Rafael Nadal vs Andy Murray: Decoding the stats
Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray is set to take on Kei Nishikori in the opening round at the San Diego Open. The Scot recently lost to Hubert Hurkacz in the quarter-final of Moselle Open. He hasn't been at his best in the ongoing season. His long-time rival Rafael Nadal hasn't competed since losing to Lloyd Harris in Washington. Here is the statistical comparison.
Joint-most Grand Slam titles
Nadal has the joint-most Grand Slam titles (20) along with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. The Spaniard has won 13 of these at French Open. He has won the Australian Open once and also owns four US Open and two Wimbledon titles. Nadal has a win-loss record of 291-41 at majors. He owns an incredible career record of 1,028-209.
A look at the career stats of Murray
Murray has a career record of 684-208 (46 ATP singles titles). He is 192-49 at Grand Slams. He won his first major by winning the 2012 US Open (defeated Djokovic in the final). Murray won Wimbledon in the following year. He won the last of his three majors in 2016 by winning Wimbledon again. Murray hasn't gone past the third at majors after 2017.
Here is the head-to-head record
Nadal enjoys a lead of 17-7 over Murray. The former leads 7-2 in Grand Slam matches. The two players have never met in a Grand Slam final. However, Murray is 3-1 against Nadal in overall finals. Nadal leads 7-2 on clay, 3-0 on grass, and 7-5 on hard courts (4-4 outdoor, 3-1 indoor). The two players haven't played against each other since 2016.
Nadal vs Murray: Numbers at Grand Slams
Nadal leads Murray 3-0 at Wimbledon and 2-0 at the French Open. The duo has 1-1 record at the Australian Open and the US Open. Interestingly, seven of these nine matches have been either quarter-finals or semi-finals.
Nadal won the first five matches against Murray
Nadal won the first five matches against Murray (2007 Australian Open, 2007 Masters 1000 Madrid, 2008 Masters 1000 Hamburg, 2008 Wimbledon, 2008 Masters 1000 Canada). Murray earned his first victory against Nadal in 2008 (US Open semi-finals). Notably, Nadal defeated Murray in five consecutive matches between November 2010 and September 2011. Each of these matches were semi-finals.
Decoding their run in finals
Murray won the first final between the two players. He defeated Nadal 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 in Rotterdam (ATP 500) in 2009. Nadal avenged the loss by beating Murray 6-1, 6-2 to win the ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells. In 2011, Murray overcame Nadal to win the Japan Open (ATP 500). The two players also met in the Masters 1000 Madrid final where Murray triumphed.
