In the seventh profile of a series on the 26 players to rise to No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, ATPTour.com looks back on the career of Mats Wilander. View Full List

First week at No. 1: 12 September 1988
Total weeks at No. 1: 20
Year-End No. 1s: 1988

As World No. 1
Mats Wilander ended Ivan Lendl’s 157-week stint at No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings on 12 September 1988 after capturing the seventh — and final — major singles title of his career at the US Open. The Swede also won the Australian and French Opens that year, making what happened next extraordinary. He won his next tournament (Palermo) but then claimed just one more title (Itaparica, 1990) the remainder of his career. He stayed at the top for 20 straight weeks after the ’88 US Open, finishing as the year-end No. 1, before losing the position to Lendl. He’d first risen to No. 2 on 28 April 1986. “I felt like I was the best player in the world during the year of 1988, but once I got labelled No. 1 with an actual ranking, I actually had a shocking four months… I guess I was just horrible at dealing with that pressure,” Wilander told ATPTour.com this week.

Grand Slam Highlights
When Bjorn Borg’s passion for the sport began to wane, World No. 18 Wilander broke onto the scene and in just his third Grand Slam championship, at 17 years and nine months, he became the (then) youngest major singles champion with a four-set victory over Guillermo Vilas at Roland Garros. The record was subsequently beaten by 17-year-olds Boris Becker at 1985 Wimbledon and Michael Chang at 1989 Roland Garros. To date, Rafael Nadal (2005) is the only other player to have won the Roland Garros title at his first attempt. Wilander became only the second player, after Ken Rosewall, to win the junior and senior Roland Garros trophies in consecutive years.
Wilander would win a further two Parisian crowns, in 1985 (d. Lendl) and 1988 (d. Leconte), also finishing runner-up in 1983 (l. to Noah) and 1987 (l. to Lendl). He won three Australian Open crowns, two on Kooyong’s grass in 1983 (d. Lendl) and 1984 (d. Curren), then again in 1988 at Melbourne Park, beating home favourite Pat Cash 8-6 in the fifth set. In 1988, Wilander was at the peak of his powers, and beat Lendl in the US Open final to end the Czech-American’s three-year reign at the top of the FedEx ATP Rankings. He was the first Swede to win in US Open history. While he reached three straight quarter-finals at Wimbledon (1987-89), Wilander did capture the 1986 doubles title with fellow Swede Joakim Nystrom (d. Donnelly/Fleming). He won four major singles titles by the age of 20 and reached 11 finals in total (7-4).

Nitto ATP Finals Highlights
Wilander qualified for the Masters [now named Nitto ATP Finals] for the first time in 1982, competing at the season-ending championships at Madison Square Garden in New York across seven straight years. He reached three semi-finals in 1983 and 1984 (l. to McEnroe both times), and 1986 (l. to Lendl), before making it to the 1987 final, where he lost to Lendl 6-2, 6-2, 6-3.

Tour Highlights
Wilander started his career as a baseliner, but developed attacking skills and a solid volley. Midway through his career, in 1987, Wilander gained more pop on his serve and developed a highly effective backhand slice. After becoming No. 1 in September 1988, Wilander’s motivation disappeared and the last of his 33 singles titles came at Itaparica in Brazil in 1990. Wilander helped Sweden capture three Davis Cup titles in 1984-85 and 1987 from seven finals. In July 1982, American McEnroe beat Wilander 7-9, 2-6, 17-15, 6-3, 8-6 in the longest Davis Cup match in history over six hours and 32 minutes. In 1989, he played a Cup match against Horst Skoff of Austria that lasted six hours and four minutes. By 1991, he’d dropped to No. 157 before climbing to World No. 45 in 1995.

Overall ATP Singles Match Win-Loss Record 571-222
Overall ATP Singles Titles/Finals Record: 33-26

Biggest Rivalries
Wilander, who first rose to No. 2 in the FedEx ATP Rankings on 28 April 1986, behind Lendl, had a 29-month wait to take the next step to a new career-high. Lendl led their 22-match rivalry 15-7, with nine of the meetings coming at Grand Slams (Lendl 5-4). At the time of Wilander’s 1988 US Open triumph, their five major final meetings was the most between any two players. Wilander beat Lendl 4-6, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in their first meeting in the 1982 Roland Garros fourth round, with their last match coming in 1994 at Delray Beach. Lendl won eight of their last nine meetings. Wilander edged countryman Stefan Edberg 11-9 in their 20 career meetings, but his younger rival won four of their last five meetings. Wilander won three of their five Grand Slam encounters, but Edberg won the lone major final they contested together, the 1985 Australian Open on Kooyong’s grass.

Legacy
In seven seasons, between 1982 and 1988, Wilander’s star burned bright, culminating in his rise to No. 1. But the 24-year-old struggled with a target on his chest and subsequently played only 13 more majors after his career-best 1988 season, retiring for good in 1996. He has since served as Sweden’s Davis Cup captain, coached Paul-Henri Mathieu and WTA player Tatiana Golovin in 2007, and served as a long-term analyst and television commentator for Eurosport.

