Rafael Nadal rightfully earned the ‘King of Clay’ moniker for his performances on the surface during his career.
Nadal won 14 Roland Garros titles in his career and he dominated other tournaments on his favourite surface.
Nadal was unbeatable at the Monte-Carlo Masters too, lifting the trophy nine times in nine years between 2005 and 2014.
The Spaniard is undoubtedly the greatest clay court player ever, but he refused to impart his wisdom when asked by Grigor Dimitrov in 2022.
Rafael Nadal’s response to Grigor Dimitrov’s coaching request
Dimitrov has struggled on clay throughout his career and his recent loss at the Monte-Carlo Masters to Tomas Martin Etcheverry will see him fall out of the top 100.
Back in 2022, during a live stream with Nadal on FanJolt, Dimitrov asked the King of Clay to help him on the surface.
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“Okay, how about this? Hypothetically, you’re done with your career, let’s say in ten years. I will call you and say, ‘Rafa, can you come with me for three clay-court tournaments,” said Dimitrov.
Nadal: “I’m very expensive, man,” joked Nadal as the pair laughed.
“I’ll pay for two tournaments and the third one, you do for free,” joked Dimitrov.
Eventually, Nadal warmed to the idea of coaching Dimitrov, although it is yet to materialise for the Bulgarian.
“You know I’m there,” said Nadal. “I don’t know if I will be able to help but of course, I’m going to put everything that I have to help.
“But if you win the title, we’re going to have a big party. That’s the only request that I have.”
Grigor Dimitrov’s only clay court title
Dimitrov has spent 18 years on the ATP Tour, since making his debut during the 2008 season as a 17-year-old.
The Bulgarian’s career has brought nine titles, but only one of them has come on his least favourite surface.
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Dimitrov won the 2014 Romanian Open, an ATP 250 event where he was the number one seed and a wild card.
The then-23-year-old defeated Lukáš Rosol, Gael Monfils, Sergiy Stakhovsky, and Jiří Veselý to win the Romanian tournament.
Dimitrov has reached two more clay court finals, in Istanbul and Geneva, but he was beaten by Diego Schwartzman and Nicolas Jarry.
