The 2010 Rafael Nadal tennis season is lauded as one of the greatest seasons of all time.[2] Nadal himself also called it his best year. In the 2010 season, Nadal became the first male player in tennis history to win Grand Slam tournaments on three different surfaces (clay, grass and hard court) in the same year, referred to as a Surface Slam. He became the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win the French-Wimbledon-US triplet in a calendar year, being the fourth in history. At 24 years, 3 months and 10 days, after his win at the US Open, he simultaneously became the youngest player in the Open Era to complete both (in singles) the Career Grand Slam, and the Career Golden Slam. With this achievement, he was only the second man in history to complete the Career Golden Slam in singles, after Andre Agassi did so in 1996. He also became the second man to win at least two majors on three different surfaces in his career (Double Career Surface Slam). Nadal further cemented his place in history by becoming the first, and only player to-date, to win Monte-Carlo Masters, Madrid Masters, Rome Masters, and the French Open in a calendar year, a feat known as the Clay Slam.
Secondly, Nadal participated in the Australian Open warm-up tournament, the Qatar ExxonMobil Open ATP 250 event in Doha, where he lost in the final.[4] He defeated the Italians Simone Bolelli in the first round (6-3, 6-3) and Potito Starace (6-2, 6-2) in the second round. In the quarter-finals, the Spaniard defeated the Belgian Steve Darcis: 6-1, 2-0(ret). After that, in the semi-final, Nadal defeated the fifth seed Viktor Troicki (6-1, 6-3), winning eleven games in a row. In the final, Nadal lost to Russian Nikolay Davydenko (6-0, 6-7(8), 4-6), despite dominating the opening set and holding two match points in the second set.[4] Davydenko had also defeated Roger Federer in the semi-final before facing Nadal in the final.[4]
Australian Open
In the first round of the Australian Open, Nadal defeated the Australian Peter Luczak (7-6(0), 6-1, 6-4).[5] In the second round, he beat Lukáš Lacko (6-2, 6-2, 6-2).[6] In the third round, he was tested by Philipp Kohlschreiber, finally beating him in four sets (6-4, 6-2, 2-6, 7-5).[7] In the fourth round, he beat the Croatian Ivo Karlović, (6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4).[8] In the quarter-finals, Nadal pulled out in the third set against Andy Murray, having lost the first two sets (6-3, 7-6(2)).[9] After having his knee examined, doctors told Nadal to take two weeks of rest followed by two weeks of rehabilitation.
In singles, Nadal reached the semi-finals at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells as the current defending champion. However, the eventual winner, Ivan Ljubičić, defeated him in three sets.[10] He and López won the doubles title by defeating the number one seeds Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić.[11] This boosted Nadal's doubles ranking 175 places,[12] going from number 241 to being number 66 in the world.[13] After Indian Wells, Nadal reached the semi-finals of Sony Ericsson Open where he lost to the eventual champion Andy Roddick in three sets.[14]
Monte Carlo Rolex Masters
Nadal reached the final of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters in Monaco after beating the fellow Spaniard David Ferrer (6-3, 6-2) in the semi-finals. This was Nadal's first tour final since Doha earlier that year. He won the final with a (6-0, 6-1) score over his compatriot Fernando Verdasco. He lost fourteen games throughout all five matches, the fewest he had ever lost en route to a championship, and the tournament's final was the shortest Masters 1000 final in terms of games. With this win, Nadal became the first player in open history to win a tournament title for six straight years.[15]
Unlike previous years, Nadal chose to skip the Barcelona tournament despite the fact that he was the five-time defending champion.
Internazional BNL d'Italia
His next tournament was the 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia. He defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber, Victor Hănescu, and Stanislas Wawrinka all in straight sets to win his 57th straight match, in April. In the semi-finals, he faced a resilient Ernests Gulbis, who defeated Roger Federer earlier in the tournament and battled Nadal into a three-set-match for the first time in this clay court season. Nadal eventually prevailed with a (6-4, 3-6, 6-4) in two hours and forty minutes. Then he defeated compatriot David Ferrer in the final (7-5, 6-2) for his fifth title at Rome, to equal Andre Agassi's record of winning 17 ATP Masters 1000 titles.
