Rafael Nadal's decade at the French Open - 2005-14
With 46 titles on clay, Rafael Nadal is only three shy of Guillermo Vilas’s record of 49 titles on the surface. However, the Argentine legend won just a solitary French Open title. Nadal, on the other hand has a record nine titles at Roland Garros and in his ten appearances at the event, has lost just a single match. He also holds an 81-match winning streak on clay, the longest on a surface.However, the 28-year-old’s clay-court season this year has gotten off to its worst start and many have started voicing their doubts on whether the Spaniard will be able to win a 10th Roland Garros crown this year.Even as Nadal tries to recover his prowess on clay, let us take a look at what has unquestionably been Nadal’s decade at Roland Garros.
#1 Rafael Nadal Vs Mariano Puerta (2005)
from winning his first Roland Garros crown.
So clinical was Rafael Nadal’s performance in the 2005 French Open that it seemed improbable that it was his first appearance at the event. The Spaniard, who turned 19 in the course of the 2005 French Open, had headed into the event on the back of three wins in Barcelona, Rome and Monte Carlo.
Despite his tender years and lack of experience at the professional level, he was dubbed one of the clear favourites to win the event in ’05. And he did not disappoint those who had envisaged his triumph.
Having won 24 consecutive matches prior to his debut at the French Open, Nadal took out another promising youngster and 30th seed Richard Gasquet in the third round before clashing with Roger Federer for the first time in a Grand Slam event in the semi-final.
The much-anticipated clash was a bit of an anti-climax since Federer failed to put up a strong fight against Nadal, who cruised to a win in four sets.
Two days later, Nadal took on Mariano Puerta in the final. The left-handed Puerta, despite being the experienced of the two finalists, was clearly the underdog. With an elegant left-handed backhand and a forceful forehand, Puerta had got the better of players like Ivan Ljubicic and Nikolay Davydenko en route to the final and was clearly no pushover, a point that came to the fore when he took the first set against all expectations.
But, Nadal was swift in his recovery and closed out the match in four sets 6-7, 6-3, 6-1, 7-5 to lift the first of his nine Roland Garros crowns.
Here are highlights from that final: