The World Number 3, King of Clay, Rafael Nadal turned 35 on Thursday. One of the greatest modern-day professional Tennis stars, Nadal has been ranked No. 1 in the ATP rankings for 209 weeks and has finished as the year-end No. 1 five times. Nadal has won 20 Grand Slam men’s singles titles, an all-time record shared with Roger Federer.
He has won 36 Masters 1000 men’s singles titles, an all-time record shared with Novak Djokovic. His 13 French Open titles in particular are a record at any tournament. Nadal’s dominance on clay is also highlighted by 62 of his 88 ATP singles titles coming on the surface, including 26 of his 36 ATP Masters titles, and his 81 consecutive wins on clay is the longest single-surface win streak in the Open Era.
Here’s a look at his phenomenal run at Roland Garros through the years:
2005 vs Mariano Puerta:6-7(6), 6-3, 6-1, 7-5
2006 vs Roger Federer:1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6(4)
2007 vs Roger Federer: 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
2008 vs Roger Federer:6-1, 6-3, 6-0
2009: Fourth round exit
2010 vs Robin Soderling: 6-4, 6-2, 6-4
2011 vs Roger Federer:7-5, 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-1
2012 vs Novak Djokovic: 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5
2013 vs David Ferrer: 6-3, 6-2, 6-3
2014 vs Novak Djokovic: 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4
2015: quarter finals
2016: First round
2017 vs Stan Wawrinka: 6-2, 6-3, 6-1
2018 vs Dominic Thiem: 6-4, 6-3, 6-2
2019 vs Dominic Thiem: 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1
2020 vs Novak Djokovic: 6-0, 6-2, 7-5
