5 players who have reached the most ATP tour semifinals on clay, featuring Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic

5 players who have reached the most ATP tour finals on clay ft. Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic

There is no doubt that Rafael Nadal is one of the greatest ever tennis players on clay, maybe even the best ever when it comes to dominating opponents on the surface.

His 13 Roland Garros titles are more than twice that of the next-best performer in the tournament's history in the Open Era -- Bjorn Borg, who has six titles.

But Nadal is not the only one who has shown a proclivity to play on clay. Over the years, men's tennis has witnessed a horde of players suited to playing on this surface.

📊 Tenistas con más presencias en semifinales sobre arcilla (1990-2022/Men’s Singles):

🇪🇸 Rafa Nadal | 80
🇪🇸 Carlos Moyà | 52
🇦🇹 Thomas Muster | 51
🇪🇸 David Ferrer | 50
🇷🇸 NOVAK DJOKOVIC | 44
🇪🇸 Àlex Corretja | 40
🇪🇸 Nico Almagro | 40
🇪🇸 Sergi Bruguera | 37

One of the metrics that can be used to work out the best players on clay on the ATP tour (since it was formally restructured in 1990) is the number of semifinals they have reached on the surface across their entire career. Without further ado, here's a look at five of the top players based on that criteria:

#1 Novak Djokovic (44)

Novak Djokovic has reached 44 claycourt semifinals till date

Novak Djokovic has reached the semifinals of a clay event on 44 occasions, which includes his run at the ongoing Serbia Open. 11 of those have come at the French Open, out of which he has managed to reach the final on six occasions and win the title twice.

Djokovic gets better

Still in 3 sets, Nole takes out fellow Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic 4-6 6-3 6-3 in Belgrade QF https://t.co/bYFOgqUYV1

In Masters 1000 tournaments, the World No. 1 has reached 25 semifinals on clay, winning 10 titles.

#2 David Ferrer (50)

Between 2002 and 2017, David Ferrer reached the semifinals of 50 tournaments on clay, out of which he won 13 titles. Unfortunately, only two of those instances came at Roland Garros, and the Spaniard only reached one final in Paris.

Although Ferrer did not win a Masters 1000 event on clay, he reached nine semifinals and two finals. In ATP 500 events, the former World No. 3 reached 17 semifinals and ended up winning five titles.

#3 Thomas Muster (51)

Thomas Muster won 35 of the 51 clay tournaments he reached the semifinals of since 1990

Thomas Muster reached 51 semifinals on clay between 1990 and 1998, and won a whopping 35 titles. At the French Open, the Austrian reached two semifinals, going all the way in the 1995 edition.

A bizarre career: Thomas Muster made 55 ATP finals, 45 on clay.

Won 44 titles, all but 4 of them coming on clay.

Made at least the QFs at the French ONLY 3 times, winning in 1995.

Played Wimbledon 4 times, winning zero matches.

Made at least the QFs at USO & AO 3 times each.

The former World No. 1 reached the semifinals of claycourt Masters 1000 tournaments on eight occasions, winning the title six times and finishing as the runner-up once.

#4 Carlos Moya (52)

Between 1995 and 2008, Carlos Moya reached 52 semifinals on clay, winning 16 titles. Interestingly, the Spaniard reached only one semifinal at Roland Garros, which he capitalized on by going all the way to win his first and only Grand Slam title.

In Masters 1000 tournaments on clay, Moya reached eight semifinals and went on to reach the final thrice (two titles). The former World No. 1 progressed to the semifinals of 11 ATP 500 events, securing two titles.

#5 Rafael Nadal (80)

Rafael Nadal has reached 80 semifinals on clay till date, converting 62 of those into titles -- the most in ATP history. The World No. 4 has reached 14 semifinals at Roland Garros till date, and has gone on to win the title in all but one of them (2021).

Novak Djokovic takes down Rafael Nadal in the French Open semifinal 💪

Prior to this, Nadal was a perfect 26-0 in his French Open career in the semifinals or later 😳 https://t.co/bM7N5X67zB

In Masters 1000 events on clay, Nadal has a haul of 37 semifinals to his name. He has won the title on 26 of those occasions. The Spaniard has also reached 21 ATP 500 semifinals on clay, claiming 18 titles along the way.