Rafael Nadal joins Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic as only male players to play 350 Grand Slam singles matches
Rafael Nadal, along with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, are widely regarded as three of the best players to have graced the game. On Monday at Wimbledon, the 22-time Major winner added another feather to his cap, joining his 'Big 3' peers as the only male players to play 350 Grand Slam singles matches.
The second seed marked the occasion with a routine straight-sets win over Dutchman Botic van de Zandschlup to romp into the Wimbledon last eight for the eighth time. Nadal reached the semifinals in his last two appearances at SW19, losing to Djokovic in 2018 and to Federer a year later.
The reigning Australian Open and Roland Garros champion has been on a roll at Wimbledon, dropping only two sets en route to the quarterfinals. He has now won 309 of his 350 Grand Slam matches, with 57 of these victories coming at SW19. Only Federer (429) and Djokovic (378) have played more singles matches at Majors than the Spaniard.
350 - Rafael #Nadal is the third male player to play 350 Grand Slam main draw matches in the Open Era, after Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Big-3.
#Wimbledon2022 #Wimbledon https://t.co/aamlMkyC9t
Nadal will take on Taylor Fritz on Wednesday as he seeks to reach the Wimbledon last four for the third time in as many appearances.
"To be able to be in quarterfinals at Wimbledon after three years without playing here is amazing" - Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal was his usual dominant self against Zandschlup, breezing through the first two sets for a loss of just six games.
He looked on course for a routine win when he led 5-2 in the third, but the Dutchman won four of the next five games as Nadal failed to serve out victory at 5-3. In the ensuing tiebreak, the two-time Wimbledon winner saw three match points come and go before making good on his fourth.
Nevertheless, the 36-year-old was pleased with his performance against Zandschlup, saying in his oncourt interview that it was a positive match against a difficult opponent.
"I continued in a positive way. I think, until the end (when) I played a bad game at 5-3, (it) had been a very positive match against a difficult opponent. Botic has been improving unbelievably in the last year, so huge congratulations to him (for) this amazing improvement," Nadal said.
Rafa rolls into the quarter-finals 💪
The Spaniard secures a straight sets victory over Botic van de Zandschulp 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(6)
#Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 | @RafaelNadal https://t.co/Sq0SovkdoB
Nadal also expressed satisfaction at returning to the Wimbledon quarterfinals despite not playing on grass in three years.
"In a personal way, after all the things that happened the last couple of months, to be able to be in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon after three years without playing here (since 2019), it's amazing for me, so (I'm) very, very happy," said Nadal.
The Spaniard was afflicted by a rib and foot injury in the last few months but won a record-extending 14th Roland Garros title. He's now three wins away from his third Wimbledon title and go three-fourth of the way to an elusive calendar year Grand Slam. The feat was last accomplished by a male player (Rod Laver) in 1969.