Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal had a win percentage of 96% on clay in 2005 – here are the only two players who managed to defeat him
2005 was the breakthrough year for Rafael Nadal in the professional circuit. He won his first Grand Slam title – the French Open, in the same year as a 19-year-old. The Spaniard looked invincible on clay surfaces and won 50 out of the 52 matches that he played on clay in that season. The couple of matches that he lost were against Argentina’s Gaston Gaudio and Russia’s Igor Andreev.
Gaston Gaudio was one of the highly-rated players on clay during his time. The Argentine won the French Open title in 2004 and he got the better of Rafael Nadal next year on his home turf in Buenos Aires.
Meanwhile, Russian ace Igor Andreev defeated Nadal at the 2005 ATP tournament in Valencia. Andreev never won a Grand Slam in his career, but he was always a dangerous opponent to play especially during his peak. Gaudio and Andreev retired from the sport in 2011 and 2013 respectively.
Rafael Nadal’s record on clay surfaces has been impeccable over the years. He’s rightfully called the ‘King of Clay’ and there is no doubt that the Spaniard is the greatest Tennis player on Clay of all-time.
In his illustrious career, Nadal has won an all-time record of 22 Grand Slam men’s singles titles, including a record 14 French Open titles. He has won 92 ATP singles titles, including 36 Masters titles, with 63 of these on clay. Nadal is one of only two men to complete the career Golden Slam in singles. His 81 consecutive wins on clay is the longest single-surface win streak in the Open Era.
Some of the things that Nadal has been able to achieve on clay surfaces are astounding and it’s very unlikely that they will be replicated in the future. The Spaniard has maintained a 100%-win record on clay surfaces in multiple seasons – 2006, 2010. While in a few other years like 2005, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2017 and 2018, Nadal has maintained a win record of more than 95% – quite remarkable indeed.
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