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Rafael Nadal of Spain hugs the Musketeers’ Cup as he celebrates victory following the mens singles final against Dominic Thiem of Austria during day fifteen of the 2018 French Open at Roland Garros on June 10, 2018 in Paris, France. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
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Rafael Nadal of Spain hugs the Musketeers’ Cup as he celebrates victory following the mens singles final against Dominic Thiem of Austria during day fifteen of the 2018 French Open at Roland Garros on June 10, 2018 in Paris, France. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
The clay-court season is about to begin soon, and players seem pretty excited about it. Even though the French Open 2021 is delayed by a week due to the coronavirus pandemic, players will begin the season at the Monte Carlo Masters 2021 soon. As usual, all the eyes will once again be on the ‘King of Clay’ Rafael Nadal.
World No.3 Rafael Nadal stunned everyone last year when he won the French Open 2020 title, despite the conditions not favoring him. What was even more surprising was that he didn’t drop a single set in the whole tournament.
No one can match Rafa on the clay surface. Surprisingly, the Spaniard has won 60 titles on clay and leads the second-placed Novak Djokovic by 45 titles. Djoker currently has won 15 titles on clay, while Roger Federer has 11 titles on the surface so far. Former World No.5 Tommy Robredo is tied with Federer on the list with 11 titles.
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Let these numbers sink in for a minute… 👀 pic.twitter.com/HwD8679dD1
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) April 10, 2021
One can look at the gap between the first and the second player in terms of the titles won on clay. This clearly shows how much Rafa maintains his hegemony on the surface.
Clay titles of the current Top10
Nadal 60
Djokovic 15
Federer 11
Thiem 10
Zverev 5
Schwartzman 3
Berrettini 2
Rublev 2
Tsitsipas 1
Medvedev 0— enrico maria riva (@enricomariariva) April 10, 2021
Interestingly, in a total of 86 career titles, Rafa has won 60 of them on clay. He’ll surely like to carry forward this dominance and aim to win more titles on the surface.
Can Rafael Nadal win his 14th French Open title in 2021?
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Even though Rafa skipped the Miami Open 2021 due to an injury, he is doing well at the moment and practicing hard in Mallorca. He’ll soon begin his campaign for that clay-court season at the Monte Carlo Masters 2021- a tournament that he has conquered 11 times so far.
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Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates after winning a point during his Men’s Singles Final against Novak Djokovic. Day fifteen of the 2020 French Open at Roland Garros in Paris, France. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Looking at his form, Rafa can surely defend his French Open title yet again this year. Players still haven’t figured out a way to beat him on clay, and although he is 34, he still has got some really nice and quick reflexes.
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The 20-time Grand Slam winner will surely begin as the favorite at the Roland Garros 2021 and will look forward to extending his own record. Fans have really high expectations from him and want him to surpass Federer in the Grand Slam tally in Paris this year.
