When Rafael Nadal won 3 titles for every match he lost: Looking back at the Spaniard's prime years on clay
It is hard to put a finger on what time span can be considered Rafael Nadal's prime years on clay. After all, he has won 13 of the 17 Grand Slams he has competed in on the surface. Even after turning 30, the Spaniard has won three titles at Roland Garros and shows every sign of adding to the tally.
But based purely on the numbers, the 10 years between 2005 and 2014 can be considered Nadal's prime years on clay. He missed out on only one Roland Garros title in this period -- the 2009 edition.
Nadal clay court prowess during his peak/prime years.
2005-2014 (10 years)
Tournaments played: 56
Tournaments won: 42
Winning percentage: 75%
How do you win 3/4 tournaments you enter for 10 years.
Dominance we won’t see again. https://t.co/yMipD4YCIx
Out of the 56 tournaments the 21-time Grand Slam champion entered in those 10 years, he ended up going all the way on 42 occasions. That means he won three out of every four tournaments he appeared in, for 10 years on the trot. Here's a deep dive into the Mallorcan's 10-year reign of dominance on clay.
2005 to 2010: History at the Monte-Carlo Masters for Rafael Nadal
2005 was when Rafael Nadal truly cemented himself as a force to be reckoned with. Following a fourth-round exit at the Australian Open, he began his clay court season by winning the Acapulco Open, Brasil Open and Barcelona Open.
The former World No. 1 then won his first titles at the Monte-Carlo Masters and Rome Masters. The clay season culminated with a final flourish at Roland Garros, including a victory over top seed Roger Federer.
His win/loss record on the surface for the year was an unbelievable 50-2, with one loss coming against Gaston Gaudio (Argentina Open quarterfinals) and one against Igor Andreev (Valencia Open quarterfinals).
On this day in 2005 @RafaelNadal defeats Gaël Monfils 6-3 6-2 in #Montecarlo. It was the first of his record 81 cosecutive wins on clay. The longest streak by a man on a single surface in the Open Era.
Rafa won 13 titles during this streak
He was 18-20 years old https://t.co/0eYirTjdFZ
2006 saw the Spaniard win the Monte-Carlo Masters, Barcelona Open and Rome Masters. He emerged victorious at Roland Garros once again, this time beating Federer in the final. The World No. 5 did not lose a single match on the surface all year, finishing with a win/loss record of 26-0.
In 2007, the 21-time Grand Slam champion repeated the quartet of titles once more, once again prevailing over Federer in the final at Roland Garros. However, Nadal had fallen to the Swiss in the final in Hamburg before that, snapping a record 81-match winning streak he had on the surface.
2008 brought with it another Monte-Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open title. The Hamburg Masters was his too, but this time around, the Rome Masters was not. Nadal lost his first match against Juan Carlos Ferrero in Rome, the only instance to date that he has not won his opener at a clay court tournament.
A third straight victory over Federer in the French Open final secured him his fourth Major, where he also became the third man in the Open Era to win the tournament without dropping a set. Courtesy of the strong showing, the Mallorcan finished the year as the World No. 1 for the first time ever.
The World No. 5's combined win/loss record on the surface across the two years was an impressive 55-2.
Between 2005-2008, Nadal was 181-4 in clay court matches.
2009 marked the Spaniard's fifth consecutive Monte Carlo Masters, becoming the first man in tennis history to win any Masters tournament five times on the trot. He also won his fifth successive Barcelona Open and reclaimed the Rome Masters.
But in the Madrid Open, which was played on clay for the first time ever, the former World No. 1 lost in the final against Federer. At the French Open, his 31-match winning streak at the tournament was unexpectedly broken by Robin Soderling in the fourth round and Nadal finished the year with a 24-2 win/loss record on the surface.
2010 to 2014: History at Roland Garros for Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal roared back into form on clay the following year, finishing the season unbeaten. He won 26 matches in a row to emerge victorious at the Monte-Carlo Masters, Rome Masters, Madrid Masters and Roland Garros.
He won the French Open without dropping a set once again, and regained the No. 1 position from Roger Federer.
Rafael Nadal's sets record at the French Open:
The King of Clay.
🙌 Rafael Nadal's sets record at the French Open:
2005: 21-3
2006: 21-3
2007: 21-1
2008: 21-0
2009: 10-3
2010: 21-0
2011: 21-3
2012: 21-1
2013: 21-4
2014: 21-2
2015: 12-4
2016: 6-0
2017: 19-0
2018: 21-1
2019: 21-2
2020: 18-0
👑 The King of Clay.
#FrenchOpen https://t.co/Z32Q4w8Qi1
Although the Mallorcan won the Monte-Carlo Masters in 2011, he could not win the Madrid Masters or the Rome Masters -- losing both finals to Novak Djokovic. But the French Open did not offer the same resistance, where he defeated the Swiss for the fourth time in the final. His win/loss record for the year was 28-2.
In 2012, the 35-year-old won the Monte-Carlo Masters, becoming the first man in the Open Era to win a tournament eight times. He also won the Barcelona Open and Rome Masters before winning his seventh French Open title.
The victory in Paris meant he surpassed Bjorn Borg's record of six Roland Garros triumphs and equalled Chris Evert's record of winning the tournament seven times. He finished the year with a 23-1 win/loss record, the loss coming against Fernando Verdasco in the second round of the Madrid Masters.
2013 was one of Nadal's most successful years. He won titles at Sao Paulo, Acapulco, Rome, Barcelona and Madrid but lost in the final against Djokovic at Monte-Carlo. At Roland Garros, he defeated David Ferrer in the summit clash to win his eighth title and registered a record 59th win at the tournament in the process.
He finished the year with a 39-2 win/loss record, the other loss coming against Horacio Zeballos in the final of the VTR Open in Chile.
2005
Rafael Nadal is pretty good at the French Open
🏆 2005
🏆 2006
🏆 2007
🏆 2008
🏆 2010
🏆 2011
🏆 2012
🏆 2013
🏆 2014
🏆 2017
🏆 2018
🏆 2019 https://t.co/6K6vRQxT4U
In 2014, the 21-time Grand Slam Champion had a quiet year by his usually high standards. He won only the Rio Open, Madrid Masters and French Open. However, his ninth Roland Garros title (defeating Djokovic in the final) meant that Rafael Nadal became the first man to win a tournament nine times as well as win the French Open five times in a row.
His win/loss record for the year was 25-3, the losses coming at Monte-Carlo (David Ferrer in the quarterfinals), Barcelona (Nicolas Almargo in the quarterfinals) and Rome (Djokovic in the final).