US Open 2021: Decoding the stats of Rafael Nadal
Spanish ace Rafael Nadal was stunned by South Africa's Lloyd Harris (4-6, 6-1, 4-6) in the round of 16 at the Citi Open. Nadal had earlier pulled out of Wimbledon and Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Prior to that, he was denied a 14th Roland Garros title by Novak Djokovic. The 35-year-old will aim to make a comeback in New York. Here are his stats.
A look at his career stats
Nadal has won the joint-most Grand Slams (20) along with Roger Federer and Djokovic. He is known as the most prolific player on the clay court. The Spaniard has won 13 of these titles at French Open. Besides winning the Australian Open once and Wimbledon twice, he also owns four US Open titles. Nadal has a win-loss record of 291-41 at majors.
Joint-second-most US Open titles (Open Era)
Nadal has won four US Open titles (2010, 2013, 2017, and 2019), joint-second-most along with John McEnroe in the Open Era. By winning one more, the former will join Pete Sampras, Jimmy Connors, and Federer (5 each) at the top. Bill Tilden, William Larned, Richard Sears lead the all-time tally with seven titles. Nadal has a win-loss record of 64-11 at the US Open.
US Open: Nadal's record in the knockouts
Nadal has played as many as five finals at the US Open, having lost only one. He lost to Djokovic in the the summit clash of the 2011 edition. Nadal has suffered defeat thrice in the semi-finals and once in the quarter-finals.
Nadal won the 2019 US Open
Last year, Nadal had decided to skip the US Open amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He won the 2019 edition after beating Daniil Medvedev in the final. This was Nadal's 19th Grand Slam title. This was the first time since 2006-2008 that Nadal, Djokovic, and Federer had secured all four major titles (singles) in three consecutive years.
An opportunity to eclipse Federer and Djokovic
Nadal has a win-loss record of 24-5 in the season. He missed out on winning a record-extending 14th Roland Garros title earlier this year. Nevertheless, Nadal still has an opportunity to surpass Federer and Djokovic by clinching his 21st major title. The Spaniard can achieve the feat by winning the US Open. Since 2017, Nadal has won at least one Grand Slam every season.
