Rafael Nadal retired from tennis as one of the greatest of all time.
The Spaniard hung up his racket with 22 Grand Slams to his name, and a legacy for being the fiercest competitor the game has ever seen.
But perhaps the greatest aspect of the 38-year-old’s achievements and illustrious career is what he achieved on clay.
Rafael Nadal is unquestionably the greatest to step foot on the dirt, and some of his records are simply outstanding.
Photo by Julian Finney/Getty ImagesSteve Johnson can’t believe an ‘insane’ stat about Rafael Nadal on clay
Some of Nadal’s most incredible clay court records include the 14 titles at the French Open.
His tally is more than double the amount of 11-time Grand Slam champion Bjorn Borg, who is second place on the list with six titles.
But during the latest episode of the Nothing Major podcast, Steve Johnson pointed out another Nadal clay court statistic that he simply cannot believe.
“It is mind blowing to me that he has 12 more titles on clay courts than he has losses in his career,” Johnson said.
“He has 63 clay court titles and 51 losses on clay courts throughout his entire career. He has more titles than losses. That is ridiculous.”
One of his co-hosts Sam Querrey added: “He played 71 clay court finals and won 63 of them. It’s insane. Most of those are Masters series and Grand Slams too!”
Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty ImagesWhat are some of Rafael Nadal’s greatest clay court records?
Nadal has several other clay court records that are quite frankly hard to fathom.
His longest win streak on the surface is 81 matches, the longest for any man on the surface.
It commenced in April 2005 and came to an end in May 2007, when Roger Federer defeated Nadal in the Hamburg Open final.
Nadal has won more clay court titles than any other player, his 63 titles putting him 14 clear of Guillermo Vilas in second place.
Furthermore, in 2010 Nadal claimed the Monte Carlo, Madrid, Rome and French Open titles. He is the only player to do this in the same season.