The Life and Times of Rafael Nadal Quiz / Test | Sports

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Rafael Nadal won his first Grand Slam at the 2005 French Open, but who did he beat in the final?

Answer: Mariano Puerta

Nadal recovered from losing the first set to defeat Puerta in four sets in the final. He also defeated Federer, dispatching the Swiss Maestro in the semi-finals. Ferrer lost to Nadal in the quarter-finals. Haas exited the competition much earlier, falling to Nikolay Davydenko in the third round.

2. Nadal won a second consecutive French Open in 2006 but also reached the final of which of these tournaments?

Answer: Wimbledon

Rafa reached his first Wimbledon final in 2006, losing in four sets to Roger Federer. Injury forced the Spaniard to miss that year's Australian Open. An encouraging run at the US Open was ended abruptly by a loss to Mikhail Youzhny in the quarter-finals. He lost in the semi-finals of the Masters Cup to Federer.

3. Although Nadal continued to dominate on clay in 2007 and won a third French Open, what setback did Rafa suffer for the first time during that year's clay season?

Answer: First time he lost a "bagel set" on the surface

A 'bagel set' is a colloquial term for losing a set 6-0. Rafa's 81 match winning streak on clay that had started in April 2005 ended with a loss to Roger Federer in the 2007 Madrid Masters final, losing 6-0 in the deciding set. Nadal's first loss to Murray on clay came in the 2015 Madrid Masters final. Nadal's first loss over five sets on clay came against Robin Soderling at the 2009 French Open. Nadal's first loss in Monte Carlo came much earlier, losing to Guillermo Coria in 2003.

4. The 2008 Wimbledon Final between Nadal and arch-rival Roger Federer is so entrenched in tennis memory that almost every other match from the tournament is forgotten. Who did Nadal beat in the semi-finals that year?

Answer: Rainer Schuttler

Schuttler was runner-up of the 2003 Australian Open. Nadal comfortably dispatched the German in straight sets. Safin, a former US Open and Australian Open winner, was Federer's semi-final opponent. Clement reached the final of the 2001 Australian Open and was beaten by Schuttler in the quarter-finals. 2002 Wimbledon champion Hewitt was eliminated by Federer in the round of 16.

5. Nadal was beaten by Juan Martin Del Potro in the semi-finals of the 2009 US Open. This marked his third semi-final loss in a major within the last two years. At which tournament did Nadal next lose a Grand Slam semi-final?

Answer: Wimbledon 2018

Nadal won an incredible 16 consecutive Grand Slam semi-finals between 2010 and 2018. The run ended with a loss in a five-set epic to Novak Djokovic in the 2018 Wimbledon semi-finals. He also lost to the Serbian in the 2015 French Open quarter-finals. Rafa beat Grigor Dimitrov in the 2017 Australian Open semi-finals before losing the final to Roger Federer. Nadal lost in the fourth round of the 2016 US Open to Lucas Pouille.

6. Only three players have ever beaten Nadal on multiple occasions at Wimbledon. Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are two of them. Who is the other one?

Answer: Gilles Muller

Muller stunned the Spaniard in the second round of Wimbledon 2005 with a four set victory. He repeated these heroics twelve years later with an epic five-set win in 2017. Kyrgios beat Nadal in the fourth round of Wimbledon 2014, but Nadal won when they met in the second round of Wimbledon 2019. Murray has lost all of his three Wimbledon meetings with Nadal. Wawrinka, as of 2019, is yet to face Nadal at SW19.

7. After injury cut short Nadal's 2012 season, the King of Clay returned with a dominant 2013 campaign. How many titles did he win that year?

Answer: Ten

Nadal won ten titles and was runner-up in four other events. His victories included two Grand Slam titles at the French Open and US Open. Nadal also won a record-tying five Masters 1000 titles, winning tournaments in Indian Wells, Madrid, Rome, Montreal and Cincinnati. His smaller scale victories came at the ATP 500 events in Acapulco and Barcelona and an ATP 250 event in Sao Paulo.

8. Nadal is an avid fan of Spanish football club Real Madrid. As a result, parallels were drawn between Real's search for a tenth European Cup (known as La Decima) and Rafa's pursuit of a tenth French Open. How many years after Real achieved its La Decima did Nadal achieve his?

Answer: Three years

Real Madrid won its tenth European Cup in May 2014 with a victory over local rivals Atletico Madrid in the final. Nadal sealed his tenth French Open title in June 2017 with victory over Stan Wawrinka. As of 2019, Real has since won three more European Cups and Nadal has won twelve French Open titles.

9. Nadal was stunned in the first round of the 2016 Australian Open with a loss to his compatriot Fernando Verdasco. It was the first time that Nadal had lost his opening match at a major since which tournament?

Answer: Wimbledon 2013

Nadal suffered a straight sets loss to Belgian journeyman Steve Darcis in the opening round of Wimbledon 2013. Rafa reached the quarter-finals of the 2011 Australian Open, losing to David Ferrer. The Spaniard was champion of both the 2010 US Open and 2012 French Open.

10. As of September 2019, Nadal has played in 26 Grand Slam finals. He has an 18-8 record in these finals. How many different players has Rafa played against in a major final?

Answer: Ten

Nadal has faced Roger Federer nine times in major finals, winning six of them. This includes four French Open finals (2006-8, 11), the 2008 Wimbledon final and the 2009 Australian Open final. Federer beat Nadal in the 2006 and 2007 Wimbledon finals and the 2017 Australian Open final.

Nadal has faced Novak Djokovic eight times, winning four and losing four. He beat the Serb in the 2012 and 2014 French Open finals, while also defeating him in the 2010 and 2013 US Open finals. Djokovic beat Nadal in the 2012 and 2019 Australian Open finals, alao winning the 2011 Wimbledon and US Open finals against the Spaniard.

Nadal has faced Stan Wawrinka twice in major finals, losing the 2014 Australian Open final but winning the 2017 French Open final. Nadal defeated Thiem in the 2018 and 2019 French Open finals.

Nadal beat Mariano Puerta, Robin Soderling and David Ferrer in the 2005, 2010 and 2013 French Open finals respectively.

Nadal also beat Tomas Berdych in the 2010 Wimbledon final and Kevin Anderson in the 2017 US Open final. Nadal's tenth major final opponent was Daniil Medvedev, who he defeated in the 2019 US Open final.

Source: Author TheOracler

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

The Life and Times of Rafael Nadal Quiz

A quiz on the career of the tennis player Rafael Nadal, including his biggest achievements and greatest matches.

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>