In this life, everything has a beginning and an end.”
The beginning in question was 23 years ago, while the end is fast approaching.
At this week’s Davis Cup Finals, which start on Tuesday, one of the tennis greats will say goodbye. Rafael Nadal will bring to a conclusion a glittering career.
BBC Sport looks at the statistics underlining the success of the Spaniard – who will retire as the second-most successful men’s singles player of all time.BBC
What did Nadal win?
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Since turning professional in 2001 as a 15-year-old, Nadal has spent 2,543 hours and 15 minutes on court in 1,307 ATP Tour matches – winning 1,080.
The first title of his career arrived in 2004 on the clay courts of Sopot, a tiny city in northern Poland, before he shot to fame the following season.
In 2005, Nadal broke into the world’s top 10 – where he would stay for a record 912 consecutive weeks.
Nadal would win a further 91 ATP Tour titles, including 22 Grand Slams – 14 at the French Open, four at the US Open and two at both Wimbledon and the Australian Open.
The US Open eluded him the longest, but when he conquered New York in 2010, he became the youngest man in the Open era to complete the career Grand Slam.
With Olympic singles gold already in his locker from Beijing 2008, that US Open victory also wrapped up a career golden Grand Slam.
It is an achievement matched by only four other players – Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi, Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic.
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Alongside his individual success, Nadal has starred as a team player – winning four Davis Cup titles with Spain.
Since losing his first match in the tournament back in 2004, Nadal has been unbeaten in 29 singles matches, while his ongoing 32-match winning streak across both singles and doubles is the longest in Davis Cup history.
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For Nadal, though, there will always be the question of what could have been. He missed 15 major tournaments because of injury or illness.
In comparison, Roger Federer was absent from six, while Djokovic has missed just one of the past 79 Grand Slams because of injury.
