3 longest gaps between titles at the same ATP tournament

Rafael Nadal's straight-sets win over American Taylor Fritz at the 2020 ATP Acapulco Open was the Spaniard's third victory at the tournament, 15 years after winning his first.

Nadal won his third career singles title at the 2005 Acapulco Open, conceding just one game in a lopsided title match. Fast forward 15 years, and the Spaniard won the same tournament six years after it transitioned to hardcourt (in 2014).

You may also like: 3 talking points from the 2020 ATP Acapulco Open

This puts the Spaniard in an exclusive group of players containing his fellow Big 3 peers Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic to have won ATP titles at the same tournament more than a decade after winning their first.

On that note, let us have a look at where Nadal's Acapulco triumphs rank amongst the longest gaps between wins by a player at the same tournament in the Open Era.

#T3 Roger Federer - Wimbledon: 14 years (2003 - 2017)

Federer hoists aloft his 8th Wimbledon title in 2017

Since making his Major breakthrough at Wimbledon 2003, Roger Federer won a further six titles at the grasscourt Grand Slam tournament in his next nine appearances at the tournament.

In the 2017 season, which saw Federer end his Major drought by winning his 18th Grand Slam title and fifth at the Australian Open, the then 35-year-old also went on to triumph at Wimbledon - five years after his seventh and latest win in 2012, and 14 years after his first.

That marked the longest gap in the Open Era for titles won by a player at a Grand Slam tournament, or for that matter at any tournament. Federer almost stretched this gap to 16 when he stood two consecutive championship points on serve against Novak Djokovic in a pulsating 2019 final, but blinked at the most inopportune moment to go down in the first-ever Wimbledon fifth-set tiebreak.

You may also like: 8 tournaments where Federer has had the most missed opportunities

#T3 Rafael Nadal - Rome: 14 years (2005 to 2019)

Nadal rejoices after winning his 9th Rome title in 2019

14 years after triumphing for the first time at the Rome Masters, Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic in a three-set final in 2019 to win his ninth title at the tournament.

In his 50th Masters final, the Spaniard won a record-extending 34th title and created a new record for the longest gap between Masters 1000 title triumphs by a player at the same tournament.

Nadal's other triumphs in the Italian capital came in 2006-07, 2009-10, 2012-13 and 2018.

#T3 Rafael Nadal - Roland Garros: 14 years (2005 to 2019)

Rafael Nadal won his 12th Roland Garros title in 2019

Nadal broke his own record for most titles at a Grand Slam, or for that matter at any tournament, by beating Dominic Thiem in a four-set final in Paris last year. That gave him a staggering 12th title at Roland Garros.

The Spaniard became the first player in the Open Era to win five consecutive titles at the tournament when did so between 2010 and 2014. The last of those also marked a record-extending 10th consecutive year of winning at least one Major title.

Nadal beat Argentine Mariano Puerta in his first Roland Garros final in 2005, and beat a certain Roger Federer in four of his next 5 finals (2006-08, 2011) at the tournament.

#T3 Rafael Nadal: Coupe Rogers - 14 years (2005 to 2019)

Rafael Nadal lifts his 5th Coupe Rogers title in 2019

After winning his first nine career singles titles on clay, Nadal arrived at the 2005 Coupe Rogers looking to expand his horizons. The Spaniard would make it an occasion to remember, beating American legend Andre Agassi in the final to win his first hardcourt title.

Following further triumphs in 2008, 2013 and 2018, Nadal created more personal history at the 2019 edition of the tournament, beating first-time Masters 1000 finalist Daniil Medvedev in straight sets to win his fifth Coupe Rogers title. In the process, Nadal successfully defended a hardcourt title for the first time in his illustrious career.

You may also like: Nadal's top 10 records of the 2010s

#2 Rafael Nadal: Acapulco - 15 years (2005 to 2020)

Rafael Nadal lifts his 3rd Acapulco title in 2020

Having fallen in his first Acapulco hardcourt final, against Sam Querrey in 2017, Nadal was determined to avoid a similar fate in the title match at the 2020 Acapulco Open against another American - Taylor Fritz.

After both players held their first three service games apiece, Nadal stepped up to reel off eight of the next 10 games. That gave him a 6-3, 6-2 win, which made him the first player after compatriot David Ferrer to win Acapulco titles on both clay and hardcourt.

Nadal's first two titles at the tournament arrived in 2005 and 2013.

You may also like: 3 milestones awaiting Nadal in 2020

#T1 Roger Federer: Dubai - 16 years (2003 to 2019)

Roger Federer celebrates his 100th career singles title at 2019 Dubai

Roger Federer is one of the most successful players in the history of the Dubai Open. The Swiss maestro, who won his first Dubai title in 2003, created history in 2004 by becoming the first multiple time winner at the tournament. A year later, Federer completed a 3-peat at the Dubai Open.

Fast forward 14 years, and Federer arrived at one of his favorite stops on the tour looking for his 100th career singles title. And he wouldn't return disappointed.

Federer beat his Australian Open conqueror Stefanos Tstisipas in straight sets to join American Jimmy Connors (109) as the only players in the Open Era to win 100 career singles titles.

In the process, Federer also broke his own record for the longest gap between title triumphs at the same tournament; he won his eighth Dubai Open title 16 years after winning his first.

You may also like: Federer's top 10 records in the 2010s

#T1 Roger Federer: Halle - 16 years (2003 to 2019)

Federer triumphed for a record-extending 10th time at 2019 Halle

Roger Federer loves competing in Halle, and his stellar 68-7 record at the tournament suggests exactly that.

16 long years after winning his first Halle title in 2003, the then 37-year-old Swiss beat David Goffin in straight sets to become the first player to win 10 grasscourt titles at a tournament.

In the process, Federer also equaled his own record of the longest gap between title triumphs by a player at the same tournament.

You may also like: 3 milestones awaiting Federer in 2020