Nadal Enjoying 'Unbelievable' Day In Monte-Carlo
Throughout his 17 years as a professional, Rafael Nadal has learned countless lessons. But perhaps none is more important than a lesson he shared on Sunday after his latest historic victory.
“I think after a lot of years of experience on this tour, you learn how to enjoy every moment,” Nadal said. “Today is a day to enjoy.”
Few players have had more to celebrate during a single victory. With his 6-1, 6-3 win against Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters final, Nadal checked off a career's worth of milestones:
-
First man in the Open Era (since April 1968) to win 10 titles at a tournament
-
First man to win 50 clay-court crowns, surpassing Guillermo Vilas at 49
-
His 70th tour-level title, placing him fifth all-time
-
His 29th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown, placing him second all-time
Put one of those achievements on another player's resume, and they make the sheet shine. But do what Nadal has done – achieve all four in a career and celebrate them on the same day – and that resume quickly resembles that of one of the greatest players of all-time.
“It really is unbelievable. To win 10 times at such an important event like Monte-Carlo, it's something difficult to describe my feelings,” Nadal said. “I feel lucky to keep playing tennis [and] being healthy all those years, in order to compete in one of the most beautiful events of the year, without a doubt. I am very happy to win another one. For me, it is a very important day in my career.”
The 10th title extends Nadal's dominance in Monte-Carlo to a level no man has achieved in the past. The Spaniard now boasts a 63-4 match record in the Principality and is 10-1 in finals, his only defeat coming in 2013 to Novak Djokovic. Nadal, who won his first Monte-Carlo crown in 2005 as an 18 year old, was able to relive his favourite Monte-Carlo memories when tournament officials displayed old photos on the scoreboard after the final.
OPEN ERA TITLES LEADERS
| Player | No. | |
| 1 | Jimmy Connors | 109 |
| 2 | Ivan Lendl | 94 |
| 3 | Roger Federer | 91 |
| 4 | John McEnroe | 77 |
| 5 | Rafael Nadal | 70 |
| Player | No. | |
| 1 | Rafael Nadal | 50 |
| 2 | Guillermo Vilas | 49 |
| 3 | Thomas Muster | 40 |
| T4. | Bjorn Borg | 30 |
| T4. | Manuel Orantes | 30 |
| Player | No. | |
| 1 | Novak Djokovic | 30 |
| 2 | Rafael Nadal | 29 |
| 3 | Roger Federer | 26 |
| 4 | Andre Agassi | 17 |
| 5 | Andy Murray | 14 |
Nadal looks primed to continue that familiar path of dominance as he'll go for titles No. 10 in Barcelona and Roland Garros later this year as well. He also looks poised to further solidify his status as the greatest player to step on red dirt. The left-hander from Mallorca has now won 92 per cent of the matches he's played on clay throughout his career, a 370-34 record, according to the FedEx ATP Performance Zone.
Who's Behind Nadal In The All-Time Clay-Court Wins? View The FedEx ATP Performance Zone
Considering just this season, Nadal's numbers are almost equally as impressive. During the first four months, he's reached four finals and boasts a 24-5 record. “For me, it's important to feel myself being competitive every week that I am playing. That's what happened since the beginning of the season. That makes me happy,” Nadal said. “If I am healthy and I feel myself competitive, I am happy. Then it's obvious I would like to win. But I know if I am in finals of important events, the normal thing is I finally win titles.
“So today was another chance... Today I won a very important title for me.”
[ALSO LIKE]