“You make a mistake if you still call Rafa the clay court king” Boris Becker declares Rafael Nadal the ‘most successful player of all time’


“You make a mistake if you still call Rafa the clay court king” Boris Becker declares Rafael Nadal the ‘most successful player of all time’

Boris Becker and Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal scripted history in Australia when the Spaniard won a marathon battle against World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev in the finals of the 2022 Australian Open to claim his 21st career Grand Slam title, the most any man has won. The win also saw him complete the Career Slam for the second time in his career and is now only one of the 4 players in history to ever do so.

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The Spaniard had to wait for 13 years to win his second Australian Open title having earlier won the title in 2009. Since then he reached 4 more finals but had to settle for the runners-up trophy before finally winning the title for the second time this year. The Spaniard capped off a successful month in Australia having earlier won the Tour event in Melbourne earlier and is now 10-0 for the season with all matches played on hardcourts.

“It was a day made for tennis history. We didn’t have Nadal at the top of our list a fortnight ago. He was fit, won the preparation tournament in Melbourne. Before that, Nadal was injured for half a year. Now we are wiser and Rafa has broken the record of Federer and Djokovic. You make a mistake if you still call Rafa the clay court king.

“He has won on every surface and every Grand Slam tournament at least twice. He is the most successful player of all time, we can say that loud and clear,” said former World No. 1 and 6-time Grand Slam champion Boris Becker while speaking on Eurosport after Nadal had claimed the historic title win over Medvedev in Melbourne Park.

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Rafael Nadal’s titles across surfaces

Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal

This has been a massive statement from Nadal who is dubbed as ‘The King of Clay’ for having won 62 of his 90 titles on Clay. Nadal has played finals of 70 claycourt tournaments and has lost only 8 finals and won 62, one of the highest win percentages for a player on a particular surface.

On grass, he has won 4 titles from 7 finals and all 3 of his defeats have come in the finals of the Wimbledon (2006, 2007, 2011). As for Hardcourts, he has won 24 titles from 26 finals with 5 defeats in Grand Slam finals played at the Australian Open (2012, 2014, 2017, 2019) and the US Open (2011). Nadal has played a total of 29 Grand Slam finals and has won 21 finals, one of the highest winning percentages in Grand Slam finals.

Also Read: “We almost lost hope” Toni Nadal recalls nephew Rafael Nadal’s thrilling comeback win at the 2022 Australian Open