Spaniard Rafael Nadal is considered to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time. His achievements are too many to enlist: male player with the most majors (22), Olympic gold winner (2008), two career Grand Slams, third player with most ATP titles in history (91) and so on. 

Nadal, who started his career in 2001 when he was only 15 years old, has conquered almost every trophy available, except for the ATP Finals, the Miami Open and the Paris Open. However, he’s considered to be the best player ever on clay, a surface in which he has won 62 titles. 

With his win at Roland Garros on Sunday (June 5), he extends his record as the player (male or female) with more French Open titles, but also match Steffi Graff’s record as the third player (male or female) with more Grand Slams, only behind Serena Williams (23) and Margaret Court (24). 

Rafael Nadal’s record at Roland Garros 

Nadal has won the French Open 14th times, which is male record in a Grand Slam during the Open Era. Behind him, is Novak Djokovic with nine titles at the Australian Open and Roger Federer is third with eight titles in Wimbledon. 

So far, Nadal hasn’t lost a final at the French Open. Everytime he has reached the championship match, he has won. His record at Roland Garros is currently 111 victories and only three defeats: Robin Soderling (fourth round- 2009), and Novak Djokovic twice (quarterfinals 2015, semifinals 2021). Here are all his trophies at Paris:

Year Opponent Result
2005 Mariano Puerta  6-7(6), 6-3, 6-1, 7-5
2006 Roger Federer 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6(4)
2007 Roger Federer 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
2008 Roger Federer 6-1, 6-3, 6-0
2010 Robin Soderling 6-4, 6-2, 6-4
2011 Roger Federer 7-5, 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-1
2012 Novak Djokovic  6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5
2013 David Ferrer 6-3, 6-2, 6-3
2014 Novak Djokovic  3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4
2017 Stanislas Wawrinka 6-2, 6-3, 6-1
2018 Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-3, 6-2
2019 Dominic Thiem  6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1
2020 Novak Djokovic 6-0, 6-2, 7-5
2022 Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0

The first time Nadal won the French Open, he was only 19 years old. He has failed to win the tournament just four times since. Besides his losses against Soderling and Djokovic, he also withdrawn before the third round in 2016.