el conquistador; After winning seven titles on clay in one season, Rafael Nadal takes a shot at the U.S. Open.(Brief Article)(Biography)

Byline: Dodie Kazanjian

Watching Rafael Nadal beat Andy Roddick in the Davis Cup finals last December left no doubt that tennis's next great star had arrived. A swashbuckling eighteen-year-old Spanish kid in knee-length pirate pants and a bright-orange sleeveless shirt, he captivated everyone with his whipped, two-handed crosscourt drives and his joyous leaps when he hit a winner. The follow-up was even better. After three straight championships this year, he won the French Open, beating the world's number-one player, Roger Federer, in the semifinals. The first teenager to win a men's Grand Slam since Pete Sampras took the 1990 U.S. Open, Nadal, who only last January was ranked number 56, comes into the U.S. Open this month ranked number three, behind Federer and Lleyton Hewitt.

Born and raised in Majorca, in a large, well-to-do, and close-knit family, Nadal calls his mama every night when he's on tour. He's ...