When a 19-year-old Rafael Nadal won the Dubai tennis title in 2006

It would have been a travesty of justice if the mercurial Rafael Nadal, joint holder of the record for the most number of Grand Slam titles in men’s tennis, did not have the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships title on his CV.

Nadal was all set to play the championship this year, 15 years after his last competitive appearance in Dubai, but had to pull out after suffering a hip flexor injury during his second round loss at the Australian Open.

In Dubai, Nadal reached the quarterfinals in 2004, where he lost to Mikhail Youzhny, who would later beat him again in the quarterfinals in 2007.

Nadal returned in 2006 for another attempt at the title. Among others, he beat Tim Henman and Germany’s Rainer Schuettler en route to the final, where he faced the world No1 and top-seed Roger Federer. Until that time, he had never beaten Federer in a final of an ATP event.

That night, the famed Nadal fighting spirit was on display as he roared back after losing the first set pretty tamely to triumph 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.

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