Rafael Nadal clinched his 91st tour title on Saturday by beating Cameron Norrie in the final of the Mexican Open.
In doing so, the Spaniard has now won a whopping 11 finals in a row on tour. Nadal last lost a final at the 2019 Australian Open, where Novak Djokovic handed him a beatdown.
Since then, he has won the summit clash at the Italian Open, French Open, Canada Masters and US Open in 2019, the Mexican Open and French Open in 2020, the Barcelona Open and Italian Open in 2021 and the Melbourne Summer Set, Australian Open and Mexican Open this year.
Nadal's scalps in these finals (in the same order as the events listed) are as follows - Novak Djokovic, Dominic Thiem, Daniil Medvedev, Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz, Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Novak Djokovic, Maxime Cressy, Daniil Medvedev, and Cameron Norrie.
Clearly, the Mallorcan raises his game the deeper he makes it into a tournament.
The Spaniard has already touched down in Indian Wells and has begun training. He is a three-time champion in the Californian desert but has not won the title since 2013, which was also the last time he made the summit clash of the event.
Rafael Nadal has now won 30 ATP titles without dropping a set
Rafael Nadal won the 2022 Mexican Open without dropping a set even though he faced the likes of Daniil Medvedev and Cameron Norrie. This was the 30th time the Spaniard achieved this feat, which is now also a tour record.
The Spaniard previously shared the record of 29 such titles with Jimmy Connors. Ivan Lendl is third on the list with 28 titles under his name.
Nadal's biggest rivals, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, are considerably behind, with 22 and 19 titles respectively without dropping a set. It is unlikely that either player will surpass the 21-time Major champion in this regard, given Federer is very close to retiring, while Djokovic has a sizeable gap to cover.
What is the foot injury that has troubled Rafael Nadal over the years? Check here