Rafael Nadal
Stan Wawrinka
2017 ROLAND GARROS
DAY 15 Men’s Preview
Sunday 11 June
Final
3 STAN WAWRINKA (SUI) v NO. 4 RAFAEL NADAL (ESP)
2017 Roland Garros marks the 116th edition of the French Championships and the 87th tournament since the event became international in 1925. It is also the 197th Grand Slam tournament of the Open Era, the first of which was 1968 Roland Garros, making this the 50th French Open.
Prize money and ATP ranking points
Today’s champion receives €2,100,000 in prize money, while the runner-up collects €1,060,000. In total, the men’s singles prize fund for 2017 Roland Garros is €13,548,000, a 12.6% increase on 2016. The winner is also awarded 2000 ATP ranking points, with the runner-up receiving 1200.
ATP rankings update
The winner of today’s final will move up to No. 2, with the runner-up at No. 3, when the ATP rankings are updated on Monday 12 June. If he wins today, Wawrinka will rise to a career-high ranking. If Nadal wins, he will climb to his highest ranking since October 2014. Last year’s champion Novak Djokovic, meanwhile, drops to No. 4 – his lowest ranking since October 2009. Here’s how the Top 10 will look on Monday:
| 1 | Andy Murray |
| 2 | Nadal/Wawrinka?? |
| 3 | Nadal/Wawrinka?? |
| 4 | Novak Djokovic |
| 5 | Roger Federer |
| 6 | Milos Raonic |
| 7 | Marin Cilic |
| 8 | Dominic Thiem |
| 9 | Kei Nishikori |
| 10 | Alexander Zverev |
No. 3 v No. 4
The last time the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds met in the Roland Garros final was in 2013, when No. 3 Nadal defeated No. 4 David Ferrer. It is the 3rd time the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds have met in the Roland Garros final in the Open Era. The other occasion these seeds have met was in 1990, when No. 4 seed Andres Gomez defeated No. 3 seed Andre Agassi.
This is the 10th time the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds have met in a Grand Slam final in the Open Era.
2017 leaders
Nadal is in 1st place on the list for the most Tour-level match-wins in 2017. Wawrinka is in 6th place on the list and will move up to joint-4th place on the list if he wins today.
Most wins in 2017
Rafael Nadal 42-6
Dominic Thiem 34-13
David Goffin 31-12
Pablo Carreno Busta 27-14
Alexander Zverev 27-10
Stan Wawrinka 26-8
Nadal is in 1st place on the list for most clay court wins in 2017. Wawrinka is in joint-8th place – along with Marin Cilic, Novak Djokovic, David Goffin, Kei Nishikori and Horacio Zeballos – and will move up to joint-7th if he wins today.
Most clay court wins in 2017
Rafael Nadal 23-1
Dominic Thiem 22-5
Albert Ramos-Vinolas 21-11
Pablo Carreno Busta 20-8
Alexander Zverev 16-4
Pablo Cuevas 14-7
Diego Schwartzman 13-10
Stan Wawrinka 12-3
Roger Federer, Nadal, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Alexander Zverev top the list for the most titles won this year with 3. Wawrinka, who won the title at Geneva prior to coming here, is bidding to win his 2nd title of 2017 and join the 6 men to have won multiple titles this year.
