Rafael Nadal keeps alive incredible clay streak stretching over two decades with Italian Open 2024 1R win

Rafael Nadal kept his incredible streak on clay alive after his win against Zizou Bergs at the 2024 Italian Open. He still has never lost two consecutive matches on clay on the ATP Tour.

The Spaniard scripted a comeback from injury at the 2024 Barcelona Open with a win over Flavio Cobolli but fell to Alex de Mianur in the second round. He then arrived at the Spanish Capital for the Madrid Open and won three matches on the trot for the first time since August 2022.

The Spaniard defeated Darwin Blanch, Alex de Minaur and Pedro Cachin to reach the quarterfinals at the Madrid Open, where he lost to Jiri Lehecka. At the Italian Open, the 10-time champion began his campaign with a comeback win against Bergs 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

With this win, he continued his incredible streak of not having lost two consecutive matches on clay throughout his career on the ATP Tour.

The last time he lost consecutive matches on clay was in March 2002. He has not lost two consecutive matches in the entire lifetime of Carlos Alcaraz, who was born in May 2003, as pointed out by journalist and author Bastien Fachan.

Nadal will now face Hubert Hurkacz in the second round of the Italian Open. This is the first meeting between the two.

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Some other records held by Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal has won 14 titles at the French Open

Rafael Nadal announced his arrival to the tennis world in style, winning the French Open at just 19 years of age on his first attempt. He went on to win 13 more titles at Roland Garros.

The Spaniard holds an impressive 97% win ratio at the clay court Major, winning 112 matches and losing just 3. Overall, he has a 91% win ratio on clay courts, winning 478 matches and losing 47.

Nadal has also won a record number of titles at Monte-Carlo Masters (11), Barcelona Open (12), Italian Open (10) and five titles at the Madrid Open.

The Spaniard also has to his credit a career Golden Slam (winning all four slams and Olympic gold medal) and became the youngest male to achieve this feat at 24 years. The King of Clay has spent the most consecutive weeks (912) in the top 10, losing the streak in 2023 after injury concerns.