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Rafael Nadal under best-of-three
The grinder who survives more often than you'd think
22actual titles
→
19under best-of-three
-3
You would expect the king of the five-set war of attrition to be gutted by best-of-three. The data is more forgiving: Nadal won an awful lot of his matches — and his clay titles in particular — without ever needing the back half of the match.
The verdict
Across 22 actual major titles, best-of-three would leave Rafael Nadal with 19. 3 would slip away — 2 where the run ends before the final, and 1 lost in the final itself.
Every title, year by year
052005 French OpenTitle held — survives best-of-three.Kept
062006 French OpenTitle held — survives best-of-three.Kept
072007 French OpenTitle held — survives best-of-three.Kept
082008 French OpenTitle held — survives best-of-three.Kept
082008 WimbledonTitle held — survives best-of-three.Kept
092009 Australian OpenTitle held — survives best-of-three.Kept
102010 French OpenTitle held — survives best-of-three.Kept
102010 WimbledonKnocked out in the Round of 64 by Robin Haase (5-7 6-2 3-6 6-0 6-3) — the title vanishes.Lost
102010 US OpenTitle held — survives best-of-three.Kept
112011 French OpenKnocked out in the Round of 128 by John Isner (6-4 6-7(2) 6-7(2) 6-2 6-4) — the title vanishes.Lost
122012 French OpenTitle held — survives best-of-three.Kept
132013 French OpenTitle held — survives best-of-three.Kept
132013 US OpenTitle held — survives best-of-three.Kept
142014 French OpenTitle held — survives best-of-three.Kept
172017 French OpenTitle held — survives best-of-three.Kept
172017 US OpenTitle held — survives best-of-three.Kept
182018 French OpenTitle held — survives best-of-three.Kept
192019 French OpenTitle held — survives best-of-three.Kept
192019 US OpenTitle held — survives best-of-three.Kept
202020 French OpenTitle held — survives best-of-three.Kept
222022 Australian OpenLoses the final to Daniil Medvedev (2-6 6-7(5) 6-4 6-4 7-5) — the title changes hands.Lost
222022 French OpenTitle held — survives best-of-three.Kept
Best-of-three trims Nadal, but his Roland Garros fortress mostly holds. The dirt was decided early more often than the legend suggests.