2014 Rafael Nadal tennis season

2014 Rafael Nadal tennis season

Name	Rafael Nadal
Country	Spain
Calendar prize money	$6,066,446 (singles & doubles)
Singles
Season record	48–11 (81.36%)
Calendar titles	4
Current ranking	No. 3
Ranking change from previous year	2
Grand Slam results
Australian Open	F
French Open	W
Wimbledon	4R
US Open	A
Doubles
Season record	1–1 (50%)
Calendar titles	0
Current ranking	No. 306
Ranking change from previous year	70
Injuries
Injuries	Back Injury Wrist Injury
Last updated on: 17 March 2014.

The 2014 Rafael Nadal tennis season officially began on 30 December 2013 with the start of the 2014 Qatar ExxonMobil Open. This season saw Nadal suffer from injuries that included a back injury, a wrist injury, and appendicitis. After losing in the final of the Australian Open where he suffered from a back injury, Nadal failed to defend his titles at Indian Wells, Barcelona, and Rome. He rebounded by claiming his 9th French Open. Prior to the North American hardcourt season, Nadal would experience another injury, this time a wrist injury which forced him to withdraw from the Rogers Cup, the Western & Southern Open and the US Open where he was the defending champion. Nadal announced on 24 October that he would not be competing for rest of the season due to appendicitis and eventually underwent surgery.^[1] Despite an injury plagued season, Nadal still ended the year at No. 3 with 4 titles.

Year summary

Early Hard Court Season and Australian Open

Qatar Open

Rafael Nadal won the title at 2014 Qatar Open after defeating Gaël Monfils in the final on January 4.^[2]

Australian Open

Nadal reached his third final Down Under by dispatching his old rival Roger Federer in the semi-finals with a straight set victory and by dropping only one set on the way, against Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-finals. Victory in the final would have seen Nadal equal Pete Sampras's total of 14 major titles and also become only the third man to win all four grand slams at least twice, Roy Emerson and Rod Laver being the other two. In the final, though, he was unexpectedly beaten by Stanislas Wawrinka, who had previously never beaten Nadal or even won a set against him in 12 previous meetings. At a set and a break down, Nadal sustained a back injury that saw him swiftly lose the second set. He recovered enough to win the third and fought hard before Wawrinka prevailed in four sets.^[3]

Rio Open

Nadal won the inaugural Rio Open after beating Alexandr Dolgopolov in the final on February 23. In the semifinal a day earlier, he had to save two match points in the 3rd set tie breaker to win against Pablo Andújar.

Indian Wells Masters

Nadal next competed in the Indian Wells Masters. He received a bye in the first round and fought back from a set down to overcome Radek Stepanek in the second round. His tournament ended in the next round, though, as Alexandr Dolgopolov exacted a measure of revenge for his Rio Open final loss by dispatching Nadal in a third set tie break.

Miami Masters

After not competing in 2013, Nadal returned to Key Biscane for a chance at his first Miami Masters title. He dominated his first three opponents, losing a total of nine games combined. He then fought back from a set down to overcome Milos Raonic in the quarter-finals. In an unprecedented event both Novak Djokovic and he received walkovers from their semi-final opponents to set up their 40th clash. It was Nadal's fourth Miami final, following runner-up finishes in 2005, 2008, and 2011. Nadal would once again fail to lift the trophy, though, as Djokovic displayed near perfect form and eased his way to a two-set victory.

Spring Clay Court Season and French Open

Monte-Carlo Masters

After finally relinquishing his Monte-Carlo crown to Novak Djokovic in 2013, Nadal returned to the red clay in an attempt to reclaim the title that had been his from 2005–2012. As expected the King of Clay won his first two matches with ease. His victory against Andreas Seppi in the third round brought his career clay court wins to 300, a feat achieved by only ten other players. In the quarter-finals, though, Nadal would succumb to the relentless attack of David Ferrer. It was the first time Ferrer had beaten Nadal on clay in ten years and the first time Nadal failed to reach the Monte-Carlo final since his first stint in the tournament as a qualifier in 2003.

Barcelona Open

Nadal hadn't lost a match at the Barcelona Open since 2003 and hadn't lost a set at the tournament since dropping one against David Ferrer in the 2008 final. These streaks seemed destined to continue and did against his first two opponents, both of whom he dispatched in straight sets. In the quarter-finals, Nadal's set streak ended at 44 when Nicolas Almagro took the second set of their match in a tight tiebreak. Almagro would also put an end to Nadal's win streak at 41 when he clinched the match by winning the third set as well.^[4]

Madrid Open

Nadal claimed his fourth Madrid Open crown (third on clay) by defeating Kei Nishikori in the final. Nadal was down a set and a break in the final when Nishikori began showing signs of injury. This injury aided Nadal as he fought back to win the second set and take a three-game lead in the third before Nishikori retired.