Memorable Moment
Sensing a big run, Wilander’s older brothers took an overnight drive from Vaxjo, Sweden, to Paris in order to watch his 1982 Roland Garros semi-final against Jose-Luis Clerc. Match point down at 5-6, 30/40 in the fourth set, Clerc hit a shot that both players deemed to be a winner, but the line judge and chair umpire, Jacques Dorfmann, thought it was out. Dorfman announced, ‘Game, set, match’ and climbed down from his chair. Wilander, then 17, didn’t move in the Deuce court and requested to replay the point, not wanting to reach his first major final on a questionable line call. According to the rules, the match was over, but the chair umpire accepted and the point was replayed. Clerc hit a backhand into the net and Wilander had won 7-5, 6-2, 1-6, 7-5. Afterwards, Bud Collins, the late journalist and broadcaster, said: “It was the wrong decision, and yet everyone went away happy.” The sportsmanship gesture garnered Wilander the Swede the Pierre de Coubertin World Fair Play Trophy.

Jay Berger on Wilander in 1988
“Andre Agassi’s forehand is not the biggest weapon in tennis today. Mats Wilander’s brain is.”

Stefan Edberg on Wilander
“Mats was an incredible player in many ways and obviously the tactics, how he read the other opponents’ game and he would hardly ever miss the ball, so you actually had to play through him or try to manoeuvre him. But at his best, especially on clay, it was like playing against a wall. There was no solution to beat him. That’s always tough when you don’t find solutions. Every ball comes back, you come to the net and he passes you and you start all over again and you think it’s going to change.”

Wilander on Wilander
“I actually wasn’t really No. 1 in the world when I was No. 1 in the world so to speak. I got to be No. 1 in the world in the rankings after I won the US Open in 1988. I felt like I was the best player in the world during the year of 1988, but once I got labelled No. 1 with an actual ranking, I actually had a shocking four months while I was No. 1. I couldn’t really answer how I dealt with the pressure, I guess I was just horrible at dealing with that pressure, if that’s what the pressure was. I think it’s more about feeling like you’re the best player in the world for a particular moment and I had that feeling for a little bit.”

Journalist/Broadcaster Graeme Agars

During his gruelling 4 hour and 42 minute four-set final win over Argentine great Guillermo Vilas at Roland Garros in 1982, I snuck out of my press seat midway through the match to nip down to the basement to get a quick drink. When I returned to my seat, a check of the scoreboard showed they were still playing the same POINT! No wonder Vilas was tipping buckets of ice water over his head in the fourth set.

Wilander was the first Swede to reach the top of men’s tennis following the stellar ground-breaking career of Bjorn Borg. But it would be unfair to categorise him as Borg 2.0. He was very much Wilander 1.0 and brought his own style to the game.
Far from being a flamboyant performer, Wilander was all business on court and his fitness saw him grind many opponents into submission. A solid forehand and a very reliable two-handed backhand served him well from the baseline. If need be, he could shorten up points with an attacking game.

While 19 of his 33 titles came on clay, he was an accomplished player on all surfaces with a versatile game that he could adapt to the circumstances. He won the Australian Open twice when it was still played on grass at Kooyong, and then again on hard courts when the tournament moved to a massively upgraded facility at Melbourne Park. He won the French Open three times and US Open once. Only Wimbledon kept him from completing a career Grand Slam. When he won at Roland Garros in 1982, he was the then youngest Grand Slam winner at the tender age of just 17 years and 9 months.

Wilander didn’t leave the game after retiring in 1996 and is still seen regularly on Tour working as an astute TV commentator and as a still fit competitor in senior events and exhibitions.

The latter stages of Roger Federer’s run at 2009 Roland Garros remain perhaps the most nerve-racking of his career. Rafael Nadal had thwarted his Paris hopes in the previous four years, including the 2006-2008 finals. But after the Spaniard suffered a shocking fourth-round defeat to Robin Soderling, Federer became the favourite to lift his maiden crown at this event and complete a Career Grand Slam.

“When I walk on the streets or go for dinner, everybody is like, ‘This is your year! You’ve got to do it!’” Federer said. “They’re screaming from their scooters and out of the car. They even get out at the red lights and want me to sign an autograph or take a picture.”

Meanwhile, his semi-final opponent, Juan Martin del Potro, was playing without any pressure. The 20-year-old Argentine, then No. 5 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, powered into his first Grand Slam semi-final with fearless baseline play that revolved around swinging freely off his forehand wing.

Del Potro grabbed a two-sets-to-one lead by taking control of their baseline rallies and landing a high percentage of first serves, while a nervy Federer struggled to find the range on his shots. But the Swiss regrouped by using more spins and angles to throw off his opponent. He also leaned on his drop shot and forced del Potro to move forward in positions that he wasn’t comfortable with.

The Argentine had been a popular player throughout the fortnight, but the crowd was firmly on Federer’s side for their clash. With nearly everyone inside Court Philippe Chatrier urging him on, the Swiss fought back to score a 3-6, 7-6(2), 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory.

”I can’t remember a five-set match I’ve played that was so moving,” Federer said. “They wanted me to do something magical… When I needed the support of the French crowd, they were here with me [and] supporting me.”

Federer cruised past Soderling in the final and became only the third man in the Open Era to achieve a Career Grand Slam. Del Potro would soon have his day, though. Three months later, he defeated five-time defending US Open champion Federer in a five-set thriller to clinch his maiden Grand Slam crown.

