WATCH: Highlights of Rafael Nadal’s 1,000th win, stats , ATP tribute as he reflects on memorable matches
It was an unforgettable night for Rafael Nadal in France on Wednesday as he joined the Open Era’s 1,000 match wins club with victory at the Paris Masters.
The 20-time Grand Slam winner came from a set down to beat fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, becoming only the fourth player after Jimmy Connors, Roger Federer and Ivan Lendl to win 1,000 matches.
After the match the 34-year-old joked that the milestone means he is “old”.
“[Winning 1,000 matches] means that I am old. That means that I played well for such a very long time, because to achieve that number is because I have been playing well for a lot of years and [that] is something that makes me feel happy,” he said.
“I just can say thank you very much to all the people that helped me and all the people that in any moment of my life helped me to be where I am.”
In 2004, a commentator described @RafaelNadal as “a young man whose progress is so fast, one wonders where it will all end…”
In 2020, we’re still wondering.#Rafa1000 pic.twitter.com/O1KV6sE1hq
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) November 4, 2020
Having turned professional in 2001, Nadal’s first-ever win came in 2002 against Ramon Delgado, his 100th against Hugo Armando in Stuttgart in 2005, his 500th against Ivan Dodig in Barcelona in 2011 and the latest milestone against Lopez in Paris.
Wins for @RafaelNadal
100 Armando ’05 Stuttgart
200 Del Potro ’07 Miami
300 Karlovic ’08 Queen’s
400 Berdych ’09 Davis Cup
500 Dodig ’11 Barcelona
600 Del Potro ’13 Indian Wells
700 Klizan ’14 Wimbledon
800 Bellucci ’16 Olympics
900 Gasquet ’18 Roland Garros
1,000 Lopez ’20 Paris— ATP Media Info (@ATPMediaInfo) November 4, 2020
Having claimed his 100th match win at the French Open in October, Roland Garros is always going to be top of list of tournaments where he claimed the most wins with Monte-Carlo in second place and the Australian Open third.
Most Wins by Tournament for @RafaelNadal
1 @RolandGarros 100*
2 @RolexMCMasters 71*
3 @AustralianOpen 65
4 @USOpen 64
5 @InteBNLdItalia 63*
6 @BcnOpenBS 61*
7 @BNPParibasOpen 54
8 @Wimbledon 53
9 @MutuaMadridOpen 52*
10 @MiamiOpen 40
* Open Era Tournament Record— ATP Media Info (@ATPMediaInfo) November 4, 2020
What about the opponents against whom he has the most match wins? Well, reigning world No 1 Novak Djokovic is top of the pile as the Spaniard has claimed 27 wins over the Serbian, then it’s David Ferrer with 26 and Roger Federer with 24.
Most Wins by Opponent for @RafaelNadal
1 @DjokerNole 27
2 @DavidFerrer87 26
3 @RogerFederer 24
4 @TomasBerdych 20
5 @StanWawrinka 19
6T @Andy_Murray 17
6T @FerVerdasco 17
8 @RichardGasquet1 16
9T @NicoAlmagro 15
9T @Kohlscribbler 15— ATP Media Info (@ATPMediaInfo) November 4, 2020
How about this quick ATP reel of some Nadal celebrations?
1000 match wins (& counting…) @RafaelNadal | #Rafa1000 💪 pic.twitter.com/i4nTixzuPo
— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 4, 2020
And then there is Nadal talking about his most memorable ATP victories and naturally his victory over Delgado features. Plenty of highlights from Roland Garros over the years too.
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