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John McEnroe’s 34-yr old record broken by Rafael Nadal

When you think about the modern era of lawn tennis, there are a few names that you just cannot miss, such as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova, Serena and Venus Williams, and a few others. They’ve been legendary tennis players over the years and are creating records even though they’ve reached the twilight of their careers.

Rafael Nadal, more popularly known as ‘Rafa’, turned pro in 2001 and has enjoyed years of rivalry with Federer, treating tennis fans across the globe to some of the most exciting matches in the history of the game. Out of his career total of 16 Grand Slams, 10 were achieved on the clay courts of the French Open, rightly giving him the ‘King of Clay’ title.

A couple of days back, Nadal was playing a Round of 16 match in the Madrid Open, against Argentine world number #16 Diego Schwartzman. He beat Schwartzman 6-3, 6-4 to progress to the quarter finals of the clay tournament and with that, he broke a 34-year old record of the most consecutive set wins on a single surface, set by the legend John McEnroe.

McEnroe set his record of 49 consecutive set wins on the same carpet way back in 1984 and the 31-year old Nadal broke this record in his straight sets win against Schwartzman, becoming the first ever to win 50 sets in a row.

“When my career is over, these are things that are going to be there for always. They are big records. It’s difficult to be able to win 50 sets in a row. But I’ve done it. Well, it’s done. It’s over. Let’s not talk about that anymore and let’s continue on what we have ahead, which is what I am concerned about,” said Nadal after knowing about his achievement.

However, Nadal’s winning streak soon came to an end when he lost to Dominic Thiem in straight sets, in yesterday’s quarter final. Nadal will be one of the hot favourites when the 2018 French Open kicks off at the end of this month. Remember, he is also the defending champions at the Roland Garros!

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