From 2005 to 2019, Rafael Nadal has lifted 12 titles and won 93 of his 95 matches at Roland Garros. If the city of Paris dedicated a street to their adopted Spanish son, it would be apropos to make sure it went only one way.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of how Nadal performs in each of the five possible sets identifies a competitor who explodes fast out of the blocks in set one and morphs into a runaway train by set three. The data set includes players who have played a minimum of 10 matches at Roland Garros since official statistics were first recorded in 1991.

Set One
Ready, set, gone.

Facing Nadal on Paris’ terre battue is one of sport’s greatest challenges. The Spaniard does not give opponents time to get a feel for the clay, the stadium or the moment. He jumps on them immediately, attempting to end the contest before it becomes one.

Nadal has won 65.4 per cent (559/855) of games played in the opening set since his tournament debut in 2005. In 2019, the opening set scorelines in his seven matches were 6-2, 6-1, 6-1, 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 and 6-3. That is 42 games won and 13 games lost, good for a head-turning 76 per cent winning margin.

The leading five players with the highest percentage of games won in set one at Roland Garros are:

Set Two
Set two represents second gear as Nadal moves up another level to create a wider margin between himself and his opponents. Nadal has won 66.2 per cent (561/848) of games in the second set, showing no signs of letting up and allowing opponents an opportunity to level the match.

The leading five players with the highest percentage of games won in set two at Roland Garros are:

Set Three
With the finish line now squarely in sight, Nadal keeps ramping up the pressure, winning an astonishing 68.4 per cent (551/805) of games in set three. Opponents have to endure a fast start and a faster finish against the Spaniard. Close to 80 per cent of Nadal’s matches at Roland Garros have been decided in straight sets.

The leading five players with the highest percentage of games won in set three at Roland Garros are:

Set Four
Nadal sits in fourth place with games won in the fourth set, winning a strong 64.4% (123/191). Carl-Uwe Steeb leads the pack at 70.6 per cent (12/17).

Set Five
Nadal has only been extended to five sets at Roland Garros twice, winning both times. He has won 57.7 per cent (15/26) of games in the fifth set. David Goffin is the overall leader in fifth-set games won at 78.9 per cent (30/38).

Nadal’s Five-Set Matches At Roland Garros

Nadal has won an astonishing 57.5 per cent (9829/17080) of points at Roland Garros. It’s the closest thing to one-way traffic our sport has ever seen.

When Martin Verkerk arrived at Roland Garros in 2003, the Dutchman was searching for his first victory at a Grand Slam event after first-round losses on his tournament debuts at the 2002 US Open and 2003 Australian Open.

The 24-year-old entered the event in the best form of his career, having reached the semi-finals in St. Poelten and the quarter-finals at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia earlier in the month. But, despite his form, Verkerk could not have expected what followed in Paris.

After a first-round win against Zeljko Krajan, the 6’5” right-hander survived a five-set battle against Luis Horna, came from a set down to beat Vincent Spadea and stunned World No. 11 Rainer Schuettler to reach the only Grand Slam quarter-final of his career. In fact, it was the only time the World No. 46 advanced beyond the third round at a Grand Slam event.

Waiting in the last eight was 1998 champion Carlos Moya, the winner of clay-court titles in Barcelona and Buenos Aires earlier in the year. The Spaniard had also dropped three sets en route to the last eight, highlighted by his five-set battle against Juan Ignacio Chela in the third round.

In his first ATP Head2Head meeting against the World No. 4, Verkerk showed no signs of nerves. The Dutchman gained early breaks in both the first and second sets and maintained his advantage on both occasions with consistent power and accuracy on his serve.

Moya had twice come from two sets down to reach a fifth set at Roland Garros, and the Spaniard’s greater experience paid off at the end of the third set. Serving under pressure at 5-6, Verkerk committed a double fault to hand Moya a route back into the match. The Mallorcan also applied pressure on his opponent late in the fourth set, breaking serve for a second time to force the quarter-final to a deciding set.

Each of the opening four sets was decided by a single break, and the final set would be no different. After 12 consecutive holds, the animated Dutchman fired multiple forehand winners to earn the opportunity to serve for the match at 7-6. Verkerk fist pumped and gave a wide-eyed stare to his player box.

In the biggest game of his life, so far, Verkerk relied on his greatest weapon to help him across the line. The tournament debutant landed his 27th and final ace, before closing the match out 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 4-6, 8-6 with a powerful serve into Moya’s backhand. Verkerk raised his arms and fell to the clay in disbelief.

The Milan titlist went on to defeat Guillermo Coria in straight sets to become the first player since Mikael Pernfors in 1986 to reach the championship match on his tournament debut.

“This is a dream. This is actually a bit of a joke. I don’t know anymore what happened to me,” said Verkerk.

The Dutchman’s dream run came to an end with a straight-sets loss to Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final. Verkerk lifted two trophies from four tour-level finals, before retiring from the sport in 2008.

Juan Carlos Ferrero wasted little time showing his prowess on the Parisian terre battue of Roland Garros. In his first three appearances at the clay-court Grand Slam, the Spaniard reached the semi-finals twice, and then the championship match in 2002. Backed by a potent forehand and undeniable speed, Ferrero was clearly on the verge of a breakthrough.

“It was one of the tournaments that from when I was 14, 15, it was my dream to go there to play,’ Ferrero told ATPTour.com. “Winning that tournament at the end, it was one of the greatest things that I ever did in my tennis career.”