Italian Open

Nadal made his ninth final at the Italian Open and was vying for his eighth title, but was beaten in three sets by his rival Novak Djokovic in the final. In the second round, Nadal played the longest three set match of the year (thus far) by battling Gilles Simon for 199 minutes. In the third round and quarter-final, he was forced to rally from a set down to claim victory against Mikhail Youzhny and Andy Murray respectively. His loss marked the first time in ten years that he would enter into the French Open with fewer than two European clay court titles.

French Open

Despite a sub-par European clay court season, Nadal entered the second Major of the year with a 59–1 record at the event. By the end of the tournament Nadal would extend this record to 66–1 by claiming his record fifth consecutive and record ninth French Open title with a four set victory over Novak Djokovic. He won his first four rounds against Robby Ginepri, Dominic Thiem, Leonardo Mayer, and Dušan Lajović, respectively, without dropping a set. In the quarter-finals, he faced last year's finalist, David Ferrer. He dropped the opening set, his first of the tournament, but went on to win in four sets. In the semi-finals, he put on a devastating display and lost only six games as he dispatched Andy Murray in straight sets. The final was a rematch of last year's semifinal and the 2012 final as well as his 42nd match against Novak Djokovic. In winning his 9th Roland Garros title, Nadal became the only player to have won one Grand Slam for ten consecutive years.^[5]

Grass Court Season and Wimbledon

Halle Open

Nadal received a bye in the first round and then lost to Dustin Brown in the second round. The loss marked Nadal's third consecutive defeat on grass and dropped his record on the surface to 2–5 since he reached the 2011 Wimbledon final.

Wimbledon

Having been bounced in the second round by Lukas Rosol in 2012, the first round by Steve Darcis in 2013, and riding a three match grass losing streak, Nadal entered the 2014 edition of Wimbledon looking for redemption. His first match started off rocky as he dropped the opening set against Martin Kližan, but he recovered to win in four and snap his losing streak. Up next was his 2012 conqueror, Rosol. Rosol looked capable of pulling out the upset once again as he led by a set and a break, but Nadal righted the ship and got revenge for his 2012 defeat by pulling the match out in four. Nadal again recovered from a set down against Mikhail Kukushkin in the third round, marking the first time in his career that he won three consecutive matches after dropping the first set. Nadal went on to face 19-year-old wildcard Nick Kyrgios in the fourth round and once again dropped the opening set, but was unable to recover this time and succumbed to Kyrgios in four sets. It was Nadal's first defeat to a player born in the 1990s and the first time a teenager had beaten the World No. 1 at a Grand Slam since Nadal himself beat Roger Federer at the 2005 French Open.

Summer Hard Court Season

Canadian Open, Cincinnati Masters, and US Open

Nadal was the defending champion of all three tournaments, but had to withdraw from each because he was unable to recover from a right wrist injury that he suffered while practicing on July 29.

Asian Swing

China Open

Nadal returned to action from his wrist injury after three months away from the tour with a dominant two set victory over Richard Gasquet. He won the next round as well, but rust and lack of training became apparent as he fell to Martin Klizan in the quarters.

Shanghai Masters

Before his opening match, Nadal announced that he had been receiving aggressive medical treatment for appendicitis in hopes of avoiding surgery until the end of the tennis season. The effects of this ailment, though, could be seen in his movement and play in his opening match as Feliciano Lopez handed him a straight set defeat.

Indoor Hard Court Season and World Tour Finals

Swiss indoors

Nadal seemed to be back to his winning ways as he easily dispatched his first two opponents. In the quarter-finals, though, he ran into red hot 17-year-old Borna Ćorić and was beaten in straight sets.

Paris Masters and ATP World Tour Finals

After his defeat in Basel, Nadal announced that he was not in a condition to be able to compete at the level necessary to win and opted out of both the Paris Masters and the ATP World Tour Finals to have surgery for his appendicitis. It was the third time that Nadal was forced to withdrew from the ATP World Tour Finals after he had qualified.