Most titles in 2017
Roger Federer 3 Australian Open, Indian Wells-1000, Miami-1000
Rafael Nadal 3 Monte Carlo-1000, Barcelona, Madrid-1000
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 3 Rotterdam, Marseille, Lyon
Alexander Zverev 3 Montpellier, Munich, Rome-1000
Grigor Dimitrov 2 Brisbane, Sofia
Jack Sock 2 Auckland, Delray Beach
Head-to-head: Nadal leads 15-3
2007 Australian Open Hard (O) R32 Nadal 62 62 62
2007 Stuttgart Clay (O) FR Nadal 64 75
2007 AMS Paris Hard (I) R16 Nadal 64 63
2009 Miami-1000 Hard (O) R16 Nadal 76(2) 76(4)
2010 Rome-1000 Clay (O) QF Nadal 64 61
2010 Toronto-1000 Hard (O) R32 Nadal 76(12) 63
2010 Shanghai-1000 Hard (O) R32 Nadal 64 64
2012 Monte Carlo-1000 Clay (O) QF Nadal 75 64
2013 Madrid-1000 Clay (O) FR Nadal 62 64
2013 Roland Garros Clay (O) QF Nadal 62 63 61
2013 Shanghai-1000 Hard (O) QF Nadal 76(10) 61
2013 ATP World Tour Finals Hard (I) RR Nadal 76(5) 76(6)
2014 Australian Open Hard (O) FR Wawrinka 63 62 36 63
2015 Rome-1000 Clay (O) QF Wawrinka 76(7) 62
2015 Shanghai-1000 Hard (O) QF Nadal 62 61
2015 Paris-1000 Hard (I) QF Wawrinka 76(8) 76(7)
2015 ATP World Tour Finals Hard (I) RR Nadal 63 62
2016 Monte Carlo-1000 Clay (O) QF Nadal 61 64
A 19th Tour-level meeting between the 2 players, and their 4th at a Grand Slam. Wawrinka won the only previous Grand Slam final the pair have contested, at the 2014 Australian Open. Since the beginning of 2014, the head-to-head is tied at 3-3.
Nadal has a 2-1 win-loss record against Wawrinka in Tour-level finals, with both of his 2 wins coming on clay.
This is the 8th time the pair have met on clay. Nadal has a 6-1 win-loss record against Wawrinka on clay, with his only defeat coming at 2015 Rome-1000.
Wawrinka and Nadal are the first pair of players aged 30 or over to contest a Roland Garros final since 1969, when 30-year-old Rod Laver defeated 34-year-old Ken Rosewall. Wawrinka is the 2nd player in the Open Era to reach multiple Roland Garros finals after turning 30 – after Rosewall in 1968-69. Nadal is the 8th different player in the Open Era to reach a Roland Garros final after turning 30.
WAWRINKA v NADAL
32 Age 31*
6’0”/1.83m Height 6’1”/1.85m
29,378,107 Career Earnings (US$) 83,573,172
3 ATP Ranking 4
16 Titles 72
3 titles Best Grand Slam Result 14 titles
130-45 Career Grand Slam Record 215-32
38-11 Roland Garros Record 78-2
465-260 Career Record 848-180
173-82 Career Record – Clay 388-35
26-8 2017 Record 42-6
12-3 2017 Record – Clay 23-1
26-20 Career Five-Set Record 19-9
6 Comebacks from 0-2 Down 3
194-175 Career Tiebreak Record 208-134
14-5 2017 Tiebreak Record 8-3
*Turned 31 on 3 June
| WAWRINKA | Time | Time | NADAL | |
| d. (Q) Jozef Kovalik 62 76(6) 63
d. Alexandr Dolgopolov 64 76(5) 75 |
1:57
2:34 |
1st round
2nd round |
1:52
1:49 |
d. Benoit Paire 61 64 61
d. Robin Haase 61 64 63 |
| d. No. 28 Fabio Fognini 76(2) 60 62 | 1:52 | 3rd round | 1:31 | d. Nikoloz Basilashvili 60 61 60 |
| d. No. 15 Gael Monfils 75 76(7) 62
d. No. 7 Marin Cilic 63 63 61
|
2:43
1:40
|
Round of 16
Quarterfinals |
1:51
0:51 |
d. No. 17 Roberto Bautista Agut 61 62 62
d. No. 20 Pablo Carreno Busta 62 2-0 ret. (left abdominal muscle) |
| d. No. 1 Andy Murray 67(6) 63 57 76(3) 61
|
4:34 | Semifinals | 2:07 | d. No. 6 Dominic Thiem 63 64 60 |
| total time on court | 15:20 | (IBM time) | 10:01 | total time on court |
Road to the Final
- WAWRINKA is bidding to win his 4th Grand Slam title and his 2nd at Roland Garros.