Ferrero wasn’t able to simply waltz across the clay to lift the Coupe des Mousquetaires in 2003, though. Although he was one of the leading contenders, Ferrero had withdrawn from his Rome semi-final against Roger Federer while trailing by a set and a break due to an arm issue.

“If his arm is not 100 per cent, there’s no way he can go out and win against the best clay-courters in the world over the course of two weeks and seven matches,” former World No. 11 MaliVai Washington wrote for ESPN at the time.

But Ferrero did not compete between Rome and Roland Garros, opting to focus on his preparations for the season’s second major.

“Of course it’s something that I did to be safe. When you have some pain before the tournament, you have to take care of it a lot,” Ferrero said. “In that moment, I had a very important tournament [coming up] and always you try to be safe and calm in that moment and try to care for the situation.”

Perhaps Ferrero’s biggest roadblock came in the quarter-finals against a well-known rival. Five years earlier, big-hitting Chilean Fernando Gonzalez defeated Ferrero to win the Roland Garros boys’ singles title. He’d also won the pair’s first two ATP Head2Head meetings, both of which came within nine months of their Parisian battle.

“It was one of the toughest matches that I had in the tournament,” Ferrero said. “Playing Fernando Gonzalez was always special for me because we played many times in the juniors. We played many battles, and obviously he was a very good player on clay.”

Ferrero needed three hours and 29 minutes across five sets, but he was able to manouevre past Gonzalez. Both men won 181 points, and Gonzalez refused to go down without letting loose his powerful groundstrokes, but Ferrero refused to be denied.

The Spaniard was relentless, earning 29 break points and breaking eight times. Ferrero converted his sixth match point, falling to his knees after Gonzalez missed a backhand long.

“It was a very good match,” Ferrero said. “It was one of the keys of the tournament.”

Ferrero then faced another familiar foe in countryman Albert Costa. In the 2002 Roland Garros final, Ferrero got off to a disheartening start against his compatriot. Although he was favoured against then-World No. 22 Costa, it was the underdog who sprinted through the first two sets with the loss of just one game. That deficit proved too large for Ferrero to overcome.

But having been pushed to five sets in four of his first five matches, Costa couldn’t replicate a similar performance, and Ferrero moved within one match of Paris glory once again.

On 8 June 2003, Ferrero was ready to make his mark in tennis’ record books. It wasn’t that he had forgotten about the previous year’s final; he simply believed he was ready for the challenge of facing Dutchman Martin Verkerk.

“I was very prepared. I checked all Verkerk’s matches and he beat some of the favourites like Guillermo Coria and even Carlos Moya, so I watched his game and tried to study his weaknesses. I had a lot of confidence in myself,” Ferrero said. “Everybody was telling me that I was the favourite in the match and that didn’t help me stay very calm, but I was 23. At that time, I was able to manage very well the pressure.”

Ferrero never let slip his guard. He fell behind by a break in the second set, but immediately recovered. The Spaniard was clearly in control of the match, forcing the typically offensive Verkerk on the back foot in rallies. He never let his mind float towards lifting the trophy.

“You’re trying to not think too much about this during the match. But in the third set, when I was two breaks up and serving at the end of the third set, obviously I was able to think that it was almost impossible to lose that match,” Ferrero said. “I knew I had the opportunity to win it. I went into that last game trying to enjoy that moment with my people, with my coach, with my parents. Obviously it was one of the best moments that I had.”

‘El Mosquito’ had few hiccups in the match, breaking seven times en route to a convincing victory. Ferrero crushed an inside-in forehand winner on match point against Verkerk to clinch his first Grand Slam triumph 6-1, 6-3, 6-2, falling to his knees in celebration.

“I remember that of course before I was a bit nervous, but I had the experience already to play in a Grand Slam final and I played many matches with this kind of pressure,” Ferrero said. “I knew that I was prepared to try to fight for the title.”

Ferrero went on to reach No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings just months later on 8 September. Although he never earned Grand Slam glory again, Ferrero will always fondly look back on his unforgettable fortnight in Paris in 2003.

“I like very much watching tennis on TV and in some of the free moments that I have, I try to come back to that time to see matches that I had against great players that I played. Of course, one of the matches I watched many times is the final of that tournament,” Ferrero said. “Definitely it was one of the best moments that I had in my career.”

Editor’s Note: But for the COVID-19 pandemic, Roland Garros would now be underway. ATPTour.com this week reflects on memorable matches and happenings at the clay-court Grand Slam, which tournament organisers are now hoping to stage in September.

Novak Djokovic and Marco Cecchinato entered the 2018 Roland Garros quarter-finals on completely different ends of the experience spectrum. But that didn’t stop the surprise Italian from springing a memorable upset on the Parisian clay.

Cecchinato, the No. 72 player in the FedEx ATP Rankings, arrived in France without a Grand Slam main draw win. The 25-year-old had tried to qualify for the clay-court major three times, failing on each occasion. Djokovic, however, won the 2016 Roland Garros title and was competing in his ninth straight quarter-final at the tournament.

“This is the best moment of my life,” Cecchinato said after beating David Goffin in the fourth round. “Maybe it’s a dream.”

Cecchinato admitted that before playing the biggest match of his life he had nothing to lose. On the other hand, there was plenty of pressure on Djokovic.

