Rafael Nadal: The World Champion of The Clay Court
Rafael Nadal is considered the best player to play on clay court. The Spanish superstar has the most French Open titles in the Open Era and Amateur Era. This earned him the title of the ‘King of Clay.’ Nadal was a dominant force on clay. But now the time has come when Nadal has decided to hang his boots. Rafael Nadal will retire from professional tennis next month. He is set to play in the Davis Cup next month. As the ‘King of Clay’ is going to retire, we take a look at how Nadal earned this title.
First French Open in maiden appearance
The Spanish star started his senior career in 2003. He missed the first two French Open and made his first appearance in the 2005 edition. Nadal was ranked no. 5 at that moment. The youngster also had a 24-match winning streak on clay when he was just 18 years old. This is a record to date for any teenager.
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Nadal won the semi-final against Roger Federer on his 19th birthday. He followed this with a win over Mariano Puerta in the final. Rafa became the second player in history to win the French Open on his first attempt. Nadal also became the first teenager to win a Grand Slam since Pete Sampras did it in 1990. This was just the beginning for Nadal.
Rafael Nadal: Four appearances, four titles
Defending the French Open is not an easy task. Only a few players were able to defend the Grand Slam. Gustavo Kuertan did it in 2000 and 2001. Since then, only one player defended his French Open reign and that was Rafael Nadal. The Spanish superstar not only defended his title in 2006 but also won two more on the run. He never lost a match in his first four appearances at Roland Garros and ended up with four French Open.
Five on a trot
Rafael Nadal broke the record of 29 match winning streak in the 2009 French Open. However, he suffered his first defeat against Robin Soderling in the fourth round. Nadal made a comeback in the 2010 edition by winning it. There was no stopping as Nadal went on to lift the next five titles. By 2014, Nadal won nine out of the 10 French Open he played in and only lost one match.
Another winning streak
This run of five French Open was followed by a quarter-final exit and withdrawal from third round due to an injury. A 100% fit Nadal made his comeback in 2017. He won the French Open in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. Now Nadal had 13 titles in 16 appearances at Roland Garros.
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14th French Open
After Novak Djokovic ended Nadal’s run in the 2021 edition, the Spaniard still had in him to go for the 2022 French Open. Nadal was class apart throughout the tournament. He eventually ended up winning the 2022 French Open. This was his last Grand Slam title as well.
Rafael Nadal has a record of 112-4 in the French Open. He ended his career with 22 Grand Slam wins. The Spaniard was an inspiration to many and one of the best to ever step on the court.
