Rafael Nadal's FIRST Grand Slam Appearance (2003 Wimbledon) 

Now in HD! (from 4:05 on) In 2003, Nadal was making his debut in a Major tournament, and after beating Ancic and Lee Childs, he was facing one of the best of the time, Srichaphan. Like & Subscribe for more Tennis content! Twitter: twitter.com/sLlorcaTennis

So young. Yet 2 years later he was a slam winner. 3 years later he was a wimbledon finalist 7 years later he completed the career grand slam. 19 years later, he completed the double career grand slam

I was there for this match , my first wimbledon experience and really wanted to see Paradorn play not even realising that he was against an up and coming youngster soon to be one of the greats ! Really great experience

His game got better but his heart remained the same. Also, I'm blown away by all this coming into the net from 16 year old Nadal !!

Pure talent you could tell from this match he wasn’t going to be just another player passing by, interesting fact: this was Nadal’s first participation in Wimbledon, in the mean time this was Federer’s first Wimbledon title in 2003.

It's amazing to watch him *today* playing with the same spirit as 18 years ago...

I was there on Monday June 23 2003, on the opening day when he made his debut! Loved his manners and his attitude, and of course his game. Have been a fan ever since.

Federer's first slam win & Nadal's slam debut, wow

That look in his EYES!!! The look of a CHAMPION!! VAMOOOS RAFA!!!!!!!🎾

Yes he was brave not afraid and he learned well. As a 17 yr old kid the power of shots were already there but most of all it shows he is the king that never gives up playing for every point! All that never changed for all these decades bravo my king Rafa ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️👑🤴🇪🇸👈👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 win or lose I am your fan - you are the only player I ever idolised in my entire life and you are also the last one! Coz you are that SPECIAL! 💯👍💯👍💯🤴👑🇪🇸

“Just 17 years old... in a couple of week” That shows how young he was in this clip. It’s crazy to think that 2 years later he was about to win roland garros

Federer wins his first grand slam in the same grand slam where nadal made his grand slam debut...great coincidence

a star was born.

Paradorn Srichaphan was very lucky, because that was last time they played each other:)

4:17 loved the fact that he applauded him. That was nice of him to encourage young Rafa

He fought like a brave. You watch this match and any match from 2021 and he still has the fire intact

La bomba Nadal, en su primera participación en un grande, casi 20 años después sigue ganando en los más grandes torneos... Sin palabras😲😳🤯

Amazing to see nadal's achievement in next 17 years, but srichapan must be proud of this victory against the future goat

I like the way this kid is playing with full of confidence. He is the force to reckon with in future. Hope he wins many Grand Slam.

And legend says there was this boy who was destined to become the greatest of all time! God bless you Rafael Nadal!

Well, it is obvious, by these highlights, that Nadal had that "something special" about him. His composure was mature and obvious. He made more than a few unforced errors but you could still see the heart and soul in him. Even then, he would not give up and chased the ball down. Not everyone can be a champion but Nadal is one of those who is. Nadal Is My Champion!

Love the effort!! All the diving 😂 the heart he showed at 16.... Jesus what fight.

This Nadal guy seems to be decent player. Definitely one to watch for the next few years!

Even at an early age, he could produce stunning shots.

Nadal has Always been a warrior!!!! We Can see that!!! Srichapan who was a confirmed player have Seen the potential!!! That's why he enjoys all points!!! Nadal wasn't easy to beat despite the score!!!

This kid definitely will win 20 GrandSlam😁

This kid will be 20 and more grandslam winner in future .. Future is bright for dis kid .. Mark my words

El punto del minuto 8:00 es algo fuera de lo normal. Un chaval de 17 años, debutante en todo un wimbledon? Apaga y vámonos. Soy Federista desde esa misma época que empecé a ver tenis, pero Rafa fue, es y será algo sobrenatural. #putoamo.

Lots of volleys from young Rafa!! What a battle btw

Great video. Could see how special Rafa was going to be even here. Just wonderful.

Can we just pay a tribute for this wonderful player which is... Paradorn SRICHAPAN? I remember him and I always loved his strenght, and his backhand was amazing❤

Nice video my man !

Imagine 20 years on and he is still pulling off those passing shots. The best to ever do it, no question.

U could tell by watching this how much he's improved over the years even though he looked very good already in this match

Srichapan was class. A name I'd forgotten about until I saw this

0:34 rafael nadal since he was young had already had his ritual with shorts

I predict this young man will win 14 French Opens...You just watch!!!!

19 años después y con 21 grand slam es un Gentleman del deporte Un crio que ya se intuía iba a ser un genio de la raqueta, que sumado a una fuerza de voluntad increíble, con el tiempo tras perfeccionar su saque, ha demostrado que tanto dentro como fuera de las pistas es un auténtico GENTLEMAN, además de ser el mejor deportista español de todos los tiempos.

So much better than the Next Gen.

Increíble el partidazo que dió con 17 años. En Chile con 23 o 24 todavía son proyectos y esperanzas 😂

Thanks man!

This is the first time I've ever seen or heard of Srichaphan

And now he's at 1000 😂

He's 16 here! You can see the virtues of a champion in the making by Rafa's sheer tenacity on every point! He looks so young! Vamos rafa!

