Rafael Nadal dominated the French Open, but he could never stamp his authority on the Paris Masters.
Nadal made tennis history at Roland Garros by winning the tournament a record 14 times between 2009 and 2022.
The King of Clay did not have the same success in the country’s other big tournament at the Paris Masters, however, as he was never able to win the tournament.
The star only reached the final on one occasion, but he was destroyed by a player who never won a Grand Slam.
Rafael Nadal’s unfortunate Paris Masters final in 2007
Nadal played David Nalbandian in the final of the Paris Masters in 2007, but he was quickly swept aside by the Argentine.
Nalbandian defeated the Spaniard in straight sets by only dropping four games against Nadal, which included a shocking bagel set.
It was one of the few times Nadal was bageled in his career, with the unfortunate scoreline only being inflicted on the Spaniard 15 times during his glittering career.
After the match, Nalbandian was extremely confident about his Paris Masters victory against the great star.
“All week I was playing great, and I don’t know why the result was so easy,” revealed Nalbandian on court after the match.
“After I broke him, I felt that I was playing better than him. I played more relaxed, started hitting winners almost from everywhere. That gave me confidence.”
Nalbandian never won a Masters title again, but he did reach the final of the Paris Masters a year later. He lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in three sets.
David Nalbandian has been compared to the ‘big four’ despite lack of Grand Slam success
Nalbandian might not have won a Grand Slam, but he was often held in high regard by the rest of the ATP Tour.
Former pro and Sky Sports commentator Robbie Koenig was recently full of praise for the former World No. 3.
Taking to social media, Koenig wrote: “Watching David Nalbandian highlights on Tennis TV. My word, that backhand was a joke! Top two alongside Novak’s [Djokovic] for me.”
Nalbandian reached one Grand Slam final, at Wimbledon in 2002, but he lost to then-World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt.
Rafael Nadal’s Paris Masters record
The Paris Masters, along with the ATP Finals, will always be a glaring omission on the CV of Nadal as he never managed to capture either trophy.
The star still had a pretty impressive win/loss record at the tournament, with 22 wins from 29 matches, but that only resulted in one final.
Nadal reached four semi-finals at the tournament, as well as three quarter-finals, where he lost to the likes of Stan Wawrinka and Alexander Zverev.
The Spaniard’s worst performance at the tournament came at the end of his career, where he crashed out in the second round in 2022 to Tommy Paul.
