Kings of clay gallery: Rafael Nadal and the most decorated players on the surface

Clay, lovely clay

We all know that Rafael Nadal is the undisputed king of clay with an incredible 62 titles on the surface but who are the other men in the dirtiest hall of fame?

The clay court season is days away and here we look at the 12 men with the most ATP Tour titles on the surface.

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With 11 titles to his name Carlos Moya is tied for 11th on the list of the most all-time clay court tournament wins for a man and is one of three Spaniards in the exclusive club.

Sharing a spot with Moya is one of Ecuador’s favourite sons, Andres Gomez who won the French Open in 1991 and ten other clay court tournaments across his career.

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Andrés Gómez defeated Andre Agassi in the 1990 French Open final denying the American great a French Open title that would eventually complete his Grand Slam puzzle nine years later after many trials.

The next bloke you might have heard of.

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Novak Djokovic has 17 clay court titles to his name but you wouldn’t bet against him adding to that tally in the next two months even if his participation is limited.

Nadal and Djokovic are the only current players in the top 12 clay court tournament winners stakes.

Mats Wilander
Mats Wilander of Sweden won 20 clay court titles across a long career which includes the three French Open titles he won in 1982, 1985 and 1988

Jose Luis Clerc spent much of his career in the shadow of a much more illustrious compatriot but that does not diminish his achievements.

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José Luis Clerc might have won a lot more on clay if not for being foiled by former king of clay Guillermo Vilas, who beat him in four ATP Tour finals.

He might not be imparting any clay court wisdom to Andy Murray this year but Ivan Lendl sports an impressive track record on the red stuff.

Ivan Lendl clay
There are three French Open titles among the 28 ATP Tour events on clay won by Czech-American superstar Ivan Lendl over the course of a glittering career.

Clay court tennis has been the platform for some of the great characters of the game to showcase their abilities.

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A larger than life character, Ilie Nastase was also pretty incredible at tennis and one of the best on clay winning 30 tournaments in his career.

Spanish players have contributed immensely to clay court tennis down the years.

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His only Grand Slam title win came at the US Open but Manuel Orantes won 32 of his 36 career titles on clay with his best French Open performance being his 1975 run to the final where he lost to Bjorn Borg.

Bjorn Borg is the man Orantes shares fourth place with on this list as it stands.

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Bjorn Borg also won 32 clay court titles but included in those are his six French Open title wins, which until he was surpassed by Nadal was an open-era record.

There have been some truly remarkable clay court specialists down the years.

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Thomas Muster had an abiding love for clay court tennis, winning 40 career titles on the surface including six Masters Series finals and a solitary French Open.

Before Nadal, the king of clay was an Argentine.

Guillermo Vilas won an incredible 49 tournaments on clay including two Grand Slams. He won the US Open in one of the three years it was held on the surface and also claimed a single French Open title.

Rafael Nadal is likely to add to his impressive tally of clay court tournament wins before his career ends.

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Rafael Nadal has won 62 clay court titles, a record that is unlikely to be broken any time soon and of course he is incredibly likely to add to that tally before hanging up his racket.

 

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