- Wawrinka is bidding to become the 2nd man in the Open Era to win their first 4 Grand Slam finals after Roger Federer, who won his first 7 Grand Slam finals. As well as Federer and Wawrinka, 4 other men in the Open Era – Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Stefan Edberg and Gustavo Kuerten – won their first 3 Grand Slam finals, but all (except Kuerten, who didn’t reach another final) finished runner-up in their 4th.
| Roger Federer | Won first 7 Grand Slam finals – 2003 Wimbledon, 2004 Australian Open, 2004 Wimbledon, 2004 US Open, 2005 Wimbledon, 2005 US Open, 2006 Australian Open. Finished runner-up in 8th at 2006 Roland Garros. |
| Stan Wawrinka | Won first 3 Grand Slam finals – 2014 Australian Open, 2015 Roland Garros, 2016 US Open, 2017 Roland Garros?? |
| Born Borg | Won first 3 Grand Slam finals – 1974-75 Roland Garros, 1976 Wimbledon.
Finished runner-up in 4th at 1976 US Open. |
| Jimmy Connors | Won first 3 Grand Slam finals – 1974 Australian Open, 1974 Wimbledon, 1974 US Open. Finished runner-up in 4th at 1975 Australian Open. |
| Stefan Edberg | Won first 3 Grand Slam finals – 1985 Australian Open, 1987 Australian Open, 1988 Wimbledon. Finished runner-up in 4th at 1989 Roland Garros. |
| Gustavo Kuerten | Won first 3 Grand Slam finals – 1997, 2000, 2001 Roland Garros. |
- Aged 32 years 75 days, Wawrinka is bidding to become the 3rd oldest man in the Open Era to win Roland Garros after 34-year-old Andres Gimeno in 1972 and 33-year-old Ken Rosewall in 1968. He is looking to become the first man in the Open Era to win multiple Roland Garros titles after turning 30.
- Wawrinka, who won 2015 Roland Garros aged 30 years 71 days and the 2016 US Open aged 31 years 167 days, is looking to become the 3rd man in the Open Era to win 3 or more Grand Slams titles after turning 30. Rod Laver and Rosewall are the only men to have won 3 or more Grand Slam titles after turning 30:
Players aged over 30 to win 2 or more Grand Slams (all-time)
Player |
Titles won aged over 30 |
Years |
| Rod Laver | 4 | 1969 |
| Ken Rosewall | 4 | 1968, 1970, 1971, 1972 |
| Andre Agassi | 2 | 2001, 2003 |
| Jimmy Connors | 2 | 1982, 1983 |
| Stan Wawrinka | 2 | 2015, 2016 |
| Roger Federer | 2 | 2012, 2017 |
- Wawrinka is bidding to win his 4th Grand Slam title and move into joint-15th place on the list for most Open Era Grand Slam titles won with Jim Courier, Rosewall and Guillermo Vilas.
- Wawrinka is bidding to become the first Swiss player – man or woman – in history to win Roland Garros on multiple occasions. Wawrinka, the 2015 champion, and Federer, who won the title here in 2009 are the only Swiss players to have won the title here.
- Wawrinka, who won the boys’ singles title here in 2003 (d. Brian Baker), is bidding to become the 5th former Roland Garros boys’ champion to go on and win the men’s title here on multiple occasions. Only 6 of the 70 different Roland Garros boys’ champions have gone on to win the men’s singles title. They are:
| Junior Champion Men’s Champion | |
| Ken Rosewall
Roy Emerson Andres Gimeno Mats Wilander Ivan Lendl Stan Wawrinka |
1952 1953 and 1968
1954 1963 and 1967 1955 1972 1981 1982, 1985 and 1988 1978 1984, 1986 and 1987 2003 2015 |
- Roland Garros is Wawrinka’s joint-most successful Grand Slam event in terms of matches and titles won along with the US Open.