The Serbian underwent right elbow surgery after the 2018 Australian Open, and he lost eight of 15 matches leading into Roland Garros. That made Djokovic hungry for a big result, and drawing Cecchinato in the quarter-finals seemed a good opportunity for the World No. 22 to reach the last four.

But Cecchinato stunned the former champion 6-3, 7-6(4), 1-6, 7-6(11) to continue his dream run.

“I think it’s changed [my] life,” Cecchinato said of his efforts on the terre battue.

Cecchinato and Djokovic were familiar with each other from practising together in Monte Carlo. But while the Serbian was playing in his 40th Grand Slam quarter-final, Cecchinato was experiencing the pressure of the moment for the first time.

“He didn’t seem to be under the impression of the big stadium or big match,” Djokovic said. “He just held his nerves amazingly well in the important moments.”

Cecchinato, who had won his first ATP Tour title a month earlier in Budapest, appeared the more comfortable player as he earned a two-set lead. But Djokovic, still working himself into form, found rhythm and breezed through the third set and earned an early break in the fourth.

The stage was set for Djokovic to complete a tremendous comeback to show the world that he was “back”. Instead, Cecchinato saved three set points in the ensuing tie-break with great defence before hitting a backhand winner to clinch the biggest win of his career.

“We shared a moment after my victory. Novak is a very good person and is unbelievable,” Cecchinato said of the pair’s nice post-match embrace. “He told me, ‘Congrats, man, and it’s unbelievable for you, and good luck.’ It’s a dream for me.”

Cecchinato kept his semi-final against Dominic Thiem tight in the first two sets, but succumbed in three. For Djokovic, however, the loss served as a wake-up call, as he reached the final of the Fever-Tree Championships and then won Wimbledon.

“It’s never been hard for me to congratulate and hug an opponent that we just shared a great moment on the court. And the one that won deserved to win the match, and that was Marco today,” Djokovic said. “On the other hand, when you walk off the court, of course, it’s a hard one to swallow.”

In honour of Rafael Nadal’s 34th birthday, the ATP Tour is celebrating by reliving 34 facts, moments or memories that have made his tennis career spectacular thus far.

34 – Percentage of return games won for Nadal in his career.
33 – Age when the lefty finished 2019 as the oldest year-end World No. 1 in history.
32 – Consecutive matches won from 2008 Hamburg until 2008 Cincinnati, Nadal’s career-best winning streak.
31 – Number of matches Nadal won at Roland Garros before his first loss at the major in 2009.
30 – Age when Nadal was Spain’s flagbearer for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. 
29 – Rafa’s age when he opened his Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar.
28th tour-level title came at the 2008 Fever-Tree Championships, setting up Nadal for his unforgettable Wimbledon run in which he defeated Roger Federer for his first trophy at The Championships.
27 – Number of Grand Slam finals Nadal has reached (19-8).
26 – Victories against Top 10 opponents at Roland Garros.
25 – Clay-court ATP Masters 1000 titles.
24 – Wins against Roger Federer (24-16)
23 – Age when the Spaniard won his 100th Grand Slam match at 2010 Roland Garros against Gianni Mina. He currently holds a 275-39 record at the majors. 100-17
22 – Age when Nadal first reached World No. 1 on 18 August 2008.
21 – Number of ATP 500 titles Nadal has won.
20 – Triumphs against World No. 1s, with his first coming as a 17-year-old at 2004 Miami against Federer.
19 – Grand Slam titles.
18 – Age when Nadal cracked the Top 10 of the FedEx ATP Rankings for the first time on 25 April 2005.
17 – 6-0 sets won at Roland Garros, where his record is 93-2.
16 – Years since winning his first title at 2004 Sopot.
15 – Age when Nadal won his first ATP Tour match at 2002 Mallorca against World No. 81 Ramon Delgado/Number of consecutive year-end Top 10 finishes.
14 – Number of year-end finishes inside the Top 5 of the FedEx ATP Rankings.
13 – No. of Masters 1000 finals Nadal has played Djokovic in.
12 – Roland Garros titles.
11 – Most titles in a single season, which came in 2005.
10 – Number of wins before Nadal cracks the 1,000-victory mark in his career, joining Jimmy Connors (1,274), Roger Federer (1,242) and Ivan Lendl (1,068) as the only players to reach that milestone.
9 – Number of seasons Nadal has led the ATP Tour in percentage of return games won.
8 – Consecutive titles won at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters from 2005-2012.
7 – Clay-court titles in 2005, his most in a single season.
6 – Wins against Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros.
5 – Finishes atop the year-end FedEx ATP Rankings.
4 – Age when he began playing tennis with his uncle, Toni Nadal.
3 – Grand Slam titles won without losing a set, all at Roland Garros (2008, 2010, 2017).
2 – Losses at Roland Garros compared to 93 wins.
1 – Total weeks at World No. 1: 209.

The ATP editorial team had another fun time reading the entries that were sent to us for the second installment of our Fan Essay Contest.

Writers aged 18 and under were challenged to write an essay of 500 words or less on the topic: ‘If you could work any job at an ATP Tour event, what would it be and why?’ The winning entries are featured below.

The Fan Essay Contest will run every three weeks and writers are encouraged to keep sending essays for each new question in the competition. The next topic will be announced later this week. Thanks to all of the talented writers who have entered!

