The Messi and Ronaldo of Tennis, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have never failed to enthral with their indomitable spirit and agility. Nadal, known as Rafa by his fans, is a master at clay courts but that has not stopped him from facing the terror of the Grass Courts and what better place than Wimbledon to overcome that fear! He won his first Wimbledon title in 2008 defeating the five-time defending champion Roger Federer.

Here is a look at the journey the Spaniard has had through the grass court:

2010: Nadal was the champion in the 2010 Wimbledon where he demolished Andy Murray in the Semi-finals in straight sets and went ahead to annihilate   Tomas Berdych in a set of 6-3, 7-5, 6-4. This season was considered to be a showcase of his game at its prime form.

2011: This was the year where the unthinkable happened and Nadal emerged as the runner up who was defeated by Novak Djokovic. While in all the 5 prior meetings, Novak Djokovic had been defeated by Nadal, this Wimbledon final saw him playing with an unsurpassable inspiration.

2012: If losing to Novak Djokovic was a possibility no one had been prepared for, what happened in 2012 was, for the lack of better word, jaw dropping! Nadal lost to the debutant Lukas Rosol who was ranked 100 in the world rankings and had to exit in the second round.

2013: By this time, everyone was convinced that Wimbledon was Rafael Nadal’s Waterloo as the 2013 Wimbledon saw him losing to world no. 135 Steve Darcis and exiting at the first round.

2014: Nadal’s streak of bad luck continued as he lost out in the fourth-round next year! Although his game was not dismal, his opponent was the 19-year-old Nick Kyrgios who it appeared, decided to simply play with a stroke of brilliance.

2015: While Nadal could manage to beat Thomaz Bellucci in the first round in straight sets, he lost to Dustin Brown in the second round and even this Wimbledon saw a hasty retreat.

2016: Nadal gave the Wimbledon a miss this year and cited that he needed rest and better his game.

2017: After giving the Grand Slam a skip last year, Nadal returned to the Court more determined than ever to end the drought of a win! However, while he enthralled with wins against, John Millman and Karen Khachanov; Nadal faced defeat in the round of 16 playing against Gilles Muller.

2018: This is the first time since 2011 where Rafa has gone beyond the fourth round. And this could easily be the year of this Third Wimbledon win along with a repeat of the 2008 Final between him and Federer! Whether history repeats itself or not is what one will be on the lookout for on Sunday!