PARIS (AP) — Rafael Nadal retired late last season after a career filled with notable accomplishments, including a total of 22 Grand Slam singles titles. Nothing stands out as much, though, as his success at the French Open — which is why there is a statue of him near the main entrance to the tournament site.
“It’s probably one of the biggest challenges that you can have in the tennis tour, playing Rafa at Roland-Garros," is how rival Novak Djokovic put it last year. "We know his records there. ... You have some times when he’s really in the zone and in the groove, not making many errors. You feel like he’s impenetrable. He’s like a wall.”
Ahead of this year's tournament at Roland-Garros, where Nadal will be honored during a ceremony at Court Philippe-Chatrier after Sunday's day session, here is a look at some of the numbers associated with the 38-year-old Spaniard at the only major tennis tournament played on red clay.
That is the total haul of singles championships won by Nadal at the French Open, more than other tennis player — male or female — collected at any Grand Slam tournament. It's not even close, really. In Paris, the man in second place on the list in the Open era (since 1968) is Bjorn Borg with six. Chris Evert won the women's trophy seven times.
That's the win-loss record for Nadal at the French Open, giving him a career winning percentage of .966. The only four losses came in 2009 against Robin Soderling in the fourth round, against Novak Djokovic in the 2015 quarterfinals and the 2021 semifinals, and against Alexander Zverev in last year's first round.
Nadal went unbeaten against rival Roger Federer at the French Open, with victories in four finals and two semifinals. Nadal's record there against Djokovic was 8-2.
If Nadal reached the final at Roland-Garros, he won the trophy, winning all 14 title matches there, from his first in his tournament debut in 2005 to the last at age 36 in 2022.
That's Nadal's record in sets at the French Open. He was only pushed to five sets three times, going 3-0 in those matches by beating John Isner in 2011, Djokovic in 2013 and Felix Auger-Aliassime in 2022.
Nadal's longest winning streak at the French Open came from 2010 to 2015, a 39-match span during which he earned five of his trophies there.
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
FILE - Tennis fans take images of Spain's Rafael Nadal's statue during their first round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, May 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Howard Fendrich, File)