| Grand Slam | Titles won | Win-loss record | Finals reached |
| Australian Open | 1 | 36-11 | 1 |
| Roland Garros | 1 | 38-11 | 1 |
| Wimbledon | 0 | 18-12 | 0 |
| US Open | 1 | 38-11 | 1 |
- Wawrinka is through to his 2nd Roland Garros final. Federer (2006-2009, 2011) and Martina Hingis (1997, 1999) are the only other Swiss players to have reached the final here in history. Federer (28 Grand Slam finals), Hingis (12) and Wawrinka (4) are the only Swiss players to reach a Grand Slam final.
- By reaching the final here, Wawrinka has become the oldest man to reach the final at Roland Garros since Niki Pilic finished runner-up here aged 33 years 280 days in 1973.
- By reaching his 2nd final here, Wawrinka has become the 20th man in the Open Era to reach the Roland Garros final on multiple occasions. He joins Michael Chang, Alex Corretja, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Jan Kodes, Laver, Ilie Nastase, Rosewall and Robin Soderling in joint-12th place on the list for most appearances in the Roland Garros final in the Open Era.
- By reaching his 4th Grand Slam final, Wawrinka has joined Chang, Lleyton Hewitt, Goran Ivanisevic, Pat Rafter and Marat Safin in joint-23rd place on the list for most Grand Slam finals reached in the Open Era.
- Wawrinka’s best Roland Garros performance is winning the title in 2015, defeating Djokovic 46 64 63 64 in the final. He was the first man to win Roland Garros a year after losing in the 1st round since 2002 champion Albert Costa, who had lost in the 1st round in Paris in 2001. At 30 years 71 days he was the oldest male champion since Andres Gomez in 1990.
- Wawrinka has won 3 Grand Slam titles at 3 different majors. He also won the 2014 Australian Open
(d. today’s opponent) and the 2016 US Open (d. Djokovic). At the Australian Open, he was the first player to defeat the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds en route to a Grand Slam title since Sergi Bruguera won 1993 Roland Garros. At the US Open, he became the oldest US Open champion since Rosewall in 1970.
- Wawrinka is bidding to record his 11th straight win and extend his career-best Tour-level winning streak on clay, having defended his title at Geneva prior to coming here. His previous best winning streak on clay was 9 straight wins, which he has achieved on 3 other occasions – in winning the title at 2013 Oeiras through to the final at 2013 Madrid-1000, in winning the title at 2015 Roland Garros through to the quarterfinals at 2016 Monte Carlo-1000, and in winning the title at 2016 Geneva through to the semifinals at 2016 Roland Garros.
- By defeating Murray in 5 sets in the semifinals here, Wawrinka improved his career 5-set win-loss record to 26-20. He has a 9-2 win-loss record in 5-set matches at Roland Garros.
- By defeating Murray in the semifinals here, Wawrinka defeated a world No. 1 for the 4th time in his career. All 3 of his previous wins against players ranked No. 1 came in Grand Slam finals – against today’s opponent in the 2014 Australian Open final and against Djokovic in both the 2015 Roland Garros and 2016 US Open finals. He has a 4-20 win-loss record against players ranked No. 1 overall.
- On his title defence here last year, Wawrinka lost to Murray in 4 sets in the semifinals.
- Wawrinka warmed up for Roland Garros by defending his title at Geneva (d. Mischa Zverev) after 3rd round finishes at Monte Carlo-1000 (l. Pablo Cuevas) and Rome-1000 (l. John Isner). He lost his opening match at Madrid-1000
(l. Benoit Paire). 7 of his 16 career titles have come on clay.
- Also in 2017 Wawrinka reached his 4th Masters-1000 final at Indian Wells, falling to Federer, the semifinals at both the Australian Open (l. Federer) and Brisbane (l. Kei Nishikori), and the round of 16 at Miami-1000
(l. Alexander Zverev).
