I started from scratch on the circuit, I was doing very well and that week - it helped me."
The following week, Nadal reached the third round at the 2004 Australian Open, where he was beaten by former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt.
He went on to win his first ATP title in August later that year in Sopot, Poland - where he defeated Jose Acasuso in the final.