Check out the Emirates ATP Kids Hub

A Day Interviewing On Tour
By Aditya Sharma, 16, Gurgaon, India

When I was a small kid, I sat in front of the television and saw Roger Federer defeat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the semi-finals of the 2010 Australian Open. After the match, Jim Courier came on court to interview Roger.

He had the audience out of their seats! I was laughing so hard for the next 15 minutes listening to the funny conversation between them. I realised that there was also a funny and casual side to tennis.

I thought that it would be so cool to be a post-match on-court interviewer. Tennis is not an easy sport. Standing next to such inspiring people who do it every day, with a microphone and having conversations with them, would be an honour to do on the ATP Tour.

I would ask them questions about their daily life and experiences. I’d get to know the human side of them and their struggles, achievements and thoughts. There are so many things that I have learned about the players through their on-court interviews. It gives an insight into their lives and all of their achievements that inspire us.

Another exciting experience of being a post-match interviewer is that you get to travel around the world to illustrious ATP Tour events. You’re in the action at the grandest ATP Masters 1000 stages like Madrid, Montreal, Monte-Carlo and Miami.

I imagine talking to a player like Roger, who has won 103 Tour-level titles including 20 Grand Slams, and Stan Wawrinka, who has three Grand Slam titles, a Masters 1000 trophy and has defeated a World No. 1 player in all of his major finals. Or to players like Andy Murray and John Millman, who have shown us that a career after threatening injuries is still possible.

I imagine myself at the Swiss Indoors Basel and going on court after Roger won his match, asking him questions and maybe having a laugh as well. Who knows who else I’d get to meet? Maybe Rafa in Barcelona? Thiem in Vienna?

Many legends of the sport like Courier and John McEnroe have turned to on-court interviewing after ending their illustrious careers. This shows their affection for the game that they love and cherish. Maybe I’d get the chance to meet them on the job as well, learn from them and maybe even get an autograph!

This job offers more than interviews. It offers an opportunity to learn, observe, meet various shareholders and become part of the ATP Tour.

A Lens Into The Action
By Zara Vellani, 15, Sydney, Australia

There are highlights in every tournament. Highlights that are brought by the players when they hit a winner, ballkids when they almost dive to make an amazing catch, chair umpires when they put their foot down and Dominic Thiem’s hair this year at the Australian Open. (Get it? Streaks through his hair…highlights…never mind).

The point is that the fans see it all in matches. People talk about it and sometimes it even makes the news! However, it is crucial to understand that there is more than what meets the eye.

Behind every brilliant match, there is continual effort that extends before and after, as well as throughout the whole tournament. So much support and effort is provided by countless staff who no one knows about. I think that it is vital to recognise these people who dedicate so much time without being in the spotlight.

If I were an employee at an ATP Tour event, I would probably like to be one of those people.

More specifically, I would like to be a cameraman (or camerawoman in my case) or videographer at tournaments. Everyone knows that there are cameramen, but these unsung heroes are the reason that people can enjoy tournaments all over the world. I think that these employees are extremely special because they are working in an environment where they are so close to top players, but cannot interact with them. I think that it would require a lot of mental strength and resilience to be a cameraman.

Being so close yet so far, contributing so much to the game and getting little credit for such an exhausting job deserves credit in itself. Having these humble traits is something that I aspire to.

This isn’t to say that I don’t like getting credit where it is due, but I think it’s a good point about how there are hard workers everywhere who make things look very easy. I think that being a cameraman is a good balance of having an important job that you also enjoy. They have a vital role and must stay focussed. Being able to consistently work hard for extremely long periods of time is something that I highly value. Plus, they get an awesome view of the match!

It’s a job which requires a lot of mental strength and a good work ethic. Their critical role in the tournaments is one which requires a massive amount of effort and dedication. I’d be satisfied if I could have half the strength of these amazing people.

Banter In The Locker Room
By Joaquin Ramirez Kakarieka, 17, Santiago, Chile

If the dream and desire to be a professional tennis player has always stayed with me, the opportunity to work at the ATP Tour is also another dream. I’d love to be there, see players pass by and observe their lives from another perspective. I thought up nine job options and ended up choosing one.

We start with the ball kid. They must all have a great time together and also have the luck of being inside a tennis court, perhaps even being able to witness a final up close in Centre Court at Wimbledon or watching Roger Federer face Rafael Nadal. But they also have many rules. They have to be very focussed on their obligations and cannot simply be spectators watching a match.

A chair umpire and a linesman have a lot of responsibility. One mistake and the players on court can get upset or you have the whole public against you. That would be hard.

A courtesy car driver could be a very relaxing job, but there may not be much interaction with the players and that’s what I’m looking for.

A reporter or photographer is much more attentive to his work than to matches. They’re both very tiring jobs.

A post-match on-court interviewer has to do a perfect job. They must manage the nerves of being able to interview players after the match, prepare good questions and also delight both the public and the player.

A physiotherapist is another option that I considered, but you have to know how to communicate very well with them and understand what pains they feel.

After much thought, I decided that my dream job on the ATP Tour would be as a locker room attendant. You need to have everything prepared spotlessly like the towels for each player, the bottles they need, ice tubs, showers and bathrooms. I would try to interact as much as possible with the players and also observe their routines before and after each game. I’d ask them how their day was and how they handle matches. You can get another perspective of how the players are inside the locker room and also be there to help them.

