5 tournaments that Rafael Nadal won without dropping a set

The Men’s Singles tournament of the 2017 French Open came to an exciting end with Rafael Nadal defeating Stan Wawrinka in the final, to win a record-bettering 10^th French Open title and a 15^th Grand Slam title, thus handing the Swiss his first defeat at a Grand Slam final.Nadal’s win also made him the first man and the second player, male or female, to win 10 titles at a Grand Slam, the other being Margaret Court with 11 Australian Open titles. The uniqueness of Rafa’s 15^th Grand Slam title was the fact that he did not drop an entire set within the entire tournament with Robin Hasse winning the most number of games against him with 8 in the second round.However, there have been numerous instances when Nadal has won a title without dropping a single set and this article has been written to elucidate 5 such tournaments.

#5. 2008 Monte Carlo Masters

Nadal won his fourth successive Monte Carlo Masters and won it without dropping a single set

Nadal did not have the best of finishes to his summer hardcourt season after being defeated by Nikolay Davydenko at the final of the Miami Masters. Nadal’s next tournament would be the Monte Carlo Masters where he was the three-time defending champion.Nadal did not have the easiest of opponents to face as he was up against former Wimbledon semi-finalist Mario Ancic in the second round. However, Rafa dropped only three games against the Croat and followed it with a win over former World No.1 and 13^th seed Juan Carlos Ferrero in the third round in straight sets to qualify for the quarter-finals.Nadal then defeated 5^th seed David Ferrer in straight sets to advance to the semi-finals where he avenged his Miami Masters final defeat to Nikolay Davydenko to reach the final where he was up against Roger Federer for the third consecutive time. Federer gave him a tough fight but Nadal edged him in straight sets to win his fourth consecutive Monte Carlo Masters title.

#4. 2007 Indian Wells Masters

Nadal won his first Indian Wells Masters title in straight sets

After quarter-final defeats at the Australian Open and the Dubai Tennis Championships, Rafael Nadal was eager to get back to winning ways at the Indian Wells Masters. He defeated 2001 Australian open runner-up Arnaud Clement in his opening round after a closely fought second set and followed it up with wins over Fernando Verdasco and Juan Carlos Ferrero to reach the quarter-finals.In the quarter-finals, Nadal defeated Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela in two close sets to qualify for the semi-finals where he was up against Andy Roddick. Nadal beat Roddick in straight sets to qualify for his first Indian Wells Masters final. In the final, Nadal was up against 12^th seed Novak Djokovic who was yet to defeat a Top 10 player in the tournament.Nadal cruised through the first set 6-2 but Djokovic gave him a tough fight in the second set and it looked like Nadal might drop his first set of the tournament. However, the Spaniard held his nerve and edged out Djokovic 7-5 to win his first Indian Wells Masters title. This remains the only non-clay title among Grand Slams and Masters 1000 tournaments which Nadal has won in straight sets.

#3. 2010 French Open

Nadal won the 2008 French Open in straight sets

After a trophy-less hardcourt season, Rafa was having a brilliant clay-court season in 2010 where he won all three Masters 1000 titles at Monte Carlo, Rome, and Madrid. Nadal was eager to reclaim the French Open title and was having a flier of a tournament as he won his first four matches in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals.In the quarters, Nadal was up against 19^th seeded compatriot Nicolas Almagro. Almagro gave him a tough fight in the first two sets but Nadal edged him in tie-breaks on both occasions before defeating him 6-4 in the third set to reach the semi-finals where he was up against Austrian Jurgen Melzer who had stunned Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals.Nadal beat Melzer in straight sets to set up a rematch of his fourth round match of the 2009 French Open against Robin Soderling where the latter won. Soderling had avenged his defeat at the 2009 French Open final by defeating Roger Federer in the quarter-finals.Nadal went on to defeat Soderling in straight sets to win his fifth French Open title and second French Open title without dropping a single set.

#2. 2008 French Open

Nadal won his fourth French Open title by bageling Federer in the final set

After winning the Hamburg Masters, Nadal was eager to capture a fourth successive French Open crown. Nadal cruised through the first four rounds to advance to the quarter-finals where he dropped only three games against Nicolas Almagro to qualify to the semi-finals.In the semis, Nadal was up against Novak Djokovic and defeated him in straight sets to qualify for the final where he was up against Roger Federer. The final turned out to be a complete one-sided affair as Nadal won the first two sets 6-3, 6-1 before bageling Federer in the third set to win his fourth consecutive French Open title, thus becoming the first male player to win the French Open in straight sets since Bjorn Borg in 1980, and the third player in the Open Era after Borg and Ilie Nastase to do so.

#1. 2017 French Open

Nadal’s 10^th French Open title takes him to No.2 in the ATP rankings

After his 2016 ATP World Tour was cut short by injuries, Nadal made a stunning resurgence this year by reaching the final of the Australian Open and Miami Masters followed by winning his 10^th titles at both the Monte Carlo and Madrid Masters.Nadal was a firm favorite to win the French Open and began the tournament by defeating Benoit Paire in straight sets in the first round which was followed by wins over Robin Hasse, Nikoloz Basilashvili, and Roberto Bautista Agut to qualify for the quarter-finals.In the quarters, Nadal’s opponent Pablo Carreno Busta retired from a stomach injury hence Rafa was through to the semi-finals of the French Open for the first time since 2014 and was up against Dominic Thiem who had defeated him a few weeks earlier at the quarter-finals of the Rome Masters and had beaten Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals in straight sets that included a bagel in the third set.However, Nadal thrashed Thiem and qualified for the final against Stan Wawrinka who had beaten Andy Murray in the semi-finals and was yet to lose a Grand Slam. In the final, a fact was proved that a fit Rafa at clay court was invincible as he breezed past Wawrinka to win his 10^th French Open title and 15^th Grand Slam title. The win took Nadal to World No.2 in the ATP rankings for the first time since 2014.