Just a week after establishing another set of records with his 10th title in Monte Carlo, Rafa Nadal continues to pile on the results to strengthen the claim that he is the King of Clay. He beat Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-1 to win his 10th Barcelona title. Wow!
Apparently, winning one event ten times wasn't enough so he had to achieve the same record in another event. This is his 71st title and his 51st on clay. To put that in perspective, Nadal has won more titles on clay than tennis great Boris Becker has won on all surfaces in his career. Amazing! Even if you take out all of Nadal's 51 clay titles, Nadal has 20 titles on other surfaces - including 5 Grand Slam wins at the US and Australian Opens and in Wimbledon - and such a career would still have been enough for him to be a tennis legend.
These wins in Barcelona and Monte Carlo are especially significant because many people have written Nadal off. To be fair to them, Nadal's style of play is so gritty and physically demanding that it was easy to believe that his body wouldn't be able to keep up his high level of play much longer, and his results over the last couple of years seemed to prove this. Thankfully for Rafa fans (and tennis fans in general, I believe), he apparently still has a lot of miles left in him as he continues to achieve incredible records and results.
I don't want to hope too much at this point but it's hard not to think that Nadal could make it a third title #10 at the French Open, where he has already won 9 championships. I will be hoping that Rafa achieves grand success in Paris in about a month's time.
*****
Don't look now but Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal are currently #1 and #2 at the ATP Singles Race this year, meaning they have won played better and won more points than anyone else in 2017. Clearly, two of the best players of all time are still
Apparently, winning one event ten times wasn't enough so he had to achieve the same record in another event. This is his 71st title and his 51st on clay. To put that in perspective, Nadal has won more titles on clay than tennis great Boris Becker has won on all surfaces in his career. Amazing! Even if you take out all of Nadal's 51 clay titles, Nadal has 20 titles on other surfaces - including 5 Grand Slam wins at the US and Australian Opens and in Wimbledon - and such a career would still have been enough for him to be a tennis legend.
.@RafaelNadal continues to establish himself as the King of Clay with these staggering numbers. https://t.co/9Jk8Jv9pWB #ATP pic.twitter.com/e5Fmolhxsr— ATP World Tour (@ATPWorldTour) April 30, 2017
These wins in Barcelona and Monte Carlo are especially significant because many people have written Nadal off. To be fair to them, Nadal's style of play is so gritty and physically demanding that it was easy to believe that his body wouldn't be able to keep up his high level of play much longer, and his results over the last couple of years seemed to prove this. Thankfully for Rafa fans (and tennis fans in general, I believe), he apparently still has a lot of miles left in him as he continues to achieve incredible records and results.
I don't want to hope too much at this point but it's hard not to think that Nadal could make it a third title #10 at the French Open, where he has already won 9 championships. I will be hoping that Rafa achieves grand success in Paris in about a month's time.
*****
Don't look now but Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal are currently #1 and #2 at the ATP Singles Race this year, meaning they have won played better and won more points than anyone else in 2017. Clearly, two of the best players of all time are still
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