With his long brown hair, fluorescent orange sleeveless shirt, bright white pirate pants and bandana, Rafael Nadal [Images] cuts a dashing figure on court.

However, like Andre Agassi [Images] in his youth, there is much more to the Spanish teenager than eye-catching dress sense.

Since the men's tennis circuit moved on to clay Nadal has been on fire and his 6-1, 7-6, 6-3 victory over former world number Juan Carlos Ferrero in Sunday's Barcelona Open final gave the 18-year-old his fourth title this year.

The teenager's swashbuckling approach to tennis has made him a huge crowd favourite and he has soared into the top 10, the youngest player to break into that elite in 12 years.

The only matches that drew a capacity crowd to the centre court in Barcelona were those involving the young Mallorcan.

His doubles matches pulled in more fans than most of those in the singles draw. Such was his popularity that tournament organisers were obliged to surround him with extra security to keep the fans at bay.

Building on an impressive performance in the Australian Open [Images], where he was beaten in five sets by Lleyton Hewitt [Images] in the fourth round, Nadal claimed back-to-back claycourt titles in Brazil [Images] and Mexico.

He then came within a whisker of upsetting Roger Federer [Images] before losing to the world number one in five sets in the final of the Nasdaq-100.

Nadal became the youngest player since Michael Chang in 1990 to win a Masters Series event in Monte Carlo and last week's performance in Barcelona fired him into the top 10, displacing Carlos Moya [Images] as the top-ranked Spaniard.

With 25 wins and just two losses on clay this year, Nadal will enter next month's French Open with a gilt-edged chance of claiming his first Grand Slam title.

HIGH-ENERGY

His aggression, power and athleticism, mixed with an irrepressible enthusiasm, make Nadal an irresistible force and he has impressed many with his level-headedness amid the hype.

"It isn't normal to win so many matches," he admitted last week.

"I'm well aware that a bad run could come along soon. Maybe people will start to demand more from me from now on, but I'm still the same and go on court with the same humility as ever."

The guidance of his uncle and coach Toni Nadal and the experience of another uncle, former Barcelona and Spain defender Miguel Angel Nadal, have played a part in Rafael's down-to-earth approach.

Arriving at a post-match news conferences munching on an ice cream, his manner is casual, his answers thoughtful, witty and often unexpected.

Asked about the secret of his recent run of success, Nadal replied: "I don't know. In any case it wouldn't be a secret if I told you would it? I'm just enjoying myself and happy with the way things are going."

Although he has made huge progress since last year, at 18 he knows that he still has a lot to learn.

"I've always wanted to be a tennis player," he says. "But if one day I want to be the number one I'm going to have to improve in a lot of areas.

"There are a lot of players who are fighting for the same thing and at the moment Federer is still a miles ahead of everyone else."

• Complete tennis coverage
• All you want to know about Sania Mirza