All matches

Singles matches

Tournament	Match	Round	Opponent (Seed or Key)	Rank	Result	Score
Qatar ExxonMobil Open Doha, Qatar ATP World Tour 250 Hard, outdoor 30 December 2013 – 5 January 2014
	788	1R	Lukáš Rosol	47	Win	6–2, 7–6(9–7)
	789	2R	Tobias Kamke	74	Win	6–3, 6–7(3–7), 6–3
	790	QF	Ernests Gulbis (7)	27	Win	7–5, 6–4
	791	SF	Peter Gojowczyk (Q)	162	Win	4–6, 6–2, 6–3
	792	W	Gaël Monfils	31	Win (1)	6–1, 6–7(5–7), 6–2
Australian Open Melbourne, Australia Grand Slam tournament Hard, outdoor 13 – 26 January 2014
	793	1R	Bernard Tomic	57	Win	6–4, ret.
	794	2R	Thanasi Kokkinakis (WC)	570	Win	6–2, 6–4, 6–2
	795	3R	Gaël Monfils (25)	32	Win	6–1, 6–2, 6–3
	796	4R	Kei Nishikori (16)	17	Win	7–6(7–3), 7–5, 7–6(7–3)
	797	QF	Grigor Dimitrov (22)	22	Win	3–6, 7–6(7–3), 7–6(9–7), 6–2
	798	SF	Roger Federer (6)	6	Win	7–6(7–4), 6–3, 6–3
	799	F	Stanislas Wawrinka (8)	8	Loss (1)	3–6, 2–6, 6–3, 3–6
Rio Open Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ATP World Tour 500 Clay, outdoor 17 – 23 February 2014
	800	1R	Daniel Gimeno-Traver	84	Win	6–3, 7–5
	801	2R	Albert Montañés	72	Win	6–1, 6–2
	802	QF	Joao Sousa	48	Win	6–1, 6–0
	803	SF	Pablo Andujar (8)	40	Win	2–6, 6–3, 7–6(12–10)
	804	W	Alexandr Dolgopolov	54	Win (2)	6–3, 7–6(7–3)
BNP Paribas Open Indian Wells, United States ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Hard, outdoor 3 – 16 March 2014
	–	1R	Bye
	805	2R	Radek Štěpánek	50	Win	2–6, 6–4, 7–5
	806	3R	Alexandr Dolgopolov	31	Loss	3–6, 6–3, 6–7(5–7)
Sony Open Tennis Miami, United States ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Hard, outdoor 17 – 30 March 2014
	–	1R	Bye
	807	2R	Lleyton Hewitt	44	Win	6–1, 6–3
	808	3R	Denis Istomin	57	Win	6–1, 6–0
	809	4R	Fabio Fognini (14)	14	Win	6–2, 6–2
	810	QF	Milos Raonic (12)	12	Win	4–6, 6–2, 6–4
	–	SF	Tomáš Berdych (7)	7	W/O	N/A
	811	F	Novak Djokovic (2)	2	Loss (2)	3–6, 3–6
Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Monte Carlo, Monaco ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Clay, outdoor 12 – 20 April 2014
	–	1R	Bye
	812	2R	Teymuraz Gabashvili	58	Win	6–4, 6–1
	813	3R	Andreas Seppi	35	Win	6–1, 6–3
	814	QF	David Ferrer (6)	6	Loss	6–7(1–7), 4–6
Barcelona Open BancSabadell Barcelona, Spain ATP World Tour 500 Clay, outdoor 21 – 27 April 2014
	–	1R	Bye
	815	2R	Albert Ramos	103	Win	7–6(7–2), 6–4
	816	3R	Ivan Dodig	37	Win	6–3, 6–3
	817	QF	Nicolas Almagro (6)	20	Loss	6–2, 6–7(5–7), 4–6
Madrid Open Madrid, Spain ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Clay, outdoor 05 – 11 May 2014
	–	1R	Bye
	818	2R	Juan Monaco	56	Win	6–1, 6–0
	819	3R	Jarkko Nieminen	57	Win	6–1, 6–4
	820	QF	Tomáš Berdych (6)	6	Win	6–4, 6–2
	821	SF	Roberto Bautista Agut	45	Win	6–4, 6–3
	822	W	Kei Nishikori (10)	12	Win (3)	2–6, 6–4, 3–0 ret.
Italian Open Rome, Italy ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Clay, outdoor 12 – 18 May 2014
	–	1R	Bye
	823	2R	Gilles Simon	30	Win	7–6(7–1), 6–7(4–7), 6–2
	824	3R	Mikhail Youzhny (14)	16	Win	6–7(4–7), 6–2, 6–1
	825	QF	Andy Murray (7)	8	Win	1–6, 6–3, 7–5
	826	SF	Grigor Dimitrov (12)	14	Win	6–2, 6–2
	827	F	Novak Djokovic (2)	2	Loss (3)	6–4, 3–6, 3–6
French Open Paris, France Grand Slam tournament Clay, outdoor 25 May – 08 June 2014
	828	1R	Robby Ginepri (WC)	279	Win	6–0, 6–3, 6–0
	829	2R	Dominic Thiem	57	Win	6–2, 6–2, 6–3
	830	3R	Leonardo Mayer	65	Win	6–2, 7–5, 6–2
	831	4R	Dušan Lajović	83	Win	6–1, 6–2, 6–1
	832	QF	David Ferrer (5)	5	Win	4–6, 6–4, 6–0, 6–1
	833	SF	Andy Murray (7)	8	Win	6–3, 6–2, 6–1
	834	W	Novak Djokovic (2)	2	Win (4)	3–6, 7–5, 6–2, 6–4
Gerry Weber Open Halle, Germany ATP World Tour 250 Grass, outdoor 9 – 15 June 2014
	–	1R	Bye
	835	2R	Dustin Brown (WC)	85	Loss	4–6, 1–6
Wimbledon London, United Kingdom Grand Slam tournament Grass, outdoor 23 June – 6 July 2014
	836	1R	Martin Kližan	51	Win	4–6, 6–3, 6–3, 6–3
	837	2R	Lukáš Rosol	52	Win	4–6, 7–6(8–6), 6–4, 6–4
	838	3R	Mikhail Kukushkin	65	Win	6–7(4–7),6–1, 6–1, 6–1
	839	4R	Nick Kyrgios	144	Loss	6–7(5–7), 7–5, 6–7(5–7), 3–6
China Open Beijing, China ATP World Tour 500 Hard, outdoor 29 September – 5 October 2014
	840	1R	Richard Gasquet	22	Win	6–4, 6–0
	841	2R	Peter Gojowczyk	122	Win	6–3, 6–4
	842	QF	Martin Klizan	56	Loss	7–6(9–7), 4–6, 3–6
Shanghai Masters Shanghai, China ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Hard, outdoor 5–14 October 2014
	–	1R	Bye
	843	2R	Feliciano López	21	Loss	3–6, 6–7(6–8)
Swiss Indoors Basel, Switzerland ATP World Tour 500 Hard, indoor 18–26 October 2014
	844	1R	Simone Bolelli	77	Win	6–2, 6–2
	845	2R	Pierre-Hugues Herbert	120	Win	6–1, 6–1
	846	QF	Borna Ćorić	124	Loss	2–6, 6–7(4-7)

