Rafael Nadal is at it again with his usual ruthless display against his opponents when it comes to playing
tennis on clay court.
The king of clay has often displayed his affection and mastery of the clay court over the years as he has dominated on clay for some times now. Indeed, betting on tennis with Nadal on clay is the joy of many bettors who have often reaped the benefit of their knowledge of the game.
As this year’s French Open shift gear to the second half of the tournament, there is so much excitement
in the air amongst Nadal’s supporters that another title is about to be added to his illustrious career.
In fact, no other player in history holds the record held by Nadal as the only player whether in the male
or female category that has won the most title at a single major event in the open era.
Nadal has won the French Open a record 12 times, the most any other player has come close is 8 titles. If Nadal
succeeds in winning this year’s French Open, it will be a record 13 th grand slam title from the
competition and his 20 th career slam which will put him at par with Rodger Federer.
Indeed, the way he has started this year’s tournament is a statement of intent for all to see. He won his
first 4 games in 3 straight sets beating Gerasinov 4-6, 4-6, 2-6 in the first round, next came McDonald
whom he defeated 1-6, 0-6, 3-6 in the second round. In the third round, he dispatched Travaglia 1-6, 4-
6, 0-6 before squaring up with Korda in the 4 th round which ended 1-6, 1-6, 2-6.
It is expected that his terrific form on clay would carry him through the competition and win him the
title.
However, amongst those that stand in the way of this dream is his arch-rival Novak Djokovic. The
world rand number one men’s tennis player is seething from his disqualification in the recently
concluded US Opens and would be looking to make up for lost grounds by claiming the last grand slam
title of the year.
Djokovic himself has been in brilliant form all through the tournament. He won the first round game
against Ymer 6-0, 6-2, 6-3, and then proceeded to eliminate Berankis 6-1, 6-2, 6-2, before beating Galan
6-0, 6-3, 6-2 in the third round. His fourth round encounter against Khachanov ended 6-4, 6-3, and 6-3.
If there is any major threat to the king of clay getting his hands on this grand slam, it will be Djokovic.
This formidable rival is just one title shy of equalling Nadal’s grand slam title of 19 slams, however, he
has only won the French Open title once compared to Nadal’s 12.
It is also instructive to know that Nadal is the only player that has beaten Djokovic the most on clay in his career (17-7), while Djokovic is the only player to have defeated Nadal in 7 consecutive finals, he is also the only player to have defeated Nadal in 4 clay court finals, and the only player to defeat Nadal at the French Open in straight
sets.
As the king of clay continues on this quest, he would be hoping that unforeseen surprises in the guise of
younger players do not rewrite a beautiful script the whole world look forward to and make it
something more beautiful millions of betting fans.
