PURPLE PATCH: As the next tennis Grand Slam is almost upon us, we take a look at Rafael Nadal’s amazing record on the clay of Roland Garros.
Why the Spaniard really is the ‘King of Clay’
If there is one man who you can safely say has made an individual event his own, it’s Rafael Nadal at the French Open.
The Spaniard has dominated the Grand Slam for well over a decade and here is our look back on his incredible record at Roland Garros.
Having lost in the final of the 2005 Miami Masters to Roger Federer, Nadal was irresistible in the clay-court season that followed.
He was victorious in the Torneo Conde de Godó in Barcelona, the Monte Carlo Masters as well as the Rome Masters, before he headed to Paris.
His victory over Mariano Puerta in the final meant he not only became just the second male player to win the French Open on his first attempt, but it also meant he’d won 24 consecutive matches.
That was just the start as he incredibly won the French Open for the next three years, meaning in four years he was still yet to taste defeat.
The following year he beat Lleyton Hewitt in the third round, which meant he’d won 31 matches in a row – a record at the French Open.
However, that run came to an end in the next round as he was knocked out by Robin Soderling in a huge upset.
That loss would be his only one at Roland Garros until 2015 as Nadal once again dominated all before him, winning the next four titles. His win in 2014 was his 14th Grand Slam title, a total which equalled Pete Sampras’ career haul.
He failed to win a Grand Slam in 2015 – the first time in 10 years he’d failed to win at least one Major in a season. One of those failures came at the French Open where he was defeated by Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals. The loss to the Serbian was, and remains, just his second in 95 matches played at Roland Garros.
Nadal failed to reach a quarter-final in any of the four Grand Slams in 2016, but order has been restored since then with three consecutive French Open titles.
Those three victories mean he’s won over £14million in prize money in Paris and it would take a brave man to bet against him adding to that figure in 2020.
