4 tournaments where Rafael Nadal has had the most missed opportunities

#2 Australian Open - 4 defeats from 5 finals

Nadal suffered his first straight-set loss in a Slam final at the 2019 Australian Open

Following respective five-set wins over compatriot Fernando Verdasco and then 13-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer in the semifinal and final, Nadal in 2009 became the first Spanish player to reign at the Australian Open.

But the 'Happy Slam' has been anything but happy for the Spaniard ever since.

In the longest ever men's single's final in the Open Era, Nadal squandered a deciding set break to go down to Novak Djokovic in an epic 5-hour 53-minute Australian Open 2012 final.

Two years later, Nadal thwarted Federer's hopes of making a first-ever all-Swiss Grand Slam final. But he went down to the 'other Swiss' Stan Wawrinka in the final, despite having never lost a set against the Swiss No. 2 in 12 previous matches. This marked the first time Nadal lost to a first-time Slam finalist.

In 2017, both Nadal and Federer defied expectations by coming off long injury lay-offs to make the Australian Open final, which marked the pair's first Grand Slam final meeting since 2011 Roland Garros. The final lived up to its pre-match hype but it was Nadal who came up second best in a Melbourne final, for the third time.

The Spaniard lost five games in a row against an inspired Federer after leading 3-1 in the fifth set.

After retiring against Marin Cilic in the 2018 quarterfinals, Nadal made a 5th title match in Melbourne in 2019. But Nadal's hopes of becoming the first player in the Open Era to win the double career Slam were dashed for a fourth time when Djokovic handed the Spaniard his first ever straight-set loss in a Grand Slam final.

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