Rafael Nadal history at Madrid Open: All you need to know

Rafael Nadal is the greatest male player on claycourt. Out of his 91 career titles, 62 have come on the surface. He has dominated the European clay swing for most of the last two decades.

However, Nadal's performance at the Madrid Open, the only Masters 1000 tournament played on his home soil, is relatively underwhelming. He has won a lot there, but his record is more human.

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Nadal has won the Madrid Open five times

The Spaniard holds the record for most titles in the Spanish capital. He has won it five times, with both Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic next with three titles each. It's pertinent to note that the 37-year-old Spaniard has won the other three big tournaments in the European clay swing more at least10 times.

Djokovic beat Nadal twice in the Madrid final (2009 and 2011). Nadal got his revenge by beating the Serb in straight sets in the 2017 semifinals. The Mallorcan has beaten five different opponents for his Madrid titles - Ivan Ljubicic, Federer, Stan Wawrinka, Dominic Thiem and Kei Nishikori.

The Spaniard won his first title in Madrid in 2005, when the final of a Masters 1000 event used be best-of-five, beating Ljubicic in five sets on hardcourt. His subsequent triumphs came in 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2017.

Nadal lost to Andy Murray in the final in 2015 and to Djokovic twice. The Spaniard is the only player to have reached the final of Madrid Open eight times.

Overall, he has a win-loss record of 53-14 (79% win) in the tournament, which is significantly less impressive than his overall claycourt record. The reason for this is likely because unlike the other major European claycourt events (Monte-Carlo, Barcelona, Rome, French Open), Madrid is at an elevation, so the ball moves quicker than the other venues, requiring more acclimatisation.

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The surface at Madrid Open suits the Spaniard less

The surface speed in Madrid is considerably faster than that of other claycourts. It means there's less time to retrieve the ball, making it somewhat easier for opponents to hit through Nadal.

The Spaniard is going to take part in this year’s tournament in Madrid, which gets underway on April 26. This could very well be his last appearance here, so fans will hope that the Spaniard can sign off with a victory.