Winning Grand Slam titles, attaining the world No. 1 ranking and earning millions of dollars in prize money are the fuel that drives many players to pursue their tennis dreams.

Rafael Nadal defines the beauty of the sport in much simpler terms: Love.

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"The most beautiful thing, I think, is that you go around the world and you feel the love of the people," Nadal told the media in Shanghai when asked what he loves most about tennis. "That’s the real thing, no? You go on the court and you feel the support of the people. You go around, and, you know, when you do the things the right way, you feel the support of the people.

"For me, personally, when you go on court and you see the people supporting you, that’s the most satisfying thing."

The fourth-seeded Spaniard, who plays Viktor Troicki in his Shanghai opener, said he defines happiness based on the health and well-being of his loved ones.

"Being happy is away of the tennis court. The life is much more than tennis, for me, personally," Nadal said. "My life always have been a lot of very important things away of tennis, and it’s true that the tennis have been for the last, I’d say, 20 years an important part of my life, for sure, but in life there is a lot of more important things than just the game.

"So happiness is the other things: the health of your family, the people who you love, and the health of them and be close to them. That’s, in my opinion, is happiness."

Photo credit: Shanghai Rolex Masters