Rafael Nadal's Grand Slam Victories

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Sep 10, 2013

Rafael Nadal's Grand Slam Victories

130910100620-rafael-nadal-grand-slam-trophies-13-single-image-cut.jpg — Heinz Kluetmeier(3), Bob Martin, David Callow, Darren Carroll/SI; Adrian Dennis, Timothy A. Clary/AFP, Matthew Stockman, Julian Finney, Matthew Stockman/Getty Images; Ian Langsdon/EPA; Christophe Ena/AP

With his second U.S. Open victory in four years, Rafael Nadal has won 13 Grand Slam titles, passing Roy Emerson for third among the all-time leaders. What follows is a look at each of his major victories -- one Australian Open, eight French Opens, two Wimbledons, and two U.S. Opens.

2005 French Open

The 19-year-old Nadal, seeded fourth in his first French Open, beat Roger Federer in the semifinals (on his birthday) on his way to becoming the youngest Grand Slam champ since Michael Chang in 1989.

2006 French Open

After winning only one game in the first set, Nadal took advantage of Federer's tentative play and defended his title at Roland Garros, thwarting Federer's bid to hold all four major titles at the same time.

2007 French Open

Nadal lost serve only once (despite facing 17 break points) in winning his third consecutive French Open and again denying the top-ranked Federer the career Grand Slam. Federer fell to 1-6 against Nadal on clay.

2008 French Open

The two have played some epic matches, but this wasn't one of them. With a 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 rout, Nadal won his fourth consecutive French Open title and handed Federer his worst loss in 173 Grand Slam matches. During the trophy presentation, Nadal was moved to apologize to Federer for the most lopsided French final in 21 years.

2008 Wimbledon

In what many regard as the greatest match ever, Nadal halted Federer's five-year title run at the All England Club with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7 victory. Nadal needed 4 hours and 48 minutes -- and both players needed patience to wait out three rain delays -- to hand Federer his first loss on grass in six years. ''Probably my hardest loss, by far,'' Federer said.

2009 Australian Open

The top-ranked Nadal won his first Aussie Open title and defeated Federer in a Grand Slam final for the third consecutive time. Federer was reduced to tears after failing in his first bid to tie Pete Sampras' record of 14 major titles.

2010 French Open

Nadal claims his fifth French Open title in a breezy two hours and 18 minutes, becoming only the second man in history (behind Bjorn Borg) to win five or more French Open titles.

2010 Wimbledon

With Federer missing the Wimbledon final for the first time since 2002, Nadal rolled over the Czech to win the French and Wimbledon titles in the same summe for the second time in the past three years. Nadal broke Berdych four times and never lost his serve in the match. He improved to 5-0 in his last Grand Slam finals.

2010 U.S. Open

Nadal won his first U.S. Open title to complete a career Grand Slam, beating Novak Djokovic in a match filled with fantastic shotmaking by both men and interrupted by a thunderstorm a day after it was postponed by rain. It's Nadal's third consecutive major championship and ninth overall. He is the seventh man in tennis history with at least one title from each Grand Slam tournament.

2011 French Open

Nadal equaled Bjorn Borg's record of six titles at Roland Garros and earned his 10th career major championship. He improved his record at Roland Garros to 45-1, and to 17-8 against Federer. In Grand Slam finals, Nadal is 6-2 against his main rival.

2012 French Open

Returning a day after getting rained out, Nadal broke the record he shared with Bjorn Borg, improved to 52-1 at the French Open and beat the man who had defeated him in the last three Grand Slam finals. Djokovic was trying to become the first man since Rod Laver, 43 years earlier, to win four straight major titles. He came up short just as Roger Federer twice did in seeking four in a row, also stopped by Nadal at Roland Garros.

2013 French Open

Rafael Nadal became the first man to win eight titles at the same Grand Slam tournament after beating fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in the French Open final. Nadal weathered delays by protestors and drizzle, which was on and off all day but only forced one brief respite in the third set. Ferrer, an undersized, speedy battler in his first Grand Slam final, was no match for Nadal's talent. Nadal broke the men's record for match wins at Roland Garros, where he improved to 59-1, with his lone defeat against Robin Soderling in the fourth round in 2009.

2013 U.S. Open

The final, which was highlighted by some incredible shot-making given the windy conditions, turned in the crucial third set. Djokovic looked firmly in control after securing an early break, but played a loose game at 3-2 to let Nadal back into the set. Despite being outplayed for most of the set, Nadal converted on his only two break chances to steal the set, and the 26-year-old Serb couldn't recover. Nadal hit 27 winners to 20 unforced errors, while Djokovic, who played the aggressor through much of the last three sets, pounded 46 winners to 53 unforced errors.