Doubles matches

Tournament	Match	Round	Opponents (Seed or Key)	Ranks	Result	Score
Qatar Open Doha, Qatar ATP World Tour 250 Hard, outdoor 30 December 2013 – 4 January 2014 Partner: Francisco Roig
	168	1R	Pablo Andújar / Lukáš Rosol	#170 / #72	Win	6–3, 2–6, 6–4
	169	QF	Ivan Dodig / Marcelo Melo (3)	#7 / #6	Loss	4–6, 6–7 (1–7)

Tournament schedule

Singles schedule

Nadal's 2014 singles tournament schedule is as follows:

¹ The symbol (i) = indoors means that the respective tournament will be held indoors.

² The ATP numbers between brackets = non-countable tournaments.

Head-to-head matchups

Ordered by number of wins, then ranking at the time of the most recent match.

Finals

Singles: 7 (4–3)

Outcome	No.	Date	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	61	January 5, 2014	Qatar Open, Doha, Qatar	Hard	Gaël Monfils	6–1, 6–7(5–7), 6–2
Runner-up	26	January 26, 2014	Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia (2)	Hard	Stanislas Wawrinka	3–6, 2–6, 6–3, 3–6
Winner	62	February 23, 2014	Rio Open, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Clay	Alexandr Dolgopolov	6–3, 7–6(7–3)
Runner-up	27	March 30, 2014	Miami Masters, Miami, United States (4)	Hard	Novak Djokovic	3–6, 3–6
Winner	63	May 11, 2014	Madrid Open, Madrid, Spain (4)	Clay	Kei Nishikori	2–6, 6–4, 3–0 ret.
Runner-up	28	May 18, 2014	Italian Open, Rome, Italy (2)	Clay	Novak Djokovic	6–4, 3–6, 3–6
Winner	64	June 8, 2014	French Open, Paris, France (9)	Clay	Novak Djokovic	3–6, 7–5, 6–2, 6–4

Earnings

• Bold font denotes tournament win

See also

• 2014 ATP World Tour
• 2014 Novak Djokovic tennis season
• 2014 Roger Federer tennis season
• 2014 Andy Murray tennis season
• 2014 Stanislas Wawrinka tennis season

References