Spain's Rafael Nadal reacts after winning the men's singles final match against Russia's Daniil Medvedev on day fourteen of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 31, 2022. - -- IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE -- (Photo by Martin KEEP / AFP) / -- IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE -- (Photo by MARTIN KEEP/AFP via Getty Images)
Rafael Nadal achieved the feat after defeating Dan Evans 7-5, 6-3 at the Indian Wells Masters
Rafael Nadal is in sublime form this year and has created yet another record! Nadal has become the first player to win 400 singles matches in Masters 1000 events. His first victory in this category came against Karol Kucera in the first round of the 2003 Monte Carlo Masters.
The Spaniard’s 400 wins at Masters 1000 events place him well ahead of Roger Federer, who has 381 victories to his name. The World No.4 was coming off a hard-fought first-round victory against Sebastian Korda.
However, he was in top form in the match against Evans and didn’t have much trouble brushing aside the 27th seed from the UK in straight sets. Nadal is now scheduled to face Reilly Opelka in the Round of 16.
Nadal’s 100th Masters 1000 win came against Tomas Berdych in the semi-finals of the 2008 Miami Open. The Spaniard defeated Berdych 7-6, 6-2 but eventually lost in the final to Nikolay Davydenko. The Spaniard notched up his 200th win in the semi-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters beating Andy Murray and eventually went on to win the tournament. His 300th Masters 1000 win came four years later in the 2015 Shanghai Masters. Nadal defeated Stanislas Wawrinka 6-2, 6-1 but lost to Jo Wilfred Tsonga in the semi-finals.
From notching up his first Masters 1000 win in 2003 to getting the 400th one in 2022, ‘The King of Clay’ has entertained each and everyone in the process.
Rafael Nadal has made his best-ever start to the season winning 17 out of 17 matches so far. Nadal is now the only player in the Open Era to have won at least 450 matches on both hard court and clay surfaces. The 21-time Grand Slam Champion is in amazing form since the start of the season. Nadal will look to carry forward the momentum to his next matches at the Indian Wells Masters and clinch the title. Nadal’s 17-0 start to the season puts him as the joint-third in the list of best starts to a year since 1990, matching Pete Sampras and Roger Federer’s tallies from 1997 and 2018 respectively.
Meanwhile, Nadal has withdrawn from the Miami Open and opted for a break to prepare for the clay court season. He would look to make the most of the break after the Indian Wells to give himself the best opportunity to go for a record 14th French Open title. The Roland Garros will be played in May on the clay courts of Paris. Nadal has made the tournament his own, winning the singles title a record 13 times. He is definitely the fan favourite in Paris and will go into the French Open aiming to win a record 22nd Grand Slam title.
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