4 instances when Rafael Nadal won the French Open without dropping a set 

Rafael Nadal is without a doubt the greatest competitor in the history of the French Open, winning the tournament a whopping 13 times.

Last year, Nadal made it to the semifinals of the Paris Major, but lost to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in four sets. This brought an end to a 33-match winning streak for the Spaniard at the tournament.

Rafael Nadal has played 108 matches at the French Open, winning 105. His dominance at the claycourt Major has been supreme despite the constant presence of Roger Federer and Djokovic.

Nadal has won the French Open four times without dropping a set. Here's a look at each of those instances:

#1 2008

Rafael Nadal entered the 2008 French Open after winning the Monte-Carlo Masters and the Madrid Open. Despite a second-round exit at the Italian Open, the Spaniard was expected to do well in Paris and he didn't disappoint.

Nadal reached the quarterfinals of the tournament following straight-sets wins over Thomaz Bellucci, Nicolas Devilder, Jarkko Nieminen and Fernando Verdasco. In the quarterfinals, he beat compatriot Nicolas Almagro 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 and ousted Djokovic in the semifinals.

Nadal was up against Federer in the final and produced perhaps the most one-sided victory in matches between the two greats. The Spaniard won the match 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 to lift his fourth successive French Open crown. This was the fewest number of games dropped by a male player in a French Open final since Guillermo Vilas beat Brian Gottfried 6-0, 6-3, 6-0 in 1977.

#2 2010

This was the best season of Rafael Nadal's career, so it hardly comes as a surprise that he won the French Open that year without dropping a set. The Spaniard won all three Masters 1000 tournaments on clay and was heavily favored to win the Paris Grand Slam.

Seeded second, Nadal had little trouble dispatching Gianni Mina, Horacio Zeballos, Lleyton Hewitt and Thomaz Bellucci. He then got the better of Nicolas Almagro and Jurgen Melzer to set up a final clash against Robin Soderling, who had beaten him in the fourth round of the 2009 French Open.

Nadal beat the Swede in straight sets to win his fifth French Open crown and cap off an excellent claycourt season.

#3 2017

Rafael Nadal had a pretty good start to the 2017 claycourt season by winning the Monte-Carlo Masters and the Madrid Open. He also reached the final of the Australian Open and the Miami Masters earlier in the year.

The Spaniard was seeded fourth at the French Open and started with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 win over Benoit Paire. He then beat Robin Haase 6-1, 6-4, 6-3. The Dutchman's eight games were the most any player would take off him in the tournament.

Nadal thrashed Nikoloz Basilashvili in the third round before beating compatriots Roberto Bautista Agut and Pablo Carreno Busta to reach the semifinals. He beat Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 to set up a title clash with Stan Wawrinka. Nadal beat the Swiss 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 to win a 10th French Open crown, becoming the first man to win 10 titles at a single Grand Slam.

Nadal dropped only 35 games during the tournament, which is the second fewest games any player has dropped at the French Open, behind Bjorn Borg (32) in 1978.

#4 2020

Rafael Nadal won his 13th French Open crown in 2020

The 2020 French Open took place towards the end of the season due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Nadal was seeded second in the tournament and reached the quarterfinals following comprehensive victories over Egor Gerasimov, Mackenzie McDonald, Stefano Travaglia and Sebastian Korda.

The Spaniard then beat Jannik Sinner and Diego Schwartzman to reach the final, where he was up against none other than Djokovic. Nadal was merciless on the day, thrashing the Serb 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 to win his 13th French Open crown.

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Also Check Out: Nadal French Open Titles