Madrid Open
Nadal then entered the 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, where he had finished runner-up the previous year. By being one of the top eight seeds, he received a bye in the first round. In the second round, he defeated the qualifier Oleksandr Dolgopolov, Jr. in straight sets. He then played the six-foot-nine American John Isner, and Nadal comfortably came through in straight sets, (7-5, 6-4). In the quarter-finals, he defeated Gaël Monfils (6-1, 6-3) and then his countryman Nicolás Almagro, who was playing the first Masters 1000 semifinal of his career, (4-6, 6-2, 6-2). The first set of his match against Almagro would be just the second set he lost on clay courts up to this point in 2010. Nadal then defeated his longtime rival Roger Federer (6-4, 7-6(5)), avenging his 2009 final loss to Federer. The win gave him his 18th Masters 1000 title, breaking the all-time record. He became the first player to win all three clay court Masters 1000 titles in a single year and the first player to win three consecutive Masters events. Nadal moved back to No. 2 in the rankings the following day.
French Open
Entering the French Open, many were expecting another Nadal-Federer final. However, this became impossible when rival Robin Söderling defeated Federer (3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4) in the quarter-finals.[16] The failure of Federer to reach the semi-finals would allow Nadal to regain the world number 1 ranking, if he were to win the tournament. Nadal advanced to the final and defeated Soderling (6-4, 6-2, 6-4) to win the French Open. The win gave Nadal his seventh Grand Slam, tying him with John McEnroe, John Newcombe and Mats Wilander on the all-time list, and allowed Nadal to reclaim the position of ATP World Number One; denying his biggest rival Roger Federer the all-time record for weeks at No. 1.[17][18] With this win, Nadal became the first man to win the three Masters series on clay and the French Open; this was dubbed by the media as the "Clay Slam". This victory at Roland Garros marked the second time that Nadal had won the French Open without dropping a single set (tying the record held by Björn Borg). With the win in Paris he also booked his place at the World Tour Finals in London, and became the first player to win five French Open titles in six years.
As of 2017, Nadal's clay season was the second most successful in his career, as he earned 5,000 points after winning 4 titles. This was only surpassed by his 2013 season, in which Nadal earned 5,100 points after winning Barcelona, Madrid, Rome and the French Open, and being runner-up in Monte-Carlo.[19]
Aegon Championships
In June, Nadal entered the Aegon Championships—which he won in 2008—at the prestigious Queen's Club. He played singles and doubles at this grass court tournament as a warm up for the Wimbledon Championships. By being one of the top eight seeds, he received a bye in the first round. In the second round, where he played his first match on grass since winning Wimbledon in 2008, he defeated the Brazilian Marcos Daniel easily in two sets, (6-2, 6-2). In the third round, he played Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan, whom he defeated (7-6(4), 4-6, 6-4), to advance to the quarter-finals. However, in the quarter-finals he was defeated by his compatriot Feliciano López (6-7(5), 4-6), and left the competition without a title.
Wimbledon
At the 2010 Wimbledon Championships Nadal started by beating Kei Nishikori (6-2, 6-4, 6-4) in the first round. In the second round, he fought hard and succeeded against Robin Haase after five sets (5-7, 6-2, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3). In the third round, he defeated Philipp Petzschner. The match was a 5-set thriller with Nadal triumphing (6-4, 4-6, 6-7, 6-2, 6-3). During this match, Nadal was warned twice for receiving coaching from his coach and uncle, Toni Nadal, resulting in a $2,000 fine by Wimbledon officials. Allegedly, encouraging words for Nadal shouted during the match were some sort of coaching code signal.[20][21] After that, Nadal comfortably beat the French Paul-Henri Mathieu in three sets (6-4, 6-2, 6-2). In the quarter-finals, he got past the Swedish Robin Söderling in four sets (3-6, 6-3, 7-6(7-4), 6-1). He then defeated Andy Murray in straight sets (6-4, 7-6(8-6), 6-4) to reach his fourth Wimbledon final.