You will see fearsome players with a strong personality on court, but they can be friendly and talk to you in the locker room. I would have to handle my nerves, but believe they would go away once I started chatting with them.

From Ball Boy To Pro 
By Gabe Joshua Oliver Dodanwela, 10, Singapore

I’m a kid and the only job for a kid on the ATP Tour is being a ball boy. Being a ball boy requires speed, accuracy and effort. Some kids will want to be the CEO or hold the most important jobs on the ATP Tour, but you could also have an amazing time as a ball kid!

Firstly, the ball kids get attention when there are positive or funny moments. At the Australian Open this year, Rafael Nadal accidentally hit a ball girl and gave her a kiss afterwards. When you are a ball kid, everyone depends on you to help the match keep moving quickly.

Ball kids have to take a trial for the job and are selected by other people. They have to practise a lot and keep getting experience until they are doing their job in a major match at the Nitto ATP Finals. They must have a lot of stamina, especially if a match goes on for hours on end. It’s a lot of hard work, but it pays off in the end.

I think it’s the best job because you can still be a top tennis player when you get older and rewrite the history books. It might be the start of a fantastic tennis career. There are plenty of positives because you might meet some of your favorite tennis players, be seen on TV and have your family get to watch you.

Editor’s Note: But for the COVID-19 pandemic, Roland Garros would now be underway. During the next two weeks ATPTour.com will look back on memorable matches and happenings at the clay-court Grand Slam, which tournament organisers are now hoping to stage in September. This story was originally published on 5 June 2018.

“&*#!!” curses Toni Nadal.

Interrupt Toni when he is in task mode and the oaths fly out of his mouth like hot sparks from a blacksmith’s anvil. It is important to understand that Toni does not curse casually, nor as a form of insult, rather of exasperation.

In this particular case, it is the frustration of being delayed and quite possibly missing a flight from Palma de Mallorca to Madrid. We are at the entrance of the Rafael Nadal Tennis Academy in Manacor, and the airport is nearly an hour’s drive away. I am but one of a handful of obstacles keeping Toni from getting to the airport on time.

Standing aside, I watch Toni multi-task. He answers phone calls, signs papers, buttons his dress shirt, ties his leather shoes, and wrestles my oversize travel bag into the back of his two-door Mercedes SLC Roadster. Eventually, the retractable hardtop comes down, my bag goes in and we are ready to go. I briefly consider suggesting a hands-free apparatus for his phone, but then I realise that Toni Nadal is anything but hands-free.

Finally we are on our way. Toni looks at his watch and utters one last ‘&*#!!’. But this curse is different, a bit softer, more of a slow, drawn out sigh of relief. Leaving the academy, Toni drives through a mix of newly paved roads, narrow cobblestone alleys and a couple of roundabouts that he accelerates out of with the grace, speed, and confidence one would expect from Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso. As if on cue, the phone finally stops ringing just as Toni hits the Ma-15 highway.

“One time I have a big discussion with Pato Clavet,” Toni begins. “Pato believes it is his job to make sure his player has everything in order to play his best; racquets perfect, water, balls, and like this. And I say, ‘this is not my opinion.’ If Rafa forgets his water, I say, ‘Well, it is your problem, today you don’t drink water.’ My work is not to bring water. Do you want to be a professional coach or a waiter?”

Our route to the airport takes us through the heart of Mallorca, where windmills that used to grind grain and pump water cast long shadows over fields that produce almond, fig and olive trees in great abundance. Restaurants fortified with heavy brick barbeque grills and wood-fired ovens look like they were built to feed legions of Roman soldiers. Meals are peasant food soaked in olive oil and portions are big enough to last for days. While Barcelona may very well be the cradle of Spanish tennis, it is here on the island of Mallorca, part of Spain’s autonomous zone, that lie the clues to how the world’s most successful tennis coach was formed.

“The relationship between player and coach is very important,” Toni continues as if some subterranean fire has been stoked inside of him. “Also it is the education that the player gets at home. My family formed my character. My father did not talk too much, but you see what he has done and I learned my character from his example.”

There can be no doubt where Toni Nadal’s demarcation line is drawn: respect for people.

“In this life, respect is very important as it should come from the younger to the older persons,” Toni says. “Not the other way around. Unbelievable the way the young today behave not showing respect. &*#!!!”

Like the great Carthaginian General Hannibal, who was born here in the Balearic Islands, Toni commands by both example and charisma. Just as Hannibal was fueled by a single-minded purpose in defeating Rome, so too has been Toni’s intense focus on forming his nephew.

With each military victory, Hannibal’s legend grew, and so too did Toni Nadal’s opinions gain merit with every Grand Slam Rafa won. While the amount of trophies they have collected together is impressive, equally so is that neither Toni nor Rafa fell victim to a trap as old as time. A trap that has tripped many a successful man – hubris.

“What I remember most about Toni from my time on Tour was how kind he was to people,” remembers Peter Lundgren, former coach of Roger Federer and other ATP World Tour stars. ”He was always very polite.”

Juan Manual Esparcia of Spain, another ATP World Tour coach, has observed Toni and Rafa rise to greatness from the beginning.

