On this day: Rafael Nadal tops Vilas' record of consecutive wins on clay
Even for those who are not that passionate about tennis, it could have been clear that Rafael Nadal is something special when they saw him on the clay court for the first time in 2003 or 2004! The left-handed Spaniard had everything that was ever required to become a successful player on the slowest surface and was destined for outstanding results on clay ever since he reached the third round of Monte Carlo and Hamburg Masters 1000 events at the age of 16 in 2003! Rafa was forced to miss almost the entire spring clay season in 2004 due to an injury although he bounced back in July and August, winning the first ATP crown in Sopot and setting eyes on clay glory in 2005, still at the age of 18.
Armed with an unseen physical strength, lethal forehand, picture-perfect anticipation and an iron determination, Nadal conquered eight ATP titles on dirt in 2005, including his maiden Grand Slam at Roland Garros that earned the place among the tennis immortals for a teenager. The rest is pretty much history and Nadal has been widely considered as the greatest clay-courter who ever lived, winning ten Roland Garros titles and setting some records that no one will ever catch on the slowest surface. After losing to Igor Andreev in Valencia quarter-final in April 2005, no player had managed to beat Rafa on clay in the next 25 months before Roger Federer finally ended the Spaniard's record-breaking streak of 81 victories (13 titles) in the final of Hamburg Masters in May 2007!
This is the longest winning run on any surface in the Open era and Rafa became the player with the most consecutive wins on clay after defeating Robin Soderling 6-2, 7-5, 6-1 in the opening round of Roland Garros on May 29, 2006, notching his 54th triumph and leaving great Guillermo Vilas on 53. The Argentinian won 49 ATP titles on clay (Rafa is on 58 after Rome 2019) and claimed 14 titles on the beloved surface in 1977, staying undefeated from Roland Garros until Aix en Provence when he retired against Ilie Nastase in the final. That record was safe for almost 30 years and Nadal took care of overshadowing it in style, receiving a special prize on the court from Vilas himself (even though the Argentinian wasn't happy about it at all).
The defending champion Nadal needed two hours and eight minutes to take down the Swede, saving five out of seven break points and winning more than 50% of the return points to claim eight breaks of serve from no less than 22 opportunities created. The first set was over in just 28 minutes after two breaks from Rafa and Robin raised his level in set number two to create a 4-2 gap, only to lose the next three games as Nadal restored the order to take the lead. Soderling kept fighting but he got broken three times in a row, including a crucial one in game 11 that moved Rafa a set away from the win with a hold in game 12.
The Swede lost the ground and Nadal broke at the start of the third set to control the scoreboard in the rest of the match and reach the second round when Robin netted a forehand in the last point of game seven, achieving one of his most significant records that no one will repeat in the future. After that Valencia 2005 loss, Rafael Nadal would win Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome, Roland Garros, Bastad and Stuttgart and defend those four big titles in 2006 and 2007 before Roger Federer halted his run in the final in Hamburg 2007, with the Spaniard continuing his quest towards the greatest clay-courter of all time at Roland Garros a few weeks later and in 2008 again.
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2wtNEH2
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