Rafael Nadal is the only male player to win 4 Grand Slams without dropping a set
Rafael Nadal is the male player with the most Grand Slams in tennis history so far. The Spaniard won his 21st Major earlier this year at the 2022 Australian Open. But this is not the only Major-related record he has to his name. The 35-year-old is also the only man to win four Slams without losing a set.
The Spaniard achieved the feat for the first time at the 2008 Roland Garros. Seeded second in the tournament, the three-time defending champion endured a difficult opener against Thomaz Belucci, winning the first set 7-5 before taking the next two sets in quick fashion (6-3 and 6-1).
The opening set against Bellucci was the closest the Mallorcan came to losing a set until the semifinals against Novak Djokovic. The 21-time Grand Slam champion lost only 16 games between the first round and the semifinals. He served up bagels (6-0 sets) against Nicolas Devilder in the second round and Fernando Verdasco in the fourth round.
2008 French Open
Before the final, the 3rd in a row against Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal chills and reads a newspaper with his uncle Toni, before picking up his rackets and leaving to the dressing room
Shortly after, he’d win his 4th major title https://t.co/Y1vz2pO6MO
Against the Serb, Nadal took the first two sets 6-4, 6-2 fairly comfortably but the third set went all the way to a tie-break. The then World No. 2 held his own in the tie-break, taking it 7-3 to book his spot in the final.
Locking horns with Roger Federer in the final at the French Open for the third time in a row, Nadal dismantled the Swiss 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 to hand him his worst loss in a Grand Slam.
With the win, the former World No. 1 became only the third man in the Open Era to win the French Open without dropping a set after Ilie Nastase and Bjorn Borg.
Rafael Nadal's second Grand Slam title without dropping a set came at Roland Garros in 2010, the year after his shocking fourth-round exit at the hands of Robin Soderling.
Seeded second, the Spaniard lost only 23 games across his first three matches. He once again squared off against Bellucci, this time in the fourth round. The Brazilian pushed his opponent in the second set but the Mallorcan held his nerve to take it 7-5. The rest of the match was quite straightforward.
The former World No. 1 played compatriot and 19th seed Nicolas Almagro in the quarterfinals and was taken to a tie-break in the first two sets before eventually winning the match 7-6(2), 7-6(3), 6-4. In the semifinals, he defeated Jurgen Melzer in a match that included a tense 14-point tie-break in the third set.
June 6, 2010 -
Rafael Nadal extracts revenge on Robin Soderling from the year before, capturing his fifth French Open title in six years.
Rafael Nadal then exacted revenge on Soderling, defeating the Swede 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 to lift his fifth Roland Garros title and seventh Major overall.
Rafael Nadal won the Roland Garros in 2017 and 2020 without dropping a set to break Bjorn Borg's record
Roland Garros 2017 was Rafael Nadal's third Grand Slam title without dropping a single set. Seeded fourth, the Spaniard did not even have to play a tie-break all tournament.
The 21-time Grand Slam champion won the title in Paris after defeating Dominic Thiem in the semifinals and Stan Wawrinka in the final. The 35 games he dropped were the second lowest in the history of the French Open, since Bjorn Borg lost only 32 games en route to the 1978 title.
Fewest games lost in Grand Slam event by a man in Open era
All best-of-5 matches
Borg 32 1978 French Open
Nadal 35 2017 French Open
In the process, the Mallorcan also equalled Borg for most Grand Slams won without dropping a set. His 10th Roland Garros (15th Grand Slam overall) title made him the only man to win a single Major on 10 occasions.
Nadal's fourth and most recent Grand Slam title without losing a set came again at the French Open two years ago. Seeded second in the tournament, the 21-time Grand Slam champion lost only 23 games in his first four matches.
Against Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals, the World No. 4 took the first set in a tie-break but then found his groove to win the match 7-6(4), 6-4, 6-1. In the semifinals against Diego Schwartzman, the 35-year-old was once again pushed to a tie-break in the third set but ended up winning it without giving a point to his opponent.
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There's no dynasty like Rafael Nadal at the French Open https://t.co/7CJPqTiY3u
The three-time defending champion faced off against Novak Djokovic in the final and dismantled him with an ultra-dominant 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 win. The win marked his 20th Major title, putting him level with Roger Federer at the time.
Rafael Nadal also became the first player to win 100 matches at the French Open and the second man in history to win 100 matches at a single Major, after Federer did so at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.