“Toni puts great emphasis on the education of strong values,” says Esparcia. “Rafa’s attitude to overcome the many adversities he has had to face and doing so in the most gracious manner, the example that Rafa Nadal gives to everyone every day, not only as a professional, but as a person, has Toni’s philosophy written all over it.”

Jack Reader, former coach of Viktor Troicki and Alexandr Dolgolopov, echoes a similar opinion.

“We often practised with Rafa,” says Reader. “And I never once saw Toni say something to Rafa that Rafa did not immediately acknowledge. I don’t know what Toni would say, but I do know that from the outside theirs seemed a relationship built on absolute respect and trust.”

Toni recalls: “I have said to Rafa, ‘In my opinion you have to do this, but make what you want’… Do you think that I like to see my nephew’s forehand follow-through wrapping his racquet around his head? Many times I say to him about the biomechanics and physics of a tennis stroke. If you want to put the ball there, then the arm goes here. But make what you want; it is your problem. It is your responsibility.”

At heart Toni is a professor. And like any good teacher, he is an astute student. However, his form of communicating is not for the sensitive type.

“Normally when you are not stupid you can learn,” Toni declares. “I have watched the greatest players in the world on the practice court and in competition. In this life, when you know that you are not the best and if you want to defeat the best you must be open to new ideas and keep learning to improve.”

A good example is Rafa changing his service grip two days before the start of the 2010 US Open. And then another change to the serve came before the 2016 US Open, where they experimented with more slice and angle. That being said, if after consideration Toni does not agree with something, then you will know it immediately.

“I talk always about to make the things simple,” Toni says. “Today we have a problem that society believes if it is too simple, then it is difficult to earn too much money. I have seen many people talk about analytics. And they forgot to see how is the player with the ball? What is most important is to arrive good to the ball, follow through and have good movements around the court.”

“It is true when you have more information, it is good, but information without the eyes and feeling of the coach is not enough. Many times you cannot see the things that analysts write. For example, the statistics say that you make 10 unforced errors with your backhand today. But maybe that is because your forehand is not right in this moment. A good coach needs to observe with his eyes on the situation, not just numbers on a paper.”

Agree or disagree with Toni, he is very consistent on the subject of eliminating excuses.

“I was disappointed at Wimbledon in 2013,” Toni admits. “My nephew lost to Steve Darcis. Rafa says to me that he can do nothing as he has knee problems. I say, ‘No, I don’t agree. If this match was in the final would you play like this?’ After many years I know it is impossible to win always – it is a part of the game – but let us speak the truth.”

Esparcia says, “I think Toni’s best quality and strength is knowing to analyse the needs in each situation in order to reach the next goal… To give Rafa the right solution at specifically the right moment, and to find the way to motivate him, regardless of the circumstances he might be facing.”

“Another time, in 2006 at the US Open,” Toni remembers, “and my nephew is complaining about the balls, that he cannot give them spin. Every day he is telling me the same. And so I say to Rafael, “OK, I go to the tournament director and see if he can change the balls for you.’ Then Rafael lost to James Blake. I go home to Mallorca and he went to Beijing and wins the tournament with the same balls he lost to Blake. So I ask him how the balls can take your spin in Beijing but not New York?”

There can be no better proof positive of the Pygmalion effect theory than Toni and Rafael Nadal.

“I remember once we were in Barcelona at Carlos Moya’s house,” Toni recalls. “Rafa was 15 or maybe 16, and Carlos says to me, ‘Toni, would you sign your name that in the future that Rafael will be good like Alberto Costa?’ And I say, ‘No, I don’t sign because I believe that Rafael will be better.’ And Carlos Moya was a little surprised. Because immediately he says, ‘Do you sign that in the future Rafael will be like Carlos Moya?’ And I say, ‘OK, yes, because you were No. 1 in the world.’ But I did not sign anything. When I went out of the house with my nephew that night I said to Rafael, ‘You can be better than Carlos Moya, but I do not want to show disrespect to him in his house.’ I knew my nephew was special.”

“For me was always too important to form the player,” Toni continues. “I was always happy when we were on the court and I was able to construct his game.”

Jose Perlas is one of the ATP World Tour’s most recognised coaches. There is not much in professional tennis, Spain or worldwide, that he has not seen.

“In some ways it was a perfect storm,” begins Perlas. “The Nadal family had experience of being athletes at the highest level of sport. Toni knew what it took to be good, and he also knew how much work it took to sustain that level. He was a tennis coach who had very strong opinions and he spoke with great conviction. Then Rafa had all the physical and mental gifts of an exceptional athlete, and the intense hunger to be great. Toni was an extremely dedicated professional coach who understood how to use his authority while assembling a team of experts around Rafa.”

As we enter the airport a journalist and camera crew are assembled and waiting on Toni to arrive. Though Toni may not be on the ATP World Tour any more, he is still in demand. When your pupil has 16 Grand Slams and is considered one of the greatest players in the history of tennis, your opinions matter.

Quite possibly, Toni might be the last of the breed. That species of tennis coach who commands from the frontline while saying what needs to be said without fear of retribution. The coach of yesteryear who demands hard work every day, a good attitude, respect for the game and those people associated with it. And no matter how great the stakes or painful the loss, refuses to make excuses while offering a simple no-frills match analysis. My guess is that Harry Hopman would certainly approve of Toni Nadal.

– Reproduced with permission from Elite Tennis Journal