Rafael Nadal’s record at the French Open simply beggars belief. Since debuting at the tournament as a teenager back in 2005, the sensational Spaniard won 112 of 116 matches played on the famed clay courts. In fact, at the start of his career, he went 28-0 throughout his first four trips to Paris, lifting the trophy on each occasion before being shockingly downed by Robin Soderling in the fourth round in 2009.
That loss wouldn’t dampen his spirits, though. The 100-plus victories culminated in Nadal claiming a whopping 14 championships at Roland Garros. No player has won more times at a single tournament, securing the Mallorca-born star the rightful nickname of the King of Clay. But as one of the all-time greats now heads off into retirement, let’s take a look at which players he beat the most in the City of Love.
Novak Djokovic
Serbian sensation Novak Djokovic is the only player in history to have won more Grand Slams than Nadal. Over the years, he has picked up 24 slam titles, two more than his recently retired rival. But unlike his long-time adversary, the maverick Nole is still trucking on at the ripe old age of 37.
For decades, betting sites like Bovada made Nadal a huge favourite every time Roland Garros rolled around. With the King of Clay now out of the picture, Djokovic has a better chance of victory in Paris. But unfortunately for him, the latest odds from the Bovada site still don’t make him the frontrunner, with Nadal’s compatriot Carlos Alcaraz the short-priced +150.
Perhaps some of the reasoning behind Djokovic’s status as a distant +450 third favourite stems from his dismal record against Nadal. The pair have met ten times at the French Open, with Rafa winning an astonishing eight times. Four of those meetings came in finals, and the Spaniard won them all.
One of their most memorable encounters happened in the 2013 semifinals. At the time, Djokovic was desperate to complete a career Grand Slam, but Nadal thwarted his attempt in a gruelling five-set showdown that lasted over four and a half hours. He held his nerve in the decisive fifth set to win 9-7, leaving Nole devastated and further cementing his reputation as the king of Roland Garros.
Djokovic finally managed to defeat Nadal at the seventh time of asking in 2015, ending his rival’s winning streak at 39. His second and final victory in the 2021 semifinals was a seismic one, and it marked a shift in sentiment that perhaps the Serbian was the greatest of all time, rather than his long-time Spanish rival.
Roger Federer
Roger Federer was Nadal’s first great rival. He was the man who sat at the top of the tennis throne when a young Rafa burst onto the scene, so you can imagine the Swiss star’s shock when he was soundly beaten by the teenage debutant in the 2005 semifinals. That was the first of six clashes the pair would contest in Paris, and Nadal has stunningly won them all.
The pair faced off in three straight finals between 2006 and 2008. Federer initially held his own, picking up a couple of sets in defeat. However, the latter of the three meetings was a one-sided beatdown, with Nadal dropping just four games en route to a bruising straight-sets victory.
While Federer never beat Nadal on court, he did take full advantage of the Spaniard’s first-ever defeat in the competition. When the aforementioned Soderliong beat the King of Clay in 2009, Federer would go on to meet the Swede in the final. And he would get the job done where Rafa could not, winning in straight sets to complete the career grand slam, marking the Swiss superman’s first and only victory at Roland Garros.
David Ferrer
Fellow Spaniard David Ferrer was also a formidable clay-court presence. Had it not been for his more illustrious compatriot, he may well have walked away with a Grand Slam triumph before heading off into retirement. Unfortunately for him, though, Nadal refused to release his vice-like grip on the tournament.
Nadal and Ferrer met four times in Paris, and yes, you guessed it, the former beat the latter on each occasion. The pair met in the quarterfinals in 2005 when the teenage Nadal won in straight sets. The two wouldn’t cross paths again for another seven years, with Nadal once again winning in the semifinals. A year later, the two Spaniards met in the final, but Ferrer couldn’t even pick up a set.
The two met for the fourth and final time in the quarterfinals the following year, and Ferrer was finally able to win a set for the first time. Unfortunately for him, that was as good as it got, and Nadal romped to a 4–6, 6–4, 6–0, 6–1 victory.
