In the early hours of this morning, Beijing time, major media broke the news one after another: because of the delay in recovering from injury, Nadal will withdraw from this year's French Open. Nadal's team immediately said that a press conference will be held at 10 o'clock Beijing time tonight. There is a high probability that Nadal will not play at this year's French Open, meaning he missed the entire clay-court season.
Not playing in a single clay event so far this year means it is Nadal's worst year since his debut. So what was the most dominant year of Nadal's career on clay? Let's go back to the 2010 clay season. Take a look at the specifics:
Monte Carlo Masters
Round 1: Byes
Second round: 6-1 6-0 De Bakker
Third round: 6-0 6-1 Berell
1/4 Final: 6-4 6-2 Ferrero
Semifinals: 6-2 6-3 Ferrer
Final: 6-0 6-1 Vodasco
After chopping melons and chopping vegetables in the first two rounds to give his opponent eggs and fried sticks, Nadal welcomed three compatriots, but he did not give his opponent any chance. In particular, the final against Vodasco, who played five sets in the Australian Open semifinals the year before, was a quick victory.
Rome Masters
Round 1: Byes
Second round: 6-1 6-3 Korshreib
Third round: 6-3 6-2 Hanescu
1/4 Final: 6-4 6-1 Wawrinka
Semifinals: 6-4 3-6 6-4 Gulbis
Final: 7-5 6-2 Ferrer
The move to Roma remained uneventful, and the final again won compatriot Ferrer to win the second clay title of the year. It should be noted that Gurbis became the first player to snatch a set from Nadal that year.
Madrid Masters
Round 1: Byes
Second round: 6-4 6-3 Dolgopolov
Third round: 7-5 6-4 Isner
1/4 final: 6-1 6-3 Monfils
Semifinals: 4-6 6-2 6-2 Almagro
Final: 6-4 7-6 (5) Federer
Madrid is one of the two other Clay-court Masters tournaments, with Nadal doing poorly. This time, he didn't win easily against both Isner and Federer. In the semi-finals, Almagro was defeated by losing first and then winning, who became the only person to take the set from Nadal that year.
French Open
First round: 6-2 6-2 6-2 Mina
Second round: 6-2 6-2 6-3 Zebalos
Third round: 6-3 6-4 6-3 Hewitt
Fourth round: 6-2 7-5 6-4 Bellucci
1/4 Final: 7-6(2) 7-6(3) 6-4 Almagro
Semifinals: 6-2 6-3 7-6 (6) Melzer
Final: 6-4 6-2 6-4 Soderlin
After missing the Musketeers' Cup for the first time last year, Nadal went on fire and did not lose a set and avenged Soderling for winning the title in the final.
Won 22 matches, won 51 sets in 53 sets, beat the world's top 20 players 8 times, and won a lot (1 Grand Slam trophy + 3 Masters titles). If this hasn't been Nadal's most successful clay season, what year can be called it? (Source: Tennis House Author: Luo Cheng Qiye)