During his long career, Rafael Nadal has improved his game so much that he has become competitive on all surfaces. The former world No. 1 won the Wimbledon Championships twice, the Australian Open twice and the US Open four times, silencing all those who had defined him only as a red clay specialist.

Rafa’s numbers on his beloved red clay are among the most incredible in the history of sport and hardly anyone will ever be able to surpass his 14 triumphs at the French Open. The Spanish legend – who retired from professional tennis at the Davis Cup Finals last week – has been almost unbeatable in all tournaments on red clay (Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid and Rome), but in Paris he really marked an era.

Defeating Nadal on the iconic Philippe Chatrier was counted as one of the most difficult feats among all sports, being necessary to win three sets on an ideal court for Rafa’s game. The first to do so was the Swede Robin Soderling in 2009, also thanks to the knee problems of the 22-time Grand Slam champion.

At Roland Garros, Rafa won the last title of his career in 2022, lifting the trophy despite the poor condition of his foot. Nadal wasn’t even supposed to participate in that edition of the tournament, but he decided to anesthetize his foot and write tennis history.

Roger Federer has never beaten his eternal rival at Roland Garros, while Novak Djokovic managed this feat in 2015 and 2021. The 2024 French Open was the last of Nadal’s career, but his run ended already in the first round against Sascha Zverev.

The King of Clay

On the latest edition of the ‘Nothing Major’ podcast, former American ace Steve Johnson reflected on Rafa’s outstanding aura on this surface: “Underrated might be a strong term here but I think it’s winning four French Open titles without dropping a single set. That is absolutely mind blowing to me.

I can’t remember off the top of my head if he had any withdrawals or retirements, but winning 21 sets in a row at a Grand Slam tournament, against the best players in the world is ridiculous, and he did that four times.

He never had a bad game, got broken, lost a set and then won, he won 21 straight sets, four times, it’s absolutely mind-blowing to me.”

In the best years of his career, it was almost impossible to put Nadal in trouble on the red clay. His forehand was impressive on that surface and his athletic power allowed him to play at the highest level even for 4 or 5 hours. The 14-time French Open champion was a nightmare for all opponents and not even a legend like Federer could find a solution. Only Soderling’s feat in 2009 allowed him to win his first and only Roland Garros.

Johnson had the chance to face Rafa on the red clay at the 2015 Mutua Madrid Open, one of the most complicated years of the Spaniard’s career.

“I’m telling you, there was a severe fear I had for losing 6-0, 6-0, in front of a big crowd, and kind of getting just embarrassed,” Steve recalled.

“That was my whole goal that day, just to not get embarrassed.

Luckily I won the first game, so that kind of calmed the nerves a bit, because if you start going down like 4-0, 5-0, lose the first set 6-0, that’s when panic starts to set in.

“There was a lot of fear in my eyes, and not a lot of fear in his eyes” – he continued.

Johnson lost the match 6-4 6-3 on the Manolo Santana Stadium.

“I mean if you look back, I would actually rather that have been the case,” he stated.

“Me losing 3 and 3 or whatever it was, I don’t know, that was fun, but 6-0, 6-0 would’ve been hilarious a decade ago. I should’ve done it.”

A special feeling

The legend from Manacor broke all records on red clay, even surpassing an icon like Bjorn Borg. Another player like Nadal will never be born again on the red clay, having imprinted a dominance on such a surface that is almost unreal.

This year, Rafa tried to play on red clay to regain his certainties but without success. The former world No. 1 was eliminated in the first round of the French Open and the second round of the Olympic tournament, while his best result was the final in the Bastad ATP 250 (he lost to Nuno Borges). In addition, the Spaniard had lost to Lehecka in Madrid and Hurkacz in Rome.