In the 2010 Wimbledon men's title, Nadal won the tournament by defeating Tomáš Berdych in straight sets (6-3, 7-5, 6-4). After the win, Rafa said, "It is more than a dream for me" and thanked the crowd for being both kind and supportive to him during this match and also in the semi-final against Andy Murray.[22] The win gave him a second Wimbledon title and an eighth career major title,[23] at the age of 24.[24]
Rogers Cup
In his first hard-court tournament since Miami, Nadal advanced to the semi-finals of the Rogers Cup, along with No.2 Novak Djokovic, No.3 Roger Federer, and No.4 Andy Murray, after coming back from a one-set deficit to defeat the German Philipp Kohlschreiber (3-6, 6-3, 6-4).[25] In the semifinal, defending champion Andy Murray defeated Nadal (6-3, 6-4), becoming the only player to triumph over the Spaniard twice in 2010.[26] Nadal also competed in the doubles tournament with Novak Djokovic in a one-time, high-profile partnership, not seen since 1976 when Jimmy Connors and Arthur Ashe as World No.1 and No.2 paired up, making a double dream team.[27] However, they lost in the first round to Canadians Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil.
The next week, Nadal was the top seed at the Cincinnati Masters, losing in the quarter-finals to 2006 Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis.
US Open
Rafael Nadal won the 2010 US Open title, thus completing the Career Grand Slam.
At the 2010 US Open, Nadal was the top seed for the second time in three years. He defeated Teymuraz Gabashvili, Denis Istomin, Gilles Simon, 23rd seed Feliciano López, 8th seed Fernando Verdasco, and 12th seed Mikhail Youzhny, all without dropping a set, to reach his first US Open final. By doing that he became the 8th man in the Open Era to reach the final of all four majors at the age 24; the second youngest to ever do so, behind only Jim Courier. In the final, he defeated 3rd seed Novak Djokovic (6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2), which completed the Career Grand Slam for Nadal, and he became the second male after Andre Agassi to complete a Career Golden Slam.[28] Nadal also became the first man to win Grand Slams on clay, grass, and hard court surfaces in the same year (later accomplished by Djokovic in 2021 after winning the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon Championships), and the first to win the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open in the same year since Rod Laver in 1969. With the US Open win, Nadal became, along with Mats Wilander, the only male players to win at least two Grand Slams each on clay, grass, and hard court in their careers (Novak Djokovic later completed this feat with his second French Open title in 2021). After all that, he also became the first left-handed man to win the US Open since John McEnroe in 1984.[29] This victory also clinched the year-end number one ranking for 2010, making Nadal the third player (after Ivan Lendl in 1989 and Roger Federer in 2009) to regain the year-end number one ranking after having lost it.[30]
Nadal next played in the 2010 Shanghai Rolex Masters, in Shanghai, where he was the top seed, but lost to world's number twelve, Jürgen Melzer in the third round, stopping his record streak of 21 consecutive Masters quarter-finals. On 5 November, Nadal announced that he was pulling out of the Paris Masters due to tendinitis in his left shoulder.[31]
ATP World Tour Finals
At the ATP World Tour Finals in London, Nadal defeated Andy Roddick (3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4) in the first match. He then beat Djokovic in a tight match where Djokovic had trouble with his contact lenses, prevailing (7-5, 6-2). A further victory against Berdych, (7-6(3), 6-1), sent him to his third World Tour Final semi-final. It was the first time he had won all three round-robins, in stark contrast to the previous year. In the semi-finals, he was thrice two points from defeat and was able to win the match on his third match point (7-6(5), 3-6, 7-6(6)). In the final, Nadal lost against Roger Federer with a score of (3-6, 6-3, 1-6). This was Nadal's last tournament in the 2010 professional tennis season.
Match for Africa
Finally, he played Federer in the two-match exhibition Match for Africa for the Roger Federer Foundation and the Rafa Nadal Foundation. The first match took place in Zürich on December 21, 2010, and was won by Federer, (4-6, 6-3, and 6-3). The following match was played in Madrid, and Nadal beat Federer with a score of (7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-1).[32]
Roger Federer is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 five times. He won 103 singles titles on the ATP Tour, the second most of all time, including 20 major men's singles titles, a record eight men's singles Wimbledon titles, an Open Era joint-record five men's singles US Open titles, and a joint-record six year-end championships. In his home country, he is regarded as "the greatest and most successful" Swiss sportsperson in history.
