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Men's Fitness loves Rafa...
May. 20th, 2009 02:31 pmRAFAEL NADAL
Age: 23
Country: Spain
Career: Tennis Player
Why Nadal? Because of those guns, for goodness' sake. Or gun, really. The left one. It's a boulder. A cannon. A WMD. Because of his stamina, his physique. Because of the way he plays, with violence. The way Mike Singletary or Ray Nitschke or Lawrence Taylor would play if they played tennis. Remember the Office Linebacker? He's the Office Tennis Champion. Six Grand Slams. Thirty-three tournament wins. Twenty-three-million dollars in prize winnings. Because he rebuilt his game to become No. 1. No longer just a "clay" guy, he's now a man for all surfaces. A lot of "clay" guys are content to be "clay" guys. Not him. Because of his relentless pursuit of the greatest artist the sport has ever seen. He's the only man on the planet with the will and the way to end the Roger Federer Era. Because he's been No. 1 for 37 weeks since supplanting Federer in August 2008. Because he wants to stay there. We love that. Because he loves his national soccer team. Loves it with the passion you'd expect from a Spaniard. Loves it like a fan. And seems to love life like a fan. Because he actually pulls off the Capri pants. Or he makes us think he does. Whatever you do, do it confidently. And he does. Because he brought joy back to the sport. He's Ille Nastase. He's Bjorn Borg. He's Jimmy Connors. Without any of their deficiencies. Because of the latest Greatest Match in the History of the Sport, his four-hour, 48-minute victory over Federer in the Wimbledon Finals last summer. It was a convergence of the sport's greatest on its greatest stage. His victory signified a real-time passing of the torch. Because when he wins, we feel drained. And empowered. We feel as if we were there. Or wish we had been. For all those reasons, Rafael Nadal, the best tennis player in the world, is the 2009 Men's Fitness Fittest Guy in the World.
Age: 23
Country: Spain
Career: Tennis Player
Why Nadal? Because of those guns, for goodness' sake. Or gun, really. The left one. It's a boulder. A cannon. A WMD. Because of his stamina, his physique. Because of the way he plays, with violence. The way Mike Singletary or Ray Nitschke or Lawrence Taylor would play if they played tennis. Remember the Office Linebacker? He's the Office Tennis Champion. Six Grand Slams. Thirty-three tournament wins. Twenty-three-million dollars in prize winnings. Because he rebuilt his game to become No. 1. No longer just a "clay" guy, he's now a man for all surfaces. A lot of "clay" guys are content to be "clay" guys. Not him. Because of his relentless pursuit of the greatest artist the sport has ever seen. He's the only man on the planet with the will and the way to end the Roger Federer Era. Because he's been No. 1 for 37 weeks since supplanting Federer in August 2008. Because he wants to stay there. We love that. Because he loves his national soccer team. Loves it with the passion you'd expect from a Spaniard. Loves it like a fan. And seems to love life like a fan. Because he actually pulls off the Capri pants. Or he makes us think he does. Whatever you do, do it confidently. And he does. Because he brought joy back to the sport. He's Ille Nastase. He's Bjorn Borg. He's Jimmy Connors. Without any of their deficiencies. Because of the latest Greatest Match in the History of the Sport, his four-hour, 48-minute victory over Federer in the Wimbledon Finals last summer. It was a convergence of the sport's greatest on its greatest stage. His victory signified a real-time passing of the torch. Because when he wins, we feel drained. And empowered. We feel as if we were there. Or wish we had been. For all those reasons, Rafael Nadal, the best tennis player in the world, is the 2009 Men's Fitness Fittest Guy in the World.
