In 2018 Rafael Nadal won his 11th title at the Roland Garros in Paris, becoming the first player to win the same Grand Slam 11 times—breaking his own record of 10. You could say that the Spaniard is almost unbeatable on the clay of Paris with an overall record of 86-2.
Nadal was 19 years old when he won his first title at Roland Garros in 2005, beating Mariano Puerta in the final. In fact, that marked his first-ever appearance at the tournament and he even celebrated his 19th birthday by taking down world No. 1 Roger Federer 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the semifinals. A new era had begun. Nadal was a kid on the rise, and it was expected that he would became something even more special than a one-time major champion. Those expectations turned out not to be unfounded, and nowadays he is hailed as the “King of Clay.”
This year he won his 11th title in the last 14 editions of the event (two losses plus one withdrawal included). Nadal was especially dominant this time around, rolling through seven matches with the loss of just one set and winning the final 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 over Dominic Thiem. Next year (2019) he will be going for his 12th title in Paris, most surely as the favorite. Get your French Open Tickets here!
Nadal is without a doubt the most dominant player on a single surface in the history of tennis. So what makes him so unbelievably good on clay?
When experts analyze his performances on the red stuff, they all focus on his heavy, looping forehand and incredible athleticism. His ability to dictate the play and fight for every point is one of his biggest strengths. He makes his opponents work harder than they have ever worked before and he always seems to wear his opponents down both physically and mentally. You could imagine that there’s nothing worse in playing a tennis match when you are hitting shots that normally would be clean winners and seeing the balls coming right back to you….
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vamos
Rafa is simply the best. Only injury has prevented him from being unbeatable on all surfaces.
I do feel Rafa was playing at a high level and it’s his serve that had let him down (other than his injuries). Had he served better, he would have won Wimbledon imo.
I won’t want to go as far to say that with a better serve he would have won USO too, but I had to say he had a much tougher route at the USO compared to Djoko’s. Had Djoko met Khachanov, followed by Thiem at the USO when both of them were playing so well, I’m sure Djoko would have it tough too (instead of facing a Millman who was punching above his weight, and then Kei who had tough battles himself before meeting Djoko).
The loss at Wimbledon had cost him the YE no.1 ranking, it turned out that whoever won Wimbledon (between Rafa and Djoko) would end up as YE no.1.
Rafa has such bad luck – every time things begin to look good and he is playing well, injury strikes. Hope he has better health this year.
Rafa had an amazing year! Five of the ATP’s 10 best matches of the year featured Rafa. What he’s lost in his legs he’s made up for in his head. He’s added new dimensions to his game and of course he has all those accumulated smarts to draw on.
I’ve heard it said that beating Nadal at RG is considered not just the most difficult feat in tennis, but the most difficult feat in all of sports. I can’t say I disagree. To be as dominant as he has been for more than a decade borders on the absurd…especially when one considers the fact that he has always had Federer and Djokovic to contend with.
2018 wasn’t 2008 for the Nadal camp, but it wasn’t too shabby, either.
Vamos Rafa!