Rafael Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 209 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 five times. He also holds the record for most consecutive weeks in the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings, having never left the Top 10 from April 2005 to March 2023, a total of 912 weeks. Nadal has won 22 Grand Slam men's singles titles, including a record 14 French Open titles. He has won 92 ATP singles titles, including 36 Masters titles, with 63 of these on clay courts. Nadal is one of only two men to complete the Career Golden Slam in singles. His 81 consecutive wins on clay is the longest single-surface win streak in the Open Era.
Robin Bo Carl Söderling is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world No. 4 singles ranking on 15 November 2010. His career highlights include reaching two consecutive finals at the French Open in 2009 and 2010, and an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title at the 2010 Paris Masters. He was the first player to defeat Rafael Nadal at the French Open. Söderling played his last professional match at only age 26 after contracting a lingering bout of mononucleosis.
Tomáš Berdych is a Czech former professional tennis player. His most notable achievement was reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, completing consecutive upsets in the defeat of top seed and six-time champion Roger Federer in the quarterfinals, and of No. 3 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. In the final, he lost to Rafael Nadal in straight sets. Berdych's biggest career title was the Paris Masters in 2005 as an unseeded player, defeating Ivan Ljubičić in the final.
Stanislas Wawrinka is a Swiss professional tennis player. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles ranking of world No. 3 for the first time on 27 January 2014. His career highlights include three Grand Slam titles, those being the 2014 Australian Open, 2015 French Open and 2016 US Open, where he defeated the world No. 1 player in the final on all three occasions. Other achievements include reaching the final of the 2017 French Open, winning an ATP Tour Masters 1000 title at the 2014 Monte-Carlo Masters, and reaching three other Masters finals. Representing Switzerland, Wawrinka won gold in doubles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics with teammate Roger Federer, and was also pivotal in the Swiss team's victory at the 2014 Davis Cup.
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Djokovic has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 389 weeks in a record 12 different years, and finished as the year-end No. 1 a record seven times. He has won an all-time record 23 Grand Slam men's singles titles, including a record ten Australian Open titles. Overall, he has won 94 singles titles, including a record 67 Big Titles, which comprises his 23 majors, a record 38 Masters titles and a joint-record six year-end championships. Djokovic has completed a non-calendar year Grand Slam in singles, becoming the only man in tennis history to be the reigning champion of all four majors at once across three different surfaces. He is also the only man to achieve a triple Career Grand Slam in singles by winning each of the four majors at least three times, and the only player to complete the career Golden Masters in singles by winning all nine ATP Masters tournaments, a feat he achieved twice.
The tennis rivalry between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal is considered among the greatest in the history of the sport. Federer and Nadal played each other 40 times, with Nadal leading 24–16 overall, including 14–10 in finals.
The 2009 ATP World Tour Finals (also known as the 2009 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for sponsorship reasons) was held in London, United Kingdom between 22 November and 29 November 2009. It was the first time the O2 arena hosted the ATP World Tour Year-End Singles and Doubles Championships. The event was renamed from Tennis Masters Cup to ATP World Tour Finals following the rearrangement of the ATP Tour.
The 2010 ATP World Tour Finals (also known as the 2010 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for sponsorship reasons) was held at the O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom between 21 and 28 November 2010. Nikolay Davydenko was the defending champion, but failed to qualify this year.
This page covers all the important events in the sport of tennis in 2010. Primarily, it provides the results of notable tournaments throughout the year on both the ATP and WTA Tours, the Davis Cup, and the Fed Cup.
