Rafael Nadal: Spaniard’s 7 greatest match wins – ranked!
Tennis icon Rafael Nadal will say a final goodbye to tennis at the Davis Cup this week, following an extraordinary career that has seen him lift 22 Grand Slam titles.
As Nadal prepares for the final event of his career, we look back and rank the seven greatest wins of his two decades at the top of the sport.
7) 2010 US Open Final – def Novak Djokovic 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2
This was not the most enthralling match of Nadal’s career, but it was one of the most significant.
By beating Djokovic in four sets, he became the youngest man (as it stands) to complete the Career Grand Slam, and the US Open would become his most successful major outside of Roland Garros.
6) 2005 Italian Open Final – def Guillermo Coria 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(6)
Perhaps Nadal’s greatest victory outside of a major, a then 18-year-old Spaniard battled past former world No 3 Coria in a thrilling Rome final almost two decades ago.
Coria had been runner-up at the French Open the previous year and was considered among the leading clay courters of his era, but Nadal’s legendary triumph here helped kickstart his reign as the ‘King of Clay’.
5) 2018 Wimbledon QF – def Juan Martin del Potro 7-5, 6-7(7), 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
The first of two consecutive SW19 epics for Nadal in 2018, he and former world No 3 del Potro pushed each other from pillar to post in a brutal contest on Centre Court.
Rallying from a set down, the Spaniard eventually prevailed after almost five hours of action – and would then fall to Djokovic in an equally pulsating semi-final.
Rafael Nadal News
Rafael Nadal farewell: Every word the Spanish legend said ahead of Davis Cup Finals
4) 2009 Australian Open SF – def Fernando Verdasco 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(2), 6-7(1), 6-4
Nadal’s Australian Open final win over Roger Federer in 2009 was a classic, but his semi-final win against compatriot Verdasco was arguably even better.
He and Verdasco – producing the performance of his career – battled for five hours and 14 minutes, with Nadal breaking at the death to reach his first hard-court Grand Slam final.
3) 2013 French Open SF – def Novak Djokovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7(3), 9-7
Up there among the very best Nadal-Djokovic matches, this French Open classic may have proven to be the most satisfying of the Spaniard’s 112 victories at Roland Garros.
Nadal failed to serve out the match in the fourth set and then found himself a break down in the decider as he faced the reality of just a second loss on the Paris clay.
However, on a scorching hot day, he summoned all he could to turn the match back in his favour and broke in the 16th game of the decider to triumph – before steamrolling David Ferrer in the final.
2) 2008 Wimbledon Final – def Roger Federer 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(8), 9-7
Perhaps the most famous match in men’s tennis history, Nadal and Federer’s rivalry hit its greatest height during the Wimbledon final 16 years ago.
Nadal looked set to easily turn the tables on the Swiss after two previous final losses, storming to a two-set lead, only for Federer to save a championship point and force a decider.
The quality of the match only rose as the darkness began to engulf Centre Court, but it was Nadal who struck at the death to claim the title – and would become world No 1 weeks later.
1) 2022 Australian Open Final – def Daniil Medvedev 2-6, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5
Of all of Nadal’s 1,080 match victories, his triumph in the 2022 Australian Open is arguably the greatest – and most extraordinary – of them all.
Having not won the title in Melbourne for 13 years, Nadal was a slight underdog against Medvedev, and the reigning US Open was cruising to the title at two sets – and three break points – up.
The Spaniard is never beaten, though, and in an incredible turn of events, managed to fight back and – against all odds – seal arguably the best victory of his career.
Read Next: 11 incredible Rafael Nadal records that may never be broken
