The seven players who were actually able to win more than one set against Rafael Nadal at the French Open

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Rafael Nadal is the most dominant player in the history of the French Open.

Nadal is a 14-time French Open champion, making his last on-court appearance at the tournament last year.

After he retired from professional tennis in November, Nadal received a farewell ceremony from the French Open on the first day of this year’s tournament.

There were many famous faces in attendance for this tribute, including Nadal’s former rival Roger Federer.

Federer and Nadal had many battles at the French Open over the years, but the Swiss was never able to beat the dominant Spaniard on the Paris clay.

The seven players who were able to win more than one set against Rafael Nadal at the French Open

Nadal only ever lost four of his 116 matches at the French Open, ending his career with an incredible 97% win record at the tournament.

His last match at the clay court major came against Alexander Zverev in 2024, who beat Nadal in straight sets.

As a result, Zverev is one of the seven players to have won more than one set against Nadal at the French Open.

This exclusive list also features Novak Djokovic, Federer, Robin Soderling, John Isner, Diego Schwartzman and Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Despite four players winning at least three sets against Nadal at the French Open, only three of them have actually beaten him at the tournament where he is so dominant.

Djokovic (twice), Soderling and Zverev are those players, while Federer was unable to beat his rival in their six meetings in Paris.

What did Rafael Nadal say after losing his first match at the French Open?

Nadal won his first three French Open titles in his first three appearances, taking no time to settle into the iconic tournament.

This made his first defeat even more surprising, which came in Nadal’s fourth round match in 2009.

Nadal was the top seed at the French Open that year, but would come unstuck against 23rd seed Robin Soderling.

They had played one another on the clay of Rome just weeks prior, with Nadal dropping just one game in an emphatic victory over the Swede.

History was not able to repeat itself as Soderling beat Nadal, 6-2 6(2)-7 6-4 7-6(2), to cause a huge French Open shock.

After this result, there were many questions about what actually went wrong for Nadal, with the Spaniard suggesting to the press that the result was more down to his own shortcomings.

“It was my fault more than his,” Nadal said at the time. “Well sure, he did well, he did very well. But I think I didn’t play my best tennis.”

It also appears that a physical problem also played a part in this result, with Nadal going on to withdraw from Wimbledon that year due to tendinitis in both of his knees.

Soderling would beat Nadal when they next played at the ATP Finals later that year, before the Spaniard got his revenge in the 2010 French Open to regain the Coupe des Mousquetaires.