Roger Federer won two Majors in 2009, the French Open, defeating Robin Söderling in the final, and Wimbledon, defeating Andy Roddick in the final. In addition, Federer made the two other Grand Slam finals, Australian Open losing to Rafael Nadal, and the US Open, losing to Juan Martín del Potro. Federer went on to win two Master Series 1000 tournaments: in Madrid over Rafael Nadal, and in Cincinnati over Novak Djokovic. He lost in one 500 level event final in Basel to Djokovic. During the year, Federer completed the Career Grand Slam by winning his first French Open title, and won a record fifteenth Grand Slam singles title, surpassing Pete Sampras's mark of fourteen.
Roger Federer's 2010 season was punctuated by his victory at the Australian Open, beating Andy Murray in the final. Federer played in 18 tournaments in 2010 and won five. He was runner-up in the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open to Rafael Nadal. At the French Open, he faced his opponent in the previous year's final, Robin Söderling, at the quarterfinals stage and lost. As defending champion at Wimbledon, he was defeated in the quarterfinals by Tomáš Berdych in four sets, thus ending his streak of seven consecutive Wimbledon finals and also falling to world No. 3, his lowest ranking since 2003. During the summer hard-court season, Federer hired Paul Annacone to be his coach and revive his form. At the 2010 US Open, Federer advanced to his seventh straight semifinal appearance, but lost to Novak Djokovic in five sets, despite holding two match points in the final set. Federer's ranking slipped back from No. 2 to No. 3 after the tournament, but he finished the year strong with victories in Stockholm, Basel, and the ATP Tour Finals to pass Djokovic in the rankings and finish the year at world No. 2. By the end of 2010, Federer had earned wide consideration as the greatest male tennis player of all time.
Rafael Nadal defeated Robin Söderling in the final, 6–4, 6–2, 6–4 to win the men's singles tennis title at the 2010 French Open. It was his fifth French Open title and his seventh major title overall. Nadal won the title without dropping a set for the second time. By winning the title, Nadal regained the world No. 1 ranking from Roger Federer, who was in contention to break Pete Sampras' record of 286 weeks spent with the top position.
This page covers all the important events in the sport of tennis in 2011. Primarily, it provides the results of notable tournaments throughout the year on both the ATP and WTA Tours, the Davis Cup, and the Fed Cup.
The 2011 ATP World Tour Finals (also known as the 2011 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for sponsorship reasons) was a tennis tournament that was played at the O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom between 20 and 27 November 2011. The defending champion in singles was Roger Federer, while the defending champions in doubles were Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić. However, they did not defend their title together because they separated after the 2010 event. Zimonjic partnered with Michaël Llodra for the season, and Nestor partnered with Max Mirnyi. Federer successfully defended his crown, winning a record-breaking sixth title, while Nestor and Mirnyi captured the doubles title.
The rivalry between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer was one of the most prolific rivalries in tennis history and was considered one of the greatest rivalries of all time.
The 2009 Rafael Nadal tennis season officially began on January 5 with the start of the 2009 ATP World Tour.
The 2015 ATP World Tour Finals (also known as the 2015 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for sponsorship reasons) was a men's tennis tournament that was played at the O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom, between 15 and 22 November 2015. It was the season-ending event for the best singles players and doubles teams on the 2015 ATP World Tour.
The Big Three is a common nickname in tennis for the trio of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, each considered to be among the greatest players of all time. The trio have dominated men's singles tennis for nearly two decades, collectively winning 65 major singles tournaments; Djokovic leads with an all-time record of 23 titles, followed by Nadal with 22 and Federer with 20. They have been ranked as world No. 1s in singles for a total 908 weeks ; Djokovic for a record 389 weeks, Federer for 310, and Nadal for 209. One of the three finished the season as the year-end No. 1 player every year from 2004 to 2021, with the exception of 2016. They have collectively occupied the top-three positions of the year-end ATP rankings eight times; in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2018, and 2019.
This is a list of the combined career statistics of the Big Four, the four players who have dominated men's tennis in singles for the majority of the first quarter of the 21st century. The Big Four consists of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray.
↑ Brooks, Xan (4 July 2010). "Wimbledon 2010: Rafael Nadal v Tomáš Berdych - as it happened". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 6 July 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-06. -- During the final match at Wimbledon 2010 between Nadal and Tomáš Berdych someone, allegedly Toni Nadal, yelled "I love you, Rafa!"
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