Rafael Nadal becomes 1st player in Open Era to win at least 450 matches on 2 different surfaces

Rafael Nadal beat Great Britain's Cameron Norrie in relatively straightforward fashion on Friday, winning 6-1, 6-4 to reach the last four at Barcelona. With the victory, Nadal has improved his overall win-loss record on the tour to 1013-206.

More importantly, however, this was Rafael Nadal's 450th match win on clay. That makes him the first player in the Open Era to win at least 450 matches on two different surfaces - clay and hardcourt.

Nadal's tally of 450 claycourt wins is also the third-highest on the surface, after Guillermo Vilas (681) and Manuel Orantes (569).

🇪🇸 Rafael #Nadal is the 1st player all time to collect at least 450 wins in 2 different surfaces (clay & hard)#BCNOpenBS pic.twitter.com/sm5HhH56Jr

— TennisMyLife (@TennisMyLife68) April 23, 2021

The 20-time Major winner has also won 490 matches on hardcourt, making him one of the most successful players on the surface ever. Rafael Nadal trails only three players - Roger Federer (783), Novak Djokovic (613) and Andre Agassi (592) - in hardcourt match wins.

It is pertinent to note here that hardcourt has been by far the most prevalent surface on the pro tour for decades now. Thus it comes as no surprise that there are a bunch of players who have registered more than 450 match wins on the surface.

When it comes to hardcourt and clay together, however, no player has ever been able to match Rafael Nadal's versatility. USA's Jimmy Connors is the only one who came close to recording at least 450 wins on two different surfaces; the American bagged 490 wins on hardcourt and 391 on carpet.

Rafael Nadal has 71 wins on grass, Roger Federer & Jimmy Connors are the only players to have 180 wins on 3 surfaces

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal (R) during the 2007 Wimbledon final

Rafael Nadal also has 71 match wins on grass, which is not a surprise given that he has put together two title-winning runs at Wimbledon (2008 and 2010). The Spaniard occupies the mid-card in this list though, with several players in the past having amassed more victories on grass.

Nadal has two wins under his belt on carpet too, which has now become defunct on the main circuit.

Roger Federer, meanwhile, has a total of 1,243 match wins on the pro tour. 783 of those have come on hardcourt, which makes the Swiss maestro the most prolific player ever on the surface. Federer has also notably accumulated at least 180 match wins on three different surfaces (223 on clay and 187 on grass).

Jimmy Connors, who holds the official record for most match wins at 1,274, is the only player apart from Federer to have scored at least 180 match wins on three different surfaces. The eight-time Major winner has won 208 matches on clay, 185 matches on grass and 490 matches on hardcourt (while also accumulating 391 wins on carpet).