Others might find it ridiculous, but from what I see, this kid has the potential to win atleast 20 Grand Slams!!! 😆😆

This kid has potential.

... y Rafa Nadal, se convirtió en uno de los mas grande tenista de la historia de éste deporte.

hmm this rafael nadal guy looks liike he can win 13 roland garros ,4 us opens ,2 wimbledons and 2 australian opens by 2022 and most mens grand slams of all time by then

He seems so mature even at 17…the defensive skills are insane even at that age..wish he had worked more on his serve in his early years…the serve was just dreadful 😀

Thank you Lorca!!

Great to see rafa playing at this level this young, but his game has for sure improved over the years.

Unbeliveable...18 Years later he wins 20 GS Titles!!!!

2003 Wimbledon was only the beginning for Rafa and the rest is history..21 titles and counting, vamos 💪

He's grunting keeps the game active 😁

Ese muchacho Nadal tiene potencial. Esperemos verlo ganar uno que otro Grand Slam :P

Que maravilloso! Yo no sabia que Nadal tuviese la capacidad de practicar el estiló saque y volea al principio de su carrera!

21 SLAM. Grandissimo!!!

srichaphan was a solid top player from the day

At that time a legend was born

Muy bien video! La derecha de Rafa no terminaba hacia arriba en el 90% de los golpes, como lo es ahora. Cómo realmente influyó en el juego en general del circuito, porque si notan, casi todos juegan ahora con excesivo top spin (lo notamos en las terminaciones por encima de la cabeza).

C'est devenu un très grand joueur , humble , lucide et travaillleur .

Those unforced errors... he never makes those anymore

Simply the BEST

He’s a beast

You can see in this game the greatness

Nadal desde sus inicios demostró su coraje de matador...un contrincante difícil de vencer...increíble.

The beginning of a superstar !

Pretty sure I remember Srichaphan who was no mug on grass calling Nadal would win 10 plus majors aswell as winning RG and W in a single season. At the time many people believed that winning a major on clay and grass was near impossible!

This kid really has a bright future ahead.

Surprising that he made his Wimbledon debut a full 2 years before his French Open debut! I wonder how he would've done in 2003 or 2004 French Open?

A champion was already in the making....

i like this kid nadal , he s showing a great potential , im sure one day he s gonna win a grand slam

Sooo young & looks a god, Nadal that is!

The rest is history

Mark my words: this kid Rafael nadal has bright future and he will equal Roger's majors.

Hay que añadir 2 factores a la dificultad, primero que la hierba nunca fue la superficie preferida de Nadal y segundo que Srichaphan, justo un mes antes había alcanzado su mejor Ranking ATP, siendo 9°.

People say to me check out Janik sinner. He is 19 playing great tennis. And I’m like yeaaaahh... Nadal had already won to slams at the age of 19... Next gen kidds are nothing compared to roger and nadal.

Nadal, Genialidad y Figura hasta la sepultura!!!

1:59 his grunt is the same still

Vengo del futuro... Nadal es una leyenda

And crazy to think that this Thai player who beat him is totally unknown today.

djokovic will probably end up with the most slams and federer will be the most loved worldwide but nadal is easily the most improved of his career of the big three. fed and novak essentially played the same games their whole careers they just got mentally tougher and fitter etc but nadals whole game changed, he was always making adjustments because he wanted to be an all time great not just a clay court great. he used to just spin his serve in to start the point and grind but today it’s a big strength of his and he gets many aces and free points off of it. he also used to almost exclusively hit forehands, especially on clay, because he had more time and foot speed to run around the backhand, but now his backhand is another big strength that he can rip cross court and down the line as well as anyone. he’s also developed a great slice over the years to allow himself more time to recover as he lost some of his speed, and is also much more willing to come forward to end points quickly and is surprisingly good at the net. all of the big three are once in a lifetime athletes but i’ve just always been really impressed by nadals commitment to work hard to improve and not let his game stay stagnant so that he could continue to compete with his peers and the next generation despite all of his injuries and setbacks.

Desde que era una niña ya gritaba.

TWEENER ALERT @4:13 How has this been unnoticed so far?!

What ever happened to Paradorn, he was a good talent

The rest is history !

The way he saved some shots, looked like he’s in Tennis Clash.

11:08 great point and great touch

very inspiring

Wonder why he doesn't come forward to the net that often.... 18 yrs on and 22 GS later.. we're still wondering why 😁

This kid looks great. I think he’ll go right to the top, maybe even wining a grand slam, so long as he doesn’t get distracted by social media etc

Wow this guys got potential. I can see a wimby major in him or 2 even! In 5 yrs

Y ya le dio batalla a su contrincante, adquirió tablas y después fue intratable. ¡Bien, Rafa!

Ahí aprendió todos los errores no forzados que se pueden cometer. Dos años después ya ganaba RG

Wow nice game by Srichapn!! Where is he now?? I'm a forever Rafa fan!

He was serving on a platform stance.

He was more offensive, played closer to the baseline, and used less topspin. He developed his successful style later. Two meter from the baseline, a lot of top spin and high balls.

Never imagined, Nadal as a serve and volley player

Que bello muchachito!

Vintage Nadal, actually rare to see him hit a first surf with no grunting! :)