What did the world look like the last time Rafael Nadal did not make the final of a single clay Masters 1000 event in a season?
Rafael Nadal's 2022 season got off to an incredible start, with the Spaniard winning the Australian Open for a second time to lift his 21st Grand Slam title. His Australian Open triumph was sandwiched between title runs at the Melbourne Summer Set and Mexican Open.
At the Indian Wells Masters, the Mallorcan reached the final but ended up losing to Taylor Fritz in straight sets. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with a rib stress fracture soon afterward, forcing him to stay on the sidelines for more than a month.
Been covering #tennis for 35 years. What 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz just did in Madrid is one for the memory bank. First man to knock out Rafael Nadal & Novak Djokovic back to back on red clay.
Now all he has to do is win the final against Tsitsipas or Zverev
#getty https://t.co/59gYTBbFd8
After missing the Monte-Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open, the World No. 4 returned to action at the Madrid Masters, where he fell in the quarterfinals to Carlos Alcaraz. At the Italian Open this week, the former World No. 1 fell in the third round against Denis Shapovalov, meaning that he will enter the French Open without a clay title to his name.
Shapovalov beats Nadal in Rome.
Very tough to watch at the end with Nadal in pain and limping badly - as bad as we’ve seen it on court.
Shapovalov won 17 of the last 20 points.
The last time the 35-year-old did not reach at least the final of a Masters 1000 tournament on clay was in 2004. During his fourth year on the ATP tour, he missed all three events due to an ankle injury.
It should be noted that the 21-time Grand Slam champion did not achieve the feat in 2020 as well. But back then, the pandemic ensured that only the Italian Open was held, and the French Open took place in October due to COVID-19.
So what did the world look like when Nadal entered Roland Garros without at least one runner-up trophy in the clay Masters 1000 events to his name? Here are five significant facts that will help put that into perspective:
#1 Coco Gauff was two months old, while Carlos Alcaraz was 1-year-old
World No. 15 Coco Gauff was only two months old when Rafael Nadal announced his decision to skip the European clay swing in 2004. The American has since gone on to win 98 matches on the WTA Tour, and has acquired two titles.
Cori Gauff defeats 5-time champion Venus Williams at Wimbledon 6-4, 6-4.
INCREDIBLE!
15-year-old 🇺🇸 Cori Gauff defeats 5-time champion Venus Williams at Wimbledon 6-4, 6-4.
Cori Gauff was born on March 13, 2004.
Remember the name. https://t.co/thiSJv4ADS
Meanwhile, current teenage sensation Carlos Alcaraz had just celebrated his first birthday at the time. The Spaniard has now won 61 matches and five trophies, including two Masters 1000 titles.
#2 Australia was led by John Howard, their 25th Prime Minister; five Prime Ministers have held office since then
When Rafael Nadal was hit with an ankle injury in 2004, John Howard served as Australia's Prime Minister. Howard was the country's 25th Head of Government, and his 11-year tenure is the second-longest term in Australia's history.
Let’s just think about this for a second!
Since 2004!!!!!!!!!
- Federer had only won two slams
- Coco Gauff was two months old
- John Howard was PM
- George Bush was president
- Andre Agassi was still firing
- The Athens Olympics had not yet happened twitter.com/big3tennis/sta…
Since then, five more have held office -- Kevin Rudd (2007-2010, 2013-2013), Julia Gillard (2010-2013), Tony Abbott (2013-2015), Malcolm Turnbull (2015-2018) and Steve Morrison (2018-present).
#3 Andre Agassi was still firing on all cylinders
Andre Agassi was still playing competitive tennis in 2004 when Rafael Nadal missed the trio of clay Masters 1000 tournaments. The American had already won all eight of his Grand Slam titles, but played seven more Majors, including that year's French Open.
bit.ly/3fDA6xVTwo legends over two days 👏
In 2004, world No. 1 @rogerfederer met two-time US Open champion Andre Agassi in the quarterfinals. The result? Epic.
Full match ➡️ bit.ly/3fDA6xV https://t.co/6QwbeGR1Um
The former World No. 1 reached one more final - at the 2005 US Open - where he fell to defending champion Roger Federer. Agassi also reached two more Slam quarterfinals before eventually hanging up his racquet in 2006.
#4 George W. Bush was the President of the United States of America
Back in 2004, America was still in the first term of George W. Bush's presidency. He was the 43rd President of the United States, and the country is currently being led by its 46th head of government.
Between then and now, the country has seen five terms of Presidents - Bush (2004 to 2009), Barack Obama (2009 to 2017), Donald Trump (2017 to 2021) and Joe Biden (2021 to present).
#5 Roger Federer had only two Grand Slam titles to his name
After turning pro in 1999, Roger Federer won only two Grand Slam titles heading into the 2004 French Open -- the 2003 Wimbledon and 2004 Australian Open titles.
March 28, 2004. 18 years ago.
17-year-old Rafael Nadal defeats Roger Federer 6-3 6-3 in Miami third round. This is when the Fedal rivalry started ♥️ https://t.co/6sVD2BWQ4H
The Swiss has won 18 more Majors since then, and is the player with the second-most Slam titles, behind only Rafael Nadal and tied with Novak Djokovic. Djokovic hadn't even appeared in the main draw of a Grand Slam at that point in time.
Also Check Out: Nadal French Open Titles