King of Clay takes on Queen of Poker in Monte Carlo

Originally published on 04/04/14

The King of Clay has revealed that he will take on the Queen of Poker, Vanessa Selbst, in a one-on-one poker game at the Casino de Monte Carlo on April 11.

Nadal proved he’s not just a champion on the tennis court,  winning his first poker tournament in January 2013, while absent from the tour with injury. He picked up just €152.40 for his victory on PokerStars.es, but in December he beat Brazilian football Ronaldo and world No.1 poker player Daniel Negreanu to win a €100,000 charity event in Prague.

“It’s no secret that I love the competition and that’s what I like about poker,” Nadal said. “It’s a game of skill that requires mental strength and the ability to out-think your opponents, and in that way there are similarities to tennis. I have been playing poker online for almost two years and now I’m looking forward to the challenge of playing against Vanessa.”

Selbst, who has a law degree from Yale university, is the highest-earning female poker player of all time over $9.6 million in poker winnings.

The Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters is the first of three ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments during the European clay-court swing. Djokovic ended Nadal’s eight-year reign at the Monte Carlo Country Club last year with a 6-2 7-6(1) victory over the Spaniard in the final.

Now get the WORLD’S BEST TENNIS MAGAZINE here