The ‘very bad’ match on clay that Rafael Nadal branded one of the ‘worst’ performances of his career

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Rafael Nadal earned the moniker ‘King of Clay’ for his monstrous performances on the surface at Roland Garros.

Losses were very rare for Nadal at Roland Garros, where he won an extraordinary 14 titles at the French Grand Slam.

Nadal won nine Roland Garros crowns between 2005 and 2014, losing just once in that time, and he collected a further five before he retired.

Many believed Nadal was unbeatable on the surface, although he did lose a few more times later on his career.

The star’s loss to Fabio Fognini on the surface in 2019 led to Nadal dubbing his performance as one of his absolute worst.

Rafael Nadal’s ‘worst’ performance on clay

Nadal played Fabio Fognini in the semi-final of the Monte Carlo Masters, but he was beaten in straight sets by the Italian.

The Spaniard was far from happy with his performance against Fognini and branded his performance as one of his worst since turning professional.

After the match, he explained: “I played a very bad game against a good player, so in that situation, you have to lose. That’s what I did this afternoon. Was a tough day and was a difficult opponent.

“I am coming from low moments in terms of injuries, and in terms of the mental side have been not easy to accept all the things that have been going on during the last times.

“So just was this kind of day that everything was wrong. I probably played one of the worst matches on clay in 14 years.

“So when that happens, you have to lose. And today I deserve to lose because I played against a player that was better than me today.”

Nadal’s poor form on the surface did not last too long, as he would win Roland Garros a matter of weeks later.

Rafael Nadal’s incredible record on clay

Nadal lost just 35 times on the red surface before losing to Fognini out of his 479 matches in his career, giving him a win rate of 91.5%.

Fognini had beaten Nadal several times on clay following Monte Carlo, putting him in elite company with the ‘big four’.

Only Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic have tasted success on numerous occasions against Nadal on clay.

Nadal continued to impress on clay in his later years and his final ATP final of his career at the Swedish Open came on the surface.