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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