Rafael Nadal embraced quite a journey in the opening eight months of 2003. The young gun established himself as a Tour player at 16, debuting at Majors at Wimbledon and visiting New York for the first time two and a half months later.
The Spaniard showed incredible fighting spirit in the second round against Younes El Aynaoui before falling in straight sets. Rafa entered the 2003 season ranked 200th and earned a top-50 status by the US Open! Nadal reached four Challenger finals in the opening three months, winning the title in Barletta and scoring two wins in Monte Carlo as a qualifier.
It was enough to propel Rafa into the top-100, starting his incredible journey and staying there for over two decades! Nadal reached the Hamburg Masters third round and repeated that at Wimbledon, his first Major event.
Young Rafael Nadal spoke about his fighting spirit at the 2003 US Open.
A teenager advanced into the semi-final in Umag in July on his beloved clay and gathered momentum ahead of the US Open, where he came after skipping three weeks due to an injury. Rafa became one of the youngest players with a victory at the US Open, reaching the second round and losing to Younes El Aynaoui 7-6, 6-3, 7-6 after grueling two hours and 43 minutes.
The youngster fended off nine out of 12 break chances, stealing the rival’s serve twice and falling short in the decisive moments to suffer a straight-sets defeat. Giving his best to stay in touch, Nadal came from a break down in sets one and three, reaching 6-6 in both tie breaks before losing the following two points to propel the Moroccan into the last 32.
“I served pretty well and was also unlucky on a few balls when I had a chance to change the momentum. I returned pretty well, but his serve proved too tough. It’s crucial to have good serve on these fast courts, and that made the difference today.
Our previous encounter was similar to this one, even though it was on clay. I performed a bit better than the last time we played, but it was not enough today. I’m a fighter; I always fight, even at 5-2 down in the third set.
I bounced back and leveled the score to reach a tie break. I had my chances there, missing that shot at 6-6 and losing in straight sets, although I gave my best to prolong the match. I played to his forehand in that 13th point of the third set’s tie break, which was more difficult.
I should have played to his backhand like I had been doing on other points; still, it did not make that much of a difference,” Rafael Nadal said.
