Beating Rafael Nadal on clay is arguably the most difficult task in tennis, and maybe even sports altogether.
The Spanish legend won a record total of 63 clay court titles throughout his illustrious career, holding a win percentage of 90% on the surface.
Of the 63 crowns he secured on the dirt, 14 of them came at Roland Garros, with Nadal clinching his first French Open trophy in 2005 and last in 2022.
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Though the 22-time major champion was incredibly dominant on the slower, high-bouncing surface, beating him on clay was not impossible, which Andy Murray discovered in 2015.
Murray defeated Nadal in the final of the Madrid Open that year, a feat he put down to consistency.
Andy Murray’s win over Rafael Nadal in the 2015 Madrid Open final
Murray went into the Madrid Open final in 2015 having lost his last six previous meetings with Nadal on clay, two of which were handed to him in Roland Garros semifinals.
But after dropping just one set en route to the championship match, the Briton was in great form, and the momentum carried on into the clash with Nadal.
Nadal, a two-time defending champion in the Spanish capital, was handed a straight-sets defeat by Murray in the final, 6-3, 6-2.
Murray became the third and last man to beat Nadal on clay in the final of an ATP Masters 1000 tournament, following Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.
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Asked in his championship press conference how he managed to dethrone the ‘King of Clay’ on his preferred surface for the first time, Murray said: “Well, I played Rafa a number of times on clay, and I’ve actually played some good matches against him, like in Rome last year.
“I played at the French Open a few years ago. I lost, but I played a good match with him. Monte-Carlo I played well against him. So I played good matches, but just haven’t managed to win.
“I think today I was just more consistent. I think in the second set, Rafa was starting to play better at the beginning of the second, the middle part of the second set.
“But I stayed strong in that period of the match and he started to make some mistakes at the end that he wouldn’t normally make. That obviously helped me finish the match.”
Andy Murray said Rafael Nadal made some ‘unusual’ mistakes
Murray delivered a fantastic performance to overcome Nadal that day, but, by his own admission, the home hope was not at his best.
“I think for me there were periods in the match where he played like he usually does, but there were also periods where he made more mistakes,” said Murray.
“The last game, for example, the last two returns of the match, one he missed long by three or four meters, and the next one he hit right into the bottom of the net.
“That for him is unusual. But there were periods of the match where we did play a lot of long rallies and he started defending a lot better. When he was able to dictate points with his forehand he’s still playing extremely well.
“Yeah, he did make more mistakes than he usually does. Also feel like I started the match very well. I think when someone is maybe not that confident, you know, I won like I think 12 out of the first 13 or 14 points. That immediately puts you on the back foot. That was important for me today.”
Murray managed to beat Nadal on clay just once more in his career after that, which came in the semifinals of the 2016 Madrid Open.
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