- Wawrinka has played in every major since making his Grand Slam debut at 2005 Roland Garros. This is his 13th straight Roland Garros appearance and his 49th consecutive Grand Slam appearance, which puts him in 10th place on the list for the most consecutive appearances at the majors in history.
- Wawrinka is coached by 2000 Roland Garros finalist Magnus Norman.
- NADAL is bidding to become the first player, man or woman, in the Open Era – and only the 2nd player in history – to win 10 titles at any Grand Slam event. Margaret Court is the only player in history to have won 10 or more titles at one Grand Slam event, winning the Australian title on 11 occasions in 1960-66, 1969-71, and 1973.
Most titles at the same Grand Slam tournament (men and women)
| Player | Grand Slam | Titles | Years |
| Margaret Court | Australian Open* | 11 | 1960-66, 1969-71, 1973 |
| Rafael Nadal | Roland Garros | 10?? | 2005-08, 2010-2014, 2017?? |
| Martina Navratilova | Wimbledon | 9 | 1978-79, 1982-87, 1990 |
*Known as Australian Championships before 1969
- Nadal is bidding to further extend the record he set at 2013 Roland Garros for the most men’s Grand Slam titles at any one event.
Most titles at the same Grand Slam tournament (men)
| Player | Grand Slam | Titles | Years |
| Rafael Nadal | Roland Garros | 9?? | 2005-08, 2010-2014, 2017?? |
| Richard Sears | US Championships | 7 | 1881-87* |
| William Renshaw | Wimbledon | 7 | 1881-86, 1889 |
| Bill Larned | US Championships | 7 | 1901-02, 1907-11* |
| Bill Tilden | US Championships | 7 | 1920-25, 1929 |
| Pete Sampras | Wimbledon | 7 | 1993-95, 1997-2000 |
| Roger Federer | Wimbledon | 7 | 2003-07, 2009, 2012 |
*Challenge round played through 1911 at US Championships
- Nadal is looking to win his 15th Grand Slam title and take sole ownership of 2nd place on the all-time list for most Grand Slam titles won ahead of Pete Sampras. [See table overleaf]
Grand Slam titles won (all-time)
| Player | No. of GS titles |
| Roger Federer | 18 |
| Rafael Nadal | 15?? |
| Pete Sampras | 14 |
| Novak Djokovic
Roy Emerson |
12
12 |
| Bjorn Borg
Rod Laver |
11
11 |
Active players in bold
- If he wins today, at 31 years 8 days Nadal will be the oldest player – man or woman – in history to win 15 Grand Slam titles.
Age of 15-time Grand Slam winners
| Player | 15th Grand Slam title | Age |
| Rafael Nadal?? | 2017 Roland Garros?? | 31 years 8 days |
| Serena Williams | 2012 US Open | 30 years 348 days |
| Martina Navratilova | 1986 US Open | 29 years 324 days |
| Chris Evert | 1983 Roland Garros | 28 years 166 days |
| Margaret Court | 1970 Wimbledon | 27 years 353 days |
| Roger Federer | 2009 Wimbledon | 27 years 331 days |
| Helen Wills Moody | 1932 Roland Garros | 26 years 244 days |
| Steffi Graf | 1994 Australian Open | 24 years 230 days |
- This is Nadal’s 22nd Grand Slam final. He has a 14-7 win-loss record in Grand Slam finals, going into today’s match. He has reached back-to-back major finals for the first time since he reached 3 Grand Slam finals in a row from the 2013 US Open through 2014 Roland Garros.
