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Rafael Nadal is among the greatest tennis players of all time and has enjoyed a stellar career, throughout which he has won 22 Grand Slam titles. This is the second-most number of Majors for any male player in tennis history, behind only Novak Djokovic (24).
The Spaniard is often called the 'King of Clay,' which is evidenced by his astonishing tally of 14 titles at the French Open, among other achievements on the surface. He has also won the US Open four times and the Australian Open and Wimbledon twice each.
Nadal has captured every single Grand Slam throughout his career along with 36 Masters 1000 titles and an Olympic gold. However, there have been a few trophies that have continued to elude the Spaniard, one of them being the Miami Open.
Nadal reached the final of the tournament on five occasions but came up short each time.
So, without any further ado, let's take a look at the 5 instances when Rafael Nadal lost in the final in Miami:
#1 Loss to Roger Federer in 2005
After beating Roger Federer in the 2004 Miami Open third-round (then known as the NASDAQ-100 Open), Rafael Nadal took on the Swiss in the final of the following year’s edition after beating compatriot David Ferrer in the semifinals.
The Spaniard looked strong as the match started and won the first set 6-2. Nadal looked to have a stranglehold on the fixture as he took the second set via a tiebreaker. At this point, it seemed like the then-18-year-old Spaniard would win the match, only for the exact opposite to happen.
Coming from behind, Federer sealed the third set via a tie-breaker, and everything turned on its head after that. The Swiss maestro did not look back as he won the next two sets 6-3, 6-1 to win his first title in Miami, thus also winning the Sunshine Double for the first time in his career.
#2 Loss to Nikolay Davydenko, 2008
Rafael Nadal's loss against Nikolay Davydenko was perhaps his most unexpected in Miami, considering the Russian had a 5-6 win-loss there prior to the start of the 2008 edition.
Seeded second in the tournament, the Spaniard reached his second final in Miami with wins over Benjamin Becker, Nicolas Kiefer, Paul-Henri Mathieu, James Blake and Tomas Berdych.
Here, he faced Nikolay Davydenko, who beat him comprehensively 6-4, 6-2 to win his second Masters 1000 title.
Speaking after the match, the Russian said:
"I cannot believe I won. I need to ask God how this happened. It's such a surprise to stand here. I've never played well in Miami. Now I've won my second Masters. It's crazy for me."
#3 Loss to Novak Djokovic, 2011
Rafael Nadal reached the Miami Open final for the third time in 2011, where he was the top seed. The Spaniard beat his rival Roger Federer in the semifinals to set up a title clash against Novak Djokovic, who was on a 25-match winning streak that he carried from the Davis Cup the previous year.
Playing against the former World No. 1, Djokovic portrayed a highly aggressive style and because of that, Nadal had to make several runs down the line. However, the Spaniard's backhand remained a huge problem for the Serb.
After an extremely tiring contest of three hours and 21 minutes, Djokovic's crushing forehand decided the fate of the match as he won the Miami Open 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) to win the Sunshine Double for the first time in his career.
After the match, Nadal opened up about his opponent, insisting that he would become the World No. 1 in the future.
"I think he'll be number one. He won two tournaments in a row right now, very big tournaments and one Grand Slam. The normal thing is he will be number one in the next month, month and a half, two months. I don't know. It depends on my results on clay,” the Spaniard said.
#4 Rafael Nadal lost to Novak Djokovic for the second time in the Miami Open final in 2014
Rafael Nadal reached the final of the 2014 Miami Open, where he was the top seed. The Spaniard beat Lleyton Hewitt, Denis Istomin, Fabio Fognini and Milos Raonic en route to the title clash, where he was up against Djokovic.
As the match progressed, it seemed like Nadal was facing a number of problems with both forehand and backhand, while Djokovic continued to bash the court with bullet-like serves and groundstrokes.
The Serb went on to win 6-3, 6-3 to clinch his fourth title in Miami and win the Sunshine Double for the second time in his career.
#5 Loss to Roger Federer, 2017
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal met each other in the final of the 2017 Miami Open, 12 years on from their titanic battle in 2005. The Swiss maestro walked out victorious once more, just as he did back then, beating his rival 6-3, 6-4.
Federer made sure that the Spaniard fought for every single point and won his 6th Miami Open title with the victory, earning his fourth straight win over Nadal in the process.
After winning, Roger Federer complemented the Spaniard, saying:
“[Rafael Nadal] looked good from the get-go. I think he was playing big tennis, stepping in...It was a very intense first set.”
What is the foot injury that has troubled Rafael Nadal over the years? Check here
