Rafael Nadal by numbers

 

Originally published on: 04/06/12 00:00

Rafael Nadal’s form during the first week of Roland Garros was nothing short of clinical. While Nadal’s closest rivals dropped sets and – in Andy Murray’s case – struggled through injury, the world No.2 coasted to victory for the loss of only 17 games in his opening three rounds – the fewest he has ever dropped in reaching the last 16 here.

“I’m happy with the way I’m playing,” said Nadal, who is bidding to become the first man to win seven French Open titles. The 26-year-old takes on Argentine Juan Monaco today, a man he has beaten three times and lost to only once after he was forced to withdraw with cramp on the hard courts of Cincinnati in 2007. But it appears the 10-time Grand Slam champion is fighting fit in Paris and if the stats are anything to go by it will be difficult for anyone to stop him.

Nadal by numbers:

Nadal holds a 48-1 record at Roland Garros with his only loss coming to Robin Soderling in 2009

His victory over Simone Bolelli in the first round was his 150th Grand Slam win making him the youngest person to reach this milestone

He picked up his 250th clay-court win against Eduardo Schwank in the third round making him the fourth youngest person to achieve the feat

He lost only one match on clay in the last year when he fell to fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco on the controversial blue clay in Madrid

The last time a left-hander progressed further than Nadal in a Grand Slam was at the US Open in 2005 when Jarkko Nieminen and Fernando Verdasco outlasted him in the draw

Nadal has won 35 clay-court titles – the third best of all time – and he holds the longest winning streak on the dirt with 81 consecutive wins from 2005 to 2007

Now get the WORLD’S BEST TENNIS MAGAZINE here