Rafael Nadal's 5 best Madrid Open matches ft. 2009 semifinal against Novak Djokovic
Rafael Nadal earned the title 'The King of Clay' quite early in his career and over the last two decades, has time and again proved himself to be worthy of the same.
He has won 63 out of his 92 career singles titles on clay, including 14 French Opens out of his 22 Grand Slam victories.
Similarly, with regard to the upcoming Madrid Open, the Spaniard holds the record for the most titles won — five — on what happens to be his home soil. However, the number falls short of the victories that he has had in the other important tournaments, namely the Monte Carlo Masters (11 titles), the Barcelona Open (12 titles), and the Rome Masters (10 titles).
With this year supposedly the last for Nadal on tour and the excitement surrounding his participation, let's take a look at some of the Spaniard's best matches at the Madrid Open.
Rafael Nadal's 5 best Madrid Open matches
#5 2019 Semifinal against Stefanos Tsitsipas
Rafael Nadal was ousted from the 2019 Madrid Open in the semifinals by Stefanos Tsitsipas, who reached his second ATP Masters final, where he lost to Novak Djokovic.
Tsitsipas took the lead by bagging the first set 6-4. Nadal won the second set 6-2 and forced a decider. The Greek tennis player managed to get the better of his opponent as he won the final set 6-3, robbing Nadal of a chance to win another Madrid Open title and an iconic clash against Djokovic.
#4 2017 Semifinal against Novak Djokovic
Defending champion and second seed Novak Djokovic lost the 2017 Madrid Open semifinal to Rafael Nadal with a scoreline of 6-2, 6-4. The Spaniard went on to win his fifth title in Madrid after defeating Dominic Thiem in the final.
In what seemed like a rather one-sided yet thrilling encounter between the two great rivals, Djokovic admitted that the Spaniard played at a level that was hard to counter.
Speaking about the same after what was the 50th clash between the two, the Serb said:
"Well, Rafa was obviously a better player today. He deserved to win. I mean, he was controlling the game from beginning to the end. But, you know, all in all, I did try my best. It wasn't a very high quality of tennis from my side. I mean, I made a lot of unforced errors, especially first set," he said.
#3 2005 Final against Ivan Ljubicic
Rafael Nadal won his first Madrid Open title against eighth seed Ivan Ljubicic 3–6, 2–6, 6–3, 6–4, 7–6(3). It came at a time when the tournament followed a different format and was played on a hard surface. It turned out to be the Spaniard's only indoor hardcourt title.
The match was not just Nadal's first victory in Madrid but also one of his first big titles, which was marked by a challenging comeback, as suggested by the scoreline. From being two sets down, Nadal turned the game to 2-2, after which he defeated Ljubicic in the final tiebreak.
Talking about the 2005 final ahead of the 2021 edition of the tournament, Nadal hailed his victory as one of the most unforgettable moments in his career, saying (via Tennis Head):
“The first, which was in 2005. It was the final, even if it wasn’t on land (clay). It was an unforgettable game, very exciting, where I remember that the public was incredible,” Nadal said.
“The game cost me a few months of (my) sports career. I broke my foot but it was worth it. It was worth the emotion I experienced, that made it impossible to forget. The next day I woke up lame, I couldn’t even walk," he added.
#2 2010 Final against Roger Federer
In what seemed to be a rematch of the previous year's final, Nadal took his revenge by defeating the defending champion Roger Federer in a thrilling 6-4, 7-6(5) encounter.
While the 2009 final was memorable for Federer as it helped him end Nadal's then-winning streak over him, the Spaniard reasserted his reign as the King of Clay the following year. In continuation to the same, as Federer failed to convert break points, the Spaniard succeeded in getting the better of him.
With a first-set lead, the Spaniard was determined to seek revenge from last year. Despite Federer being at a 4-2 advantage in the second-set tiebreak, Nadal defeated him which was a boost in his confidence, culminating in a subsequent victory at the French Open a couple of weeks later.
#1 2009 Semfinal against Novak Djokovic
In what is considered to be one of the best matches in the history of the tournament and one of the earliest ones as part of the iconic Nadal-Djokovic rivalry, Nadal defeated Djokovic 3-6,7-6(5), 7-6(9) in a four-hour-long encounter, the longest in the history of ATP 1000 Masters.
As the scoreline suggests, both the Spaniard and the Serb challenged each other to the best of their abilities before the former won and headed towards what could have been his second title on home soil.
While Djokovic earned three match points in the final tiebreak, Nadal's skillset on clay helped him emerge victorious.
Before the tournament in 2022, Djokovic reminisced about the classic encounter and facing Nadal on clay. He said (via Tennis World USA):
"It always is a great battle with Rafa, particularly playing him here in his home, in his home country Spain, on his favourite surface clay. It was the closest I got to beating him on clay at that point."
"I think I had my first win on clay against him in 2011. But that match (2009 Madrid) was extraordinary. We played something like three tiebreaks. I don't exactly remember the scoreline, but every set was close," he added.