Tennis
My cousin is a tennis legend and I’m about to make my tour debut aged 20
JOAN NADAL who is the cousin of tennis legend Rafael Nadal is set to make his ATP tour debut at the end of the month.
The 20-year-old Spaniard has received an invitation to participate in the qualifying phase of the ATP 250 Mallorca Championships.
The tournament will be held at Mallorca Country Club in Santa Ponca from June 22 to 29.
In the run-up to the event, the youngster who has been training on the Balearic Island said: “I’m very happy to be able to play in a tournament in which big names.
“Such as Gaël Monfils, Ben Shelton, Dominic Thiem or the Mallorcan Jaume Munar, with whom I have a very good relationship, also compete.”
Nadal will enter the competition 1,890 in the ATP rankings.
The Spaniard is also the son of the tournament director, Toni Nadal making the debut even more special for the tennis player.
Meanwhile, Nadal’s cousin Rafael – winner of a record 14 French Opens since 2005 – crashed out of the tournament last month.
Alex Zverev, the No 4 seed ended up succeeding in straight sets 6-3 7-6 6-3 against the 38-year-old.
While Nadal was sent home early the German star went on to beat Alex de Minaur and Casper Rudd in the quarter-final and semi-final respectively.
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Carlos Alcaraz defeated Zverev to win the French Open for the first time and lift a third grand slam title at the age of just 21.
The Spaniard became the youngest player in tennis history to win grand slam titles on all three surfaces.
And defeated the German fourth seed in an epic five-set thriller at Roland Garros, battling from behind to win 6-3 2-6 5-7 6-1 6-2 in four hours and 19 minutes.