Steve Johnson recalls funny story of why he shaved his mustache before playing Rafael Nadal on clay

Follow us on Google Discover

Rafael Nadal recently retired from tennis, having won 22 Grand Slam titles during his time on the ATP Tour.

With Spain’s defeat at the hands of the Netherlands, they were knocked out of the 2024 Davis Cup, bringing to a close Nadal’s legendary career.

Nadal announced his retirement earlier this year, having struggled with injuries during the latter stages of his time on tour.

The Spaniard was hoping to go out with a bang, and add to his four Davis Cup titles, but fell short as Nadal lost his final ever match, to Botic van de Zandschulp.

Tributes soon poured in for Nadal, as the tennis world saw one of its greatest-ever players hang up the racket.

It was a rare defeat for Nadal this week, who struck fear into the hearts of many he came up against during his 23 years on the ATP Tour.

One such player has now shared a funny story of what he did before playing Nadal on clay back in 2015.

Steve Johnson shaved his mustache before playing Rafael Nadal at the Madrid Open

Speaking to John Isner following Nadal’s retirement at the Davis Cup, Steve Johnson recalled the fear he felt before stepping out on court against Nadal at the 2015 Madrid Open.

“I’m telling you, there was a severe fear I had for losing 6-0, 6-0, in front of a big crowd, and kind of getting just embarrassed,” he said.

“That was my whole goal that day, just to not get embarrassed.

“Luckily I won the first game, so that kind of calmed the nerves a bit, because if you start going down like 4-0, 5-0, lose the first set 6-0, that’s when panic starts to set in.

“There was a lot of fear in my eyes, and not a lot of fear in his eyes.”

Johnson’s podcast co-host Isner, interrupted to remind him of what he did before the match.

“As we all know, Stevie [Johnson] rocks a flat-out mustache,” he said.

“His fear of losing 6-0, 6-0 was real, because he had the mustache going after he won his first match in Madrid, and he was thinking, I play Rafa on Centre Court, I can’t lose to him 6-0, 6-0 with this mustache, so he shaved it.”

Johnson was happy to admit that his fear of losing to Nadal was the reason he shaved his mustache.

“I trimmed it, I was concerned, I was very concerned,” he said.

“It was my first match against one of the big guys, I was like I cannot be the guy who loses 6-0, 6-0 with a cheesy mustache.”

Isner had hoped that he would: “I wanted him to wear it and I wanted him to lose 0 and 0.”

Johnson eventually lost to Nadal 6-4, 6-3, but looking back he admits it would’ve been funnier to see his fears become reality.

“I mean if you look back, I would actually rather that have been the case,” he said.

“Me losing 3 and 3 or whatever it was, I don’t know, that was fun, but 6-0, 6-0 would’ve been hilarious a decade ago.

“I should’ve done it.”

What was the biggest win of Steve Johnson’s career?

Johnson spoke quite candidly about his inability to compete with Nadal on clay, but did he fare any better against the other top players on the ATP Tour?

Johnson holds an unfortunate 0-8 record against members of the so-called ‘big four’.

He did however score four top-ten wins throughout his career, one of which came against his podcast co-host, Isner.

• 2016 Queen’s Club 1R – Beat (10) Richard Gasquet 7-6, 6-2
• 2016 Cincinnati Masters 3R Beat (10) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 7-6
• 2017 Japan Open 1R Beat (7) Dominic Thiem 4-6, 7-6, 6-4
• 2018 Houston Open QF Beat (9) John Isner 7-6, 4-6, 7-6

The American’s highest-ranked victory came against Dominic Thiem in 2017, when he beat him in three-sets at the Japan Open.

The biggest win of his career, with plenty of facial hair to show for it.

Johnson retired from tennis this year following the conclusion of the 2024 Indian Wells tournament, having won four trophies during his time as a professional.