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Rafael Nadal of Spain hugs the Musketeers’ Cup as he celebrates victory following the mens singles final against Dominic Thiem of Austria during day fifteen of the 2018 French Open at Roland Garros on June 10, 2018 in Paris, France. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
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Rafael Nadal of Spain hugs the Musketeers’ Cup as he celebrates victory following the mens singles final against Dominic Thiem of Austria during day fifteen of the 2018 French Open at Roland Garros on June 10, 2018 in Paris, France. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Tennis legend Rafael Nadal has had immaculate success on clay throughout his career. Rightfully, he is renowned as the ‘King of Clay’ given his utter dominance on red dirt. But what makes this a story beyond belief is his unrivaled achievements at the French Open.
In 2020, the Spaniard defended his Roland-Garros trophy for a fourth straight year, extending his record to 13 times. Notably, no other player in tennis history has won this many times in a single Grand Slam tournament.
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Incredible achievements of Rafael Nadal at Roland-Garros
Rafael Nadal celebrated his 19th birthday during his first Roland-Garros tournament in 2005. On the same very day, he defeated then World No. 1 Roger Federer to reach the final and eventually win his maiden Grand Slam title two days later.
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Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates after winning championship point during his Men’s Singles Final against Novak Djokovic of Serbia on day fifteen of the 2020 French Open at Roland Garros in Paris, France. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Since then, the Spaniard has only lost twice at Roland-Garros in 16 years. Additionally, he recorded his 100th French Open win, taking out Serbian Novak Djokovic in the 2020 final. Thus, to this day, Rafa has a 100-2 record on his beloved Parisian clay.
What is even more staggering is that only 2 of his 102 matches have gone the distance. This means that Rafa finished the rest of the matches in less than five sets.
Moreover, the El Matador has lost a set in a mere 21 matches. Besides this, Rafa has completed the French Open without losing a set on four occasions – 2008, 2010, 2017, and 2020. His set record stands at 298-27.
Also, Nadal has a 98% win percentage at Roland-Garros, Federer has 89% in Wimbledon, and Djokovic has 91% at the Australian Open. Conclusively, the Spaniard remains the most favorite player at Roland-Garros 2021.
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Who can challenge Nadal at French Open 2021?
The two men who did the impossible task of defeating Nadal at Roland-Garros are Robin Soderling (2009) and Novak Djokovic (2016). The two men who stretched the Spaniard to five sets in Paris are John Isner and the Serbian ace.
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2018 French Open Tennis Tournament – Rafael Nadal of Spain and Novak Djokovic of Serbia while playing a tie break doubles exhibition match against Simona Halep of Romania and Alexander Zverev of Germany on Court Philippe Chatrier during a packed Children’s Day at Roland Garros before the start of the 2018 French Open Tennis Tournament at Roland Garros on May 26th 2018 in Paris, France. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
Therefore, Djokovic is prominently the biggest threat to Rafa’s 14th French Open title. Other than him, the Austrian ace Dominic Thiem, who lost two finals to the Spaniard, will aim to be a third-time lucky winner.
But above all, to dethrone Nadal at Roland-Garros is one of the rarest spectacles in tennis. Even though this might change in the future, Nadal will always be the brightest name in the history books of Roland-Garros.
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