Steve Johnson recalls what the Madrid Open did before he played their most successful player Rafael Nadal.
The Spaniard was the King of Clay and had won the Madrid title on four occasions before he arrived for the tournament in 2015.
He was aiming for a record-extending fifth championship but a decade ago, Rafael Nadal looked more vulnerable on clay than perhaps at any other time in his career.
In the opening round he came up against Steve Johnson, and the American experienced something prior to the match which left him in disbelief.
Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty ImagesSteve Johnson recalls what happened before playing Rafael Nadal at the 2015 Madrid Open
Johnson played Nadal on just one occasion and that came at the 2015 Madrid Open.
This was one of the biggest matches of the American’s career and playing Nadal on clay in front of his home fans is a very daunting task.
But on an episode of the Nothing Major podcast, John Isner said the Madrid Open added more clay to a court to slow it down before he played David Ferrer. Johnson added that he experienced the same thing when he played against Nadal in 2015.
“They did the same thing to me when I was playing Rafa, which was going to make no difference. He could have played me on anything, it’s ridiculous,” Johnson said.
“I remember sitting over on the other side of the locker room and I said ‘guys, another wheelbarrow of clay is not going to make a difference, he’s going to win.
“‘You guys are good, do whatever you need to do, but you could take clay off, you could put clay on, we could go play on the back courts, it doesn’t matter, he’s going to win. There’s no need to slow it down for him today. Maybe tomorrow but today, not an issue.’”
Photo credit should read JAVIER SORIANO/AFP via Getty ImagesWhat happened when Steve Johnson played Rafael Nadal at the 2015 Madrid Open?
Watched on by former footballer Toni Kross and Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann, Nadal opened his 2015 Madrid Open campaign against Johnson.
The Spaniard entered the tournament following a third round exit at the previous event in Barcelona, and he had yet to win a title at that point in the season.
But Nadal found his groove against Johnson as he broke his serve three times on the way to securing a 6-4, 6-3 victory in one hour and 14 minutes.
Nadal would go to reach his first final of the season, and despite his poor season he was the favourite to beat his opponent Andy Murray.
But Murray produced a stellar performance to beat Nadal for the first time on clay and win his first clay court title.