2024 will be tough on the age-old fans with French Open tickets. It will be a year in which these fans will remember the player they saw become a legend, Rafael Nadal calling it a day.
Rafael Nadal and the French Open have a relationship unmatched by any other player across all Grand Slams. For the Spaniard, it was more than just a title—it was a sense of belonging mixed with emotion.
Over the last few years, several all-time greats have called time on their professional tennis careers, and Nadal’s stats record might be one of those that might not be beaten for quite a long time.
1 Winning multiple Grand Slam titles in three different decades
It’s already a rare feat to win at least one Grand Slam title in three different decades, with only seven players, male or female, having done it—Ken Rosewall, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic on the men’s side, and Nancye Bolton, Blanche Bingley, Martina Navratilova and Serena Williams on the women’s side.
But for one of those seven players, it gets more special.
Nadal is the only tennis player ever to capture two or more Grand Slam titles in three decades.
And it gets even more special: Nadal has won three or more Grand Slam titles in three decades.
By decade, the Spaniard’s 22 career Grand Slam titles include six in the 2000s, 13 in the 2010s, and three more in the 2020s. Most of the newer fans with French Open tickets saw Nadal destroy Casper Ruud in the final in 2022—he is still fast on the court, strong in his delivery, and exceptional in his serve.
Grand Slam Wins By Decade
2000s (6): 2005 Roland Garros, 2006 Roland Garros, 2007 Roland Garros, 2008 Roland Garros, 2008 Wimbledon, 2009 Australian Open
2010s (13): 2010 Roland Garros, 2010 Wimbledon, 2010 US Open, 2011 Roland Garros, 2012 Roland Garros, 2013 Roland Garros, 2013 US Open, 2014 Roland Garros, 2017 Roland Garros, 2017 US Open, 2018 Roland Garros, 2019 Roland Garros, 2019 US Open
2020s (3): 2020 Roland Garros, 2022 Australian Open, 2022 Roland Garros
No other active player can match Nadal’s feat of winning three or more majors in three decades until at least the 2030s.
After sweeping the first two majors of 2022, Nadal was closing in on his FOURTH major of the 2020s at Wimbledon that year but had to withdraw prior to his semifinal match due to an abdominal injury.
Only player to hold the world No. 1 ranking in three different decades
He ascended to No. 1 for the first time in 2008 and spent his last week there in 2020, for a total of 209 weeks at the top spot.
ATP rankings began in 1973, while WTA rankings began in 1975.
The Rafa stats countdown wraps up tomorrow with arguably the most dominant record in tennis history.
Nadal’s Most Iconic Finals
Looking back at Nadal’s career, one cannot simply forget the epic finals he played in from the early 2000s, finally ending his run in the 2022 final.
Tennis fans famously remembered the first few finals, as it was the first time they witnessed an unorthodox yet strong individual trying to make a name for himself on the court.
Here’s a look at a few of the epic finals from the King of Clay
Rafael Nadal vs Mariano Puerta (2005)
There is nothing more memorable for players than their first Grand Slam title; however, most don’t go on to win an additional 21.
In his maiden Roland-Garros appearance, Nadal reached his first major final at 19 years old as the fourth seed.
The Spaniard would play the unseeded Mariano Puerta in the final, who Nadal had beaten in their two previous ATP meetings on clay.
And Nadal did it again, fighting back after losing the first set to beat the Argentine in four sets and claim his maiden Roland Garros title.
Rafael Nadal vs Roger Federer (2008)
Nadal retained the Roland-Garros title in 2006 and 2007, beating Roger Federer in both finals; however, his most impressive defense came a year later.
In 2008, the Mallorcan dropped only 37 games en route to his fourth Roland Garros final, where he would again play top seed Federer.
Federer was the reigning Wimbledon and US Open champion then and had taken a set off Nadal in the previous two Roland-Garros finals against the Spaniard. Fans from both fanbases were filling the center court with French Open tickets, expecting their favorite player to win.
This time was much more straightforward for Nadal. He destroyed Federer in a 6-1 6-3 6-0 victory, becoming the first person to bagel the Swiss since Byron Black in 1999.
Rafael Nadal vs Robin Soderling (2010)
Nadal’s dominant reign at Roland-Garros ended at the hands of Robin Soderling in 2009, who delivered a shock first defeat to the Spaniard in the tournament’s fourth round.
Soderling was eventually beaten in the final by the aforementioned Federer, but the Swede returned to the final a year later with Nadal as his opponent.
And Nadal avenged Soderling, beating the fifth seed in straight sets to win his fifth Roland-Garros title.
This was the second time that Nadal had won the Roland-Garros title without dropping a set, and as a result, he began his second reign as world No.1.
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Rafael Nadal vs Novak Djokovic (2012)
In 2012, Nadal aimed to become the first man to win seven Roland-Garros titles, surpassing Bjorn Borg and equaling record holder Chris Evert.
However, in the final, Nadal would face rival Novak Djokovic in his first-ever Roland-Garros final after beating Federer in the semifinals.
Djokovic had won the last three consecutive Grand Slam titles and was looking to become the first man since Rod Laver to hold all four simultaneously (something he later achieved in 2016).
Nadal had won every set at the tournament so far and continued this record after claiming the opening two sets against Djokovic in the final.
Despite this, Djokovic hit back and won eight games in a row to claim the third set and go up a break in the fourth.
At this point, rain-affected play and delayed the final finish to Monday afternoon, but Nadal regrouped to win a record seventh Roland-Garros title.
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