7 worst defeats for Rafael Nadal on clay

Rafael Nadal is inarguably the greatest claycourt player of all time. The Spaniard has an incredible record on the surface, winning an unbelievable 464 out of 507 matches.

Nadal has won Roland Garros a whopping 13 times, including four instances in which he didn't drop a single set. He has also won the Monte-Carlo Masters 11 times and the Italian Open 10 times.

However, the Spaniard has endured 43 defeats on the surface against 25 different players. Without any further ado, let us take a look at seven of the biggest defeats Rafael Nadal has faced on clay.

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#1 6-2, 6-2 vs Gaston Gaudio, 2003 Hamburg Masters

Rafael Nadal has faced 2004 Roland Garros champion Gaston Gaudio on six occasions. The first of these was in the last 16 of the 2003 Hamburg Masters.

Nadal qualified for the main draw of the tournament and reached the third round after defeating Paul-Henri Mathieu and second seed Carlos Moya. He was to taken on Gaudio, who had defeated James Blake and David Sanchez in the first two rounds.

The Argentine dismantled Nadal 6-2, 6-2 to book his place in the quarterfinals of the competition. Gaudio went on to reach the semifinals, where he lost to eventual champion Guillermo Coria.

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#2 6-2, 6-2 vs Olivier Rochus, 2002 Majorca Open

Rafael Nadal and Olivier Rochus met for the first time in the second round of the 2002 Majorca Open. The Spaniard received a wildcard and won his opening match against Ramon Delgado to reach the last 16.

Up against Belgium's Olivier Rochus, Nadal was crushed 6-2, 6-2. The Spaniard went on to win each of their next four meetings.

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#3 6-3, 6-2 vs Andy Murray, 2015 Madrid Masters

Andy Murray beat Rafael Nadal rather comprehensively in the final of the Madrid Masters back in 2015.

Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray met in the final of the Madrid Masters in 2015. The King of Clay, who was the two-time defending champion at the time, entered the match with a 6-0 record against the Scot on clay. Nadal did not drop a single set en route to the final and was heavily favored to win the title.

However, Murray produced a sensational performance to beat the Spaniard 6-3, 6-2 and win the Madrid Masters. The Scot went on to beat Nadal at the Italian Open the following year as well.

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#4 6-2, 6-3 vs Gaston Gaudio, 2004 Swedish Open

A year after their match in Hamburg, Rafael Nadal and Gaston Gaudio met once again, this time in the quarterfinals of the Swedish Open in Bastad.

The Spaniard beat Jiri Vanek and Santiago Ventura to seal his place in the last eight, where he took on second seed Gaudio, who had won Roland Garros just over a month ago.

The Argentine beat Nadal 6-2, 6-3 to reach the semifinals of the Swedish Open. Gaudio made it to the final but lost to eighth seed Mariano Zabaleta in three sets.

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#5 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 vs Novak Djokovic, 2015 Roland Garros

Rafael Nadal has suffered just three losses in the French Open, with his most comprehensive defeat coming at the hands of Novak Djokovic in 2015. The two players met in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros that year.

The first set was tightly contested but Djokovic managed to take it 7-5. The Serb gained momentum and looked more and more dominant as the match progressed. Djokovic won the next two sets 6-3, 6-1 to book his place in the semifinals. This remains the only match at Roland Garros that Rafael Nadal has lost in straight sets.

Djokovic went on to beat Andy Murray in the last four but fell to Stan Wawrinka in the summit clash.

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#6 6-4, 6-2 vs Fabio Fognini, 2019 Monte-Carlo Masters

Rafael Nadal has lost four times to Fabio Fognini in 17 matches. His most recent defeat against the Italian came in the semifinals of the Monte-Carlo Masters in 2019.

Seeded second in the competition, Nadal did not drop a single set en route to the semifinals. He was heavily favored to win the tournament as he was the highest seed remaining following Novak Djokovic's exit.

However, Fognini produced some sensational tennis and stunned the Spaniard 6-4, 6-2 to reach the final of the Monte-Carlo Masters. The Italian went on to win the competition by beating Dusan Lajovic in the title clash.

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#7 7-5, 6-1 vs Juan Carlos Ferrero, 2008 Italian Open

Former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero has beaten Nadal just twice in nine meetings. His final victory over his compatriot came in the Italian Open in 2008.

Nadal was the three-time defending champion in the competition and received a bye to the second round. Ferrero, meanwhile, came back from a set down to beat Nicolas Keifer and set up a second-round clash with Nadal.

The 2003 Roland Garros champion started strongly and won the opening set 7-5. Ferrero took full control in the second and crushed his fellow Spaniard 6-1 to end Nadal's winning run in Rome and reach the third round.

However, Ferrero couldn't go any further in the competition as he lost to eventual runner-up Stan Wawrinka.

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