Rafael Nadal’s French Open triumphs remembered as he withdraws from this year’s tournament at Roland Garros

The 22-time Grand Slam winner will take several months away from the game, but has refused to put a definite time limit on how long he will be away from the court.

Nadal has also said next year will “probably” be his last on tour. So, there will be no 15th French Open title for Nadal this year.

Here, Eurosport celebrates the King of Clay’s dominance at Roland Garros with a look back at the 14 finals where he was crowned champion.

2005

• Date: June 5, 2005
• Opponent: Mariano Puerta
• Score: 6-7(6) 6-3 6-1 7-5

Just days after celebrating his 19th birthday, Nadal became the youngest male Grand Slam champion for 15 years as he took his first major title with victory at Roland Garros.

Nadal defeated world No.1 Roger Federer at the semi-final stage, before seeing off unseeded Mariano Puerta in the showpiece match.

He became the first man to win the French Open on debut since Mats Wilander’s triumph in 1982.

Juan Carlos, the King of Spain, was on hand to watch a new reign in men’s tennis begin.

2006

• Date: June 11, 2006
• Opponent: Roger Federer
• Score: 1-6 6-1 6-4 7-6(4)

It was a day set for the history books as Roger Federer arrived on Philippe Chatrier court one victory away from holding all four Grand Slam titles simultaneously.

However, Nadal, who was chasing his 60th consecutive win on clay, had other ideas and became the first player to beat Federer in a major final.

Federer was the dominant force in the sport but knew he had a new nemesis as Nadal was the only person to have beaten him (four times!) all year.

Speaking after defeat to the Spaniard in Monte Carlo, Federer said: “The more I play Rafa, the better my chances of beating him.” He was still waiting after that afternoon in Paris.

2007

• Date: June 10, 2007
• Opponent: Roger Federer
• Score: 6-3 4-6 6-3 6-4

As Federer hit the ball long, Nadal dropped to the clay, caking his trademark vest and three-quarter length shorts in terra cotta. He had just won his third French Open title in a row.

Federer had been sitting as world No.1 for 175 weeks but still victory at Roland Garros evaded him and, once again, it was Nadal who denied him.

The Spanish world No. 2 was in exquisite form, saving 16 out of 17 break points on his way to winning the final.

2008

• Date: June 8, 2008
• Opponent: Roger Federer
• Score: 6-1 6-3 6-0

A fourth French Open final in a row. A third consecutive match-up with Roger Federer for the trophy. This time, though, it was different.

Nadal totally obliterated his opponent, handing Federer his worst-ever defeat in terms of games won in his 173 Grand Slam matches to that point.

Muted celebrations from Nadal were explained to the crowd. He said: “Given my relationship with Roger I did not want to celebrate too much”.

2010

• Date: June 6, 2010
• Opponent: Robin Soderling
• Score: 6-4 6-2 6-4

Nadal had revenge on his mind after being stunned by Robin Soderling in 2009 when the Swedish player gave the Spaniard his first defeat on the Paris clay.

He swept Soderling aside with ease to win for the fifth time at Roland Garros and earn himself a return to the top of the world rankings.

Nadal’s message was clear at the end of the match when he said: “I’m back, and I win.”

2011

• Date: June 5, 201
• Opponent: Roger Federer
• Score: 7-5 7-6(3) 5-7 6-1

Nadal drew level with Bjorn Borg’s record of six French Open victories with yet more success over Roger Federer.

Both players made uncharacteristic mistakes throughout, but, on the surface he loves so much, Nadal was able to see the game through and retain his position as world No. 1.

But, despite losing in the semi-finals in Paris, world No. 2 Novak Djokovic was starting to snap at the heels of Nadal.

2012

• Date: June 10-11, 2012
• Opponent: Novak Djokovic
• Score: 6-4 6-3 2-6 7-5

Rain, rain, go away! Bad weather added to the tension of the 2012 final, with Nadal 2-1 up when play was stopped on Sunday, with the players having to reconvene on Monday.

Nadal had just lost a set when play was halted, but he held his nerve to finish the job off within 50 minutes of the restart.

The win took Nadal clear of Borg’s modern day record of French Open titles.

2013

• Date: June 9, 2013
• Opponent: David Ferrer
• Score: 6-3 6-2 6-3

After a seven month layoff from professional tennis due to a knee injury, Nadal proved he was back to his best at the 2013 French Open.

He came through a mammoth duel with Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals; a match some described as the greatest ever to be played on clay.

Nadal eased past David Ferrer in the final to take the trophy one again and also break the record for the number of matches won at Roland Garros.

2014

• Date: June 8, 2014
• Opponent: Novak Djokovic
• Score: 3-6 7-5 6-2 6-4

Early mistakes from Nadal saw Djokovic take the first set with the Serbian thinking he may have just figured out how to beat the Spaniard on clay.

However, Nadal came storming back to snatch his ninth French Open title, making it 66 wins from 67 matches on the Parisian clay in a decade. Incredible.

This win took him to 14 Grand Slam titles overall moving into a tie with Pete Sampras for second on the all-time list.

2017

• Date: June 11, 2017
• Opponent: Sran Wawrinka
• Score: 6-2 6-3 6-1

A three year absence from the final made victory over Stan Wawrinka all the more emotional for Nadal as he claimed the trophy for a tenth time.

After the match, he said: “I try my best in all the events but the feeling I have here is impossible to describe. For me, the nerves, the adrenaline I feel when I play on this court is impossible to compare. It’s the most important event in my career, so to win here is something I cannot describe.”

2018

• Date: June 10, 2018
• Opponent: Dominic Thiem
• Score: 6-4 6-3 6-2

Tears streamed down Nadal’s face as he collected the trophy for the 11th time with the defiant feeling of “I’m not done yet”.

Dominic Thiem came into the match with confidence having been the only player to beat Nadal on clay over the previous couple of years, but the Spaniard was flawless.

A 17th Grand Slam took him three behind Roger Federer in the all-time list…

2019

• Date: June 9, 2019
• Opponent: Dominic Thiem
• Score: 6-3 5-7 6-1 6-1

A rematch of the previous year’s final and the same result too as Nadal rolled back the years to produce a third successive French Open title.

The victory saw Nadal become the first player to ever win 12 titles at a single Grand Slam.

Just two behind Federer now…

2020

• Date: October 11, 2020
• Opponent: Novak Djokovic
• Score: 6-0 6-2 7-5

Nadal equalled Federer’s record of 20 Grand Slam titles by thrashing world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in Paris.

Sadly, a significantly reduced number of people were able to watch in person due to the Covid-19 pandemic – which had led to the tournament being rescheduled.

Nadal’s 100th win at Roland Garros was almost flawless as he blitzed Djokovic aside.

2022

• Date: June 5, 2022
• Opponent: Casper Ruud
• Score: 6-3 6-3 6-0

17 years after his first triumph at Roland Garros, Nadal took title No. 14 with a straight sets victory over Casper Ruud.

His clothing and hair may have changed and his body has given him so many injuries to deal with, but still opponents cannot find an answer to the King of Clay.

“It’s something that I for sure never believed I’d be here at 36, being competitive again. It means a lot to me.”

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