Nadal in Grand Slam finals
| Event | Result |
| 2005 Roland Garros | d. Mariano Puerta 67(6) 63 61 75 |
| 2006 Roland Garros | d. Roger Federer 16 61 64 76(4) |
| 2006 Wimbledon | l. Roger Federer 60 76(5) 67(2) 63 |
| 2007 Roland Garros | d. Roger Federer 63 46 63 64 |
| 2007 Wimbledon | l. Roger Federer 76(7) 46 76(3) 26 62 |
| 2008 Roland Garros | d. Roger Federer 61 63 60 |
| 2008 Wimbledon | d. Roger Federer 64 64 67(5) 67(8) 97 |
| 2009 Australian Open | d. Roger Federer 75 36 76(3) 36 62 |
| 2010 Roland Garros | d. Robin Soderling 64 62 64 |
| 2010 Wimbledon | d. Tomas Berdych 63 75 64 |
| 2010 US Open | d. Novak Djokovic 64 57 64 62 |
| 2011 Roland Garros | d. Roger Federer 75 76(3) 57 61 |
| 2011 Wimbledon | l. Novak Djokovic 64 61 16 63 |
| 2011 US Open | l. Novak Djokovic 62 64 67(3) 61 |
| 2012 Australian Open | l. Novak Djokovic 57 64 62 67(5) 75 |
| 2012 Roland Garros | d. Novak Djokovic 64 63 26 75 |
| 2013 Roland Garros | d. David Ferrer 63 62 63 |
| 2013 US Open | d. Novak Djokovic 62 36 64 61 |
| 2014 Australian Open | l. Stan Wawrinka 63 62 36 63 |
| 2014 Roland Garros | d. Novak Djokovic 36 75 62 64 |
| 2017 Australian Open | l. Roger Federer 64 36 61 36 63 |
| 2017 Roland Garros | v Stan Wawrinka |
- Nadal is bidding to win his 53rd career clay court title at Roland Garros. By winning his 50th clay court title at Monte Carlo-1000, he set an Open Era record for the most career clay court titles ahead of Guillermo Vilas (49).
- Nadal is looking to become the first No. 4 seed to win a Grand Slam title since he won his first major title, as No. 4 seed, by defeating Mariano Puerta in the final here in 2005. Roger Federer is the last No. 4 seed to have reached the final at a Grand Slam, when he finished runner-up to Novak Djokovic at 2014 Wimbledon. Nadal defeated the last No. 4 seed to reach the final at Roland Garros – David Ferrer in 2013.
- Nadal has won 7 of his last 8 meetings with Top 5 opposition at the Grand Slams. His only defeat to a Top 5 player at a major since falling to No. 1 Djokovic in the final at the 2012 Australian Open came against No. 1 Djokovic in the quarterfinals here in 2015. He has a 24-9 win-loss record against Top 5 opponents at the majors overall.
- Nadal is through to the Roland Garros final without dropping a set for the 5th time in his career. He also reached the final here without dropping a set in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2012. He went on to win the title without dropping a set in 2008 and 2010. [NB Nadal has played 16 completed sets here this year due to Pablo Carreno Busta’s retirement in the quarterfinals]
- Nadal has dropped just 29 games in reaching the final here – the 2nd fewest games dropped into a Grand Slam final in the Open Era where the best-of-5 set format has been played*. Bjorn Borg dropped 27 games in reaching the 1978 final. Borg also holds the Open Era record for the fewest games dropped in winning a Grand Slam title (where the best-of-5 format has been played throughout the tournament). [*NB Guillermo Vilas dropped 26 games in reaching the final at the 1977 US Open, but the opening 4 rounds were best-of-3 sets]
Fewest games dropped in winning a Grand Slam title*
| Bjorn Borg | 32 – 1978 Roland Garros |
| Bjorn Borg | 38 – 1980 Roland Garros |
| Rafael Nadal | 41 – 2008 Roland Garros |
*Where all matches played were best-of-5-sets
- Nadal has played just 2 five-set matches at Roland Garros – he came back from 1-2 down to defeat John Isner in the 1st round in 2011 and also defeated Djokovic in 5 sets in the 2013 semifinals. He has a 19-9 win-loss record in
5-set matches overall.
- Nadal is the leading performer in Roland Garros history. He has a 78-2 win-loss record at Roland Garros, ahead of Federer (65-16), Djokovic (59-12) and Vilas (58-17).
