Rafael Nadal's win in the Rome Masters tournament has cemented his legacy as the Emperor of Clay as he defeated Novak Djokovic in the final.
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Rafael Nadal has demonstrated that he is the ‘Emperor of Clay’. His three-set win against Novak Djokovic has shown that when it comes to clay courts, no one comes close to his dominance. Djokovic tried and even took a set off him, but in the end, Nadal was simply too good. The fact that he managed to win the Rome Masters is a testament to his desire even at this stage in his playing career. Having lost in Barcelona, it was important for Nadal to win the Rome Masters as he builds up momentum for the French Open.
The French Open is Nadal‘s ultimate Grand Slam. In his 16-year playing career at Roland Garros, he has lost only twice and has registered 100 wins. He is the only player to have won 100 matches at the French Open and he is the only player to have won one Grand Slam title more than 10 times. Following his Rome Masters win, here is a look at some of the numbers in Nadal’s amazing dominance in Clay Court.
459 – Number of wins Rafael Nadal has on Clay Courts in 501 matches. That equals to a winning percentage of 91.6. This record might never be broken as the sheer volume of his consistency is massive.
10 – Number of times that Rafael Nadal has won the Rome Masters. He achieved a hat-trick of wins from 2005 to 2007. In 2008, his streak was ended by Novak Djokovic. Nadal won in 2009 and 2010 before again being stopped by Djokovic. Nadal would win two consecutive Rome Masters in 2012,2013, 2018 and 2019.
4 – Nadal has won the Rome Masters for the 10th time. Remarkably, he has won 10 titles or more in four different clay-court tournaments. Nadal has won the Monte Carlo Masters 11 times while he achieved success in Barcelona 12 times. The French Open is his ultimate achievement, winning it 13 times.
19 – Number of times Nadal has beaten Djokovic on clay. The overall head-to-head record is 29-28 in favor of Djokovic. However, Nadal has won the last five encounters on Clay against Djokovic. However, Djokovic holds the edge in hard courts and on grass.
