The man who Rafael Nadal won his sole Monte-Carlo Masters doubles title with 18 years ago

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Rafael Nadal won 12 Monte-Carlo Masters titles during his legendary clay-court career.

11 of those titles were in singles, including eight consecutive titles between 2005 and 2012, before Nadal took home three more in 2016, 2017, and 2018.

He also won one Monte-Carlo Masters doubles title, back in 2008…

Rafael Nadal won the Monte-Carlo Masters with Tommy Robredo

Nadal entered the Monte-Carlo Masters doubles tournament with his fellow Spaniard, Tommy Robredo.

The Spanish duo, predominantly singles stars, made a dominant start, dropping just three games in a 6-2, 6-1 win over the Monegasque wild cards.

That was, however, as easy as it would get.

In round two, they met the third seeds, Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic.

Nestor and Zimonjic took the first set 7-5, as Nadal and Robredo faced elimination.

Refusing to be beaten, the Spaniards leveled the match at 5-7, 6-3, before winning the match tiebreak 10-3, to seal their spot in the quarterfinals.

Rafael Nadal and Tommy Robredo at the 2008 Monte-Carlo Masters

There, they dropped the first set again, to Philipp Kohlschreiber and Frantisek Cermak.

But just as they did in round two, Nadal and Robredo won the second and the match tiebreak to advance.

In a remarkable turn of events, the Spanish duo won their third match in a row from a set down, as they qualified for the 2008 Monte-Carlo Masters doubles final.

They weren’t hanging about in the final, though, defeating Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles in straight sets to lift the trophy in the principality.

It was the biggest doubles title of Nadal’s career to that point, having previously won titles at the International (ATP 250) level in Croatia, India, and Qatar.

He never won another doubles title in Monte-Carlo, but did add two more Masters 1000 doubles titles to his collection, in Indian Wells.

Rafael Nadal’s 11 doubles titles

• 2003 Croatia Open (clay) with Alex Lopez Moron
• 2004 Maharashtra Open (hard) with Tommy Robredo
• 2005 Qatar Open (hard) with Albert Costa
• 2008 Monte-Carlo Masters (clay) with Tommy Robredo
• 2009 Qatar Open (hard) with Marc Lopez
• 2010 Indian Wells (hard) with Marc Lopez
• 2011 Qatar Open (hard) with Marc Lopez
• 2012 Indian Wells (hard) with Marc Lopez
• 2015 Qatar Open (hard) with Juan Monaco
• 2016 Summer Olympics (clay) with Marc Lopez
• 2016 China Open (hard) with Pablo Carreno Busta

How good was Tommy Robredo?

Robredo was more than just Nadal’s doubles partner in Monte-Carlo…

The Spaniard enjoyed success on the ATP Tour for over a decade, winning 12 titles.

None bigger than the Hamburg Masters in 2006.

Robredo took advantage of a weakened draw (Roger Federer and Nadal withdrew due to fatigue) to clinch the title in Germany.

He was also a consistent performer at the Grand Slam tournaments.

Despite never reaching a major semifinal, Robredo played seven quarterfinals.

Tommy Robredo’s Grand Slam record

His 2013 French Open quarterfinal appearance was particularly impressive, setting a record that still stands today.

Robredo won three consecutive matches from two sets down to make the quarterfinals.

• 2013 French Open 2R [WIN] vs Igor Sijsling, 6-7, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, 6-1
• 2013 French Open 3R [WIN] vs Gael Monfils, 2-6, 6-7, 6-2, 7-6, 6-2
• 2013 French Open 4R [WIN] vs Nicolas Almagro, 6-7, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4

The Spaniard won 77.3% of his five-set matches throughout his career, producing some of his best tennis when his back was against the wall.

Elsewhere, Robredo won three Davis Cup titles with Spain and reached a career-high ranking of fifth.

He officially retired from tennis in 2022, drawing the curtain on his stellar professional career.