- Roland Garros is Nadal’s most successful Grand Slam in terms of match-wins, titles won and finals reached.
| Grand Slam | Titles won | Win-loss record | Finals reached |
| Australian Open | 1 | 51-11 | 4 |
| Roland Garros | 10?? | 78-2 | 10 |
| Wimbledon | 2 | 40-9 | 5 |
| US Open | 2 | 46-10 | 3 |
- By reaching the final here, Nadal became the 3rd man in history to make 10 appearances in the final at one Grand Slam event after Bill Tilden (10 US Open finals) and Roger Federer (10 Wimbledon finals).
- By reaching his 22nd Grand Slam final, Nadal took sole ownership of 2nd place on the all-time list for most Grand Slam finals reached in the Open Era ahead of Djokovic.
Grand Slam finals reached (all-time)
| Player | No. of GS finals |
| Roger Federer | 28 |
| Rafael Nadal | 22 |
| Novak Djokovic | 21 |
| Ivan Lendl | 19 |
| Pete Sampras | 18 |
| Rod Laver | 17 |
Active players in bold
- Nadal has reached his 10th Roland Garros final and extended his record for the most final appearances here ahead of 2nd-placed Borg (6 Roland Garros final appearances). He has never lost a Roland Garros final.
- By defeating Dominic Thiem in Friday’s semifinals, Nadal improved his win-loss record in Grand Slam semifinals to 22-3. He has a 10-0 win-loss record in semifinals here.
- By defeating Carreno Busta in the quarterfinals here, Nadal recorded his 100th best-of-5-sets match-win on clay. He has a 101-2 win-loss record in best-of-5-sets matches on clay, with his only defeats coming at Roland Garros – in the round of 16 in 2009 (l. Robin Soderling) and the quarterfinals in 2015 (l. Djokovic).
- Nadal’s 3rd round win over Nikoloz Basilashvili here was the first time a man has dropped just one game in a completed match at Roland Garros since 2008, when Tomas Berdych defeated wild card Robert Smeets 61 60 60 in the 1st round and Ferrer defeated Fabrice Santoro 60 61 60 in the 2nd round.
- Nadal’s 3rd round win over Basilashvili was his best victory in a best-of-5-sets match on clay in terms of games dropped. He has dropped 3 games or fewer in a completed best-of-5-set match on clay on 7 occasions:
Nadal dropping 3 games or fewer in best-of-5-set matches on clay
| Event | Result | Games dropped |
| 2008 Roland Garros – R16 | d. Fernando Verdasco 61 60 62 | 3 |
| 2008 Roland Garros – QF | d. Nicolas Almagro 61 61 61 | 3 |
| 2009 Davis Cup – WG 1R | d. Janko Tipsarevic 61 60 62 | 3 |
| 2012 Roland Garros – R16 | d. Juan Monaco 62 60 60 | 2 |
| 2014 Roland Garros – R128 | d. Robby Ginepri 60 63 60 | 3 |
| 2016 Roland Garros – 128 | d. Sam Groth 61 61 61 | 3 |
| 2017 Roland Garros – R32 | d. Nikoloz Basilashvili 60 61 60 | 1 |
- At the 2010 US Open, Nadal became the 7th man in history to win all 4 Grand Slam titles. He was the 3rd-youngest in history and the youngest man in the Open Era, to do so.
- Last year here, Nadal gave a walkover ahead of his 3rd round match with Marcel Granollers due to a wrist injury. This is Nadal’s 13th successive Roland Garros and his 48th appearance at a major.
- Nadal is one of only 2 players to have won multiple clay court titles this year along with Alexander Zverev. He won his 10th titles at both Monte Carlo-1000 (d. Albert Ramos-Vinolas) and Barcelona (d. Thiem) – becoming the first man in the Open Era to win a singles tournament on 10 occasions – and his 30th Masters 1000 title at Madrid (d. Thiem).
- Nadal has been coached by his uncle Toni since the age of 4. He added 1998 Roland Garros champion Carlos Moya to his coaching team ahead of the 2017 season.
*** Statistics courtesy of Grand Slam Media and the ITF