Mallorca’s local hero Rafael Nadal, Wimbledon Champion 2008, is now back on the island, via Stuttgart, where he had to withdraw from the Mercedes Cup due to an injury sustained at Wimbledon. Nadal would have been the defending champion of the ATP tournament in Stuttgart.

Anyway, young Rafa was welcomed back in Manacor, his home town, by a cheering crowd and an impressive number of dignitaries, last Tuesday.

The news was confirmed yesterday, that Nadal has already qualified for the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai later this year, together with Federer and Djokovic. Nadal made it to the Shanghai semifinals in 2006 and 2007, losing on both occasions to Roger Federer.

In the current ATP 2008 Race, Nadal is leading the points table with 955, ahead of Federer, Djokovic and Davydenko.

The photo was taken in Manacor, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: July 11th, 2007. The time was 10:23:23.