Rafael Nadal is rightly regarded as one of the greatest tennis players ever. With 22 Grand Slam titles across all surfaces, his legacy is cemented, especially on clay courts where he is virtually untouchable. However, Nadal’s success on hard courts pales in comparison with his dominance on clay. This raises the question: is the left-hander underrated on hard courts?
Nadal’s incredible achievements on clay earned him the nickname “King of Clay.” With 14 French Open titles, his dominance on the surface is unmatched in tennis history. However, this overwhelming success has also arguably contributed to the narrative that Nadal is a “one-surface specialist,” an idea that somewhat overshadows his accomplishments on other surfaces, particularly hard courts. This has led many to overlook his significant achievements on the most common surface in professional tennis: hard courts.
Overlooked success on hard courts
Nadal won six hard-court Grand Slams with four US Open titles (2010, 2013, 2017, 2019) and two Australian Opens (2009, 2022). These victories alone place him among the best hard-court players of his era. His US Open triumphs demonstrate that he can succeed on one of the world’s fastest and most physically demanding hard-court surfaces.
It is also important to bear in mind that Nadal was competing with the other two members of the ‘Big Three’ to his Australian Open and US Open crowns – often directly across the net. In 2009, he beat Roger Federer in the final to win his first hard-court Grand Slam. He beat Novak Djokovic in the final in the 2010 and 2013 US Open finals. Nadal’s 2010 win made him the youngest player to complete the Career Grand Slam and also the youngest to complete the Career Golden Slam.
Speaking of the ‘Career Golden Slam,’ Nadal’s Olympic Singles Gold medal came on the hard courts of Beijing. The Spaniard beat Novak Djokovic and Fernando Gonzalez in the semifinals and finals to clinch Olympic glory in China. When Nadal won his 21st Grand Slam at the 2022 Australian Open, he joined Djokovic, becoming only the second player in history to win every Grand Slam title multiple times. Not even Federer has achieved that in his career, which further boosts Nadal’s status outside of his beloved clay.
If we leave out the Grand Slams, Nadal has shown his prowess in the Masters 1000 events too. The left-hander is only the second player this century after Andy Roddick to sweep the American hardcourt season. This term is used when a player wins the Toronto Masters, Cincinnati Masters, and the US Open. Nadal did that in 2013, a decade after Roddick achieved this milestone.
Comparing Nadal to Other Hard-Court Greats
To assess whether Nadal is underrated on hard courts, comparing him to his peers is important. Djokovic and Federer, for instance, have more hard-court titles, but Nadal’s record is not far behind other greats of the game. His six Grand Slam titles on hard courts put him on par with other greats like Andre Agassi and Jimmy Connors. His career win percentage on hard courts (76%), whilst again some way behind Federer’s (83%) and Djokovic’s (85%) is impressive and stands him in good stead historically.
Main photo credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
