4 tournaments where Rafael Nadal has had the most missed opportunities

Modified Jan 08, 2020 07:56 GMT

#1 Miami: 5 defeats from 5 finals

Nadal came up second for the 5th time in as many Miami title matches in 2017

The second Masters 1000 tournament of the ATP calendar, the Miami Masters, is one of 9 tournaments where Nadal has reached 5 or more finals. But it is the only tournament where the Spaniard has failed to remain the last man standing on no fewer than 5 occasions.

In his first Miami final in 2005, the then 18-year-old Nadal led a dominant World No. 1 Roger Federer by two sets. And at 5-5 in the third set tiebreak, he stood two points away from his first Masters 1000 title.

That would be the closest Nadal would ever come to lifting the Miami title. Federer took the third set and then dropped just four games in the next two to win the Indian Wells-Miami double.

Three years later it was Nikolay Davydenko who thwarted Nadal in straight sets in the Miami final, before Novak Djokovic upended the Spaniard in a third set tiebreak in 2011. Djokovic again dashed the Spaniard's Miami ambitions in the 2014 final.

In 2017, Nadal met Federer in the Miami final, 12 years after the pair's only title match at the tournament. The outcome remained the same as the Swiss maestro won in straight sets to lift his 26th Masters 1000 title, and third at the tournament.

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Bhargav is a veteran sports journalist and editor at Sportskeeda, with a rich professional experience of 17 years, working for the likes of Siemens and Bombay Dyeing. An avid football and tennis follower for over three decades, Bhargav uses his vast knowledge and experience, attention to detail, an unbiased yet interesting writing style, and thorough research to craft insightful articles, which have raked in over 18 million reads so far.

Bhargav supports Italy at national level, a team steeped in tradition and history according to him. He still harbors the heartbreak from the Azzurri’s 1994 FIFA World Cup final defeat against Brazil, and protagonist-turned-antagonist from the game, ‘Divine Ponytail’ Roberto Baggio is his all-time favorite player. His favorite manager is Marcelo Lippi, who ended Italy’s 24-year wait for the World Cup trophy, winning it in 2006.

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Edited by Musab Abid