2 Responses to stuttgart05nadal_gaudio

1. Voo de Mar says:

   October 9, 2025 at 12:35 pm

   Points won by each set: | 38-33, 32-24, 40-37 |
   Points won directly behind the serve:
   8 % Nadal – 8 of 91
   8 % Gaudio – 10 of 113

   The initial phase of the final between two contemporary French Open champions (Gaudio ’04, and Nadal ’05) looked like a potential epic. There was 3-all after 40 minutes, Nadal [3] couldn’t dictate the pace with his heavy forehand top-spins like he used to do against the vast majority of players on clay-courts, but his superior defensive skills frustrated Gaudio and made the difference in the end. “I won in three sets, but the match was very close,” said Nadal. “He’s one of the best players on clay in the world.” Gaudio [13] admitted: “There’s no doubt I played a great champion – he was just too good. No one on the tour can find a way to beat him on clay.” It was Nadal’s last clay-court event of the 2005 year when he established himself as a king of that surface.

   Nadal’s route to his 9th title:
   2 Hugo Armando 6-1, 6-2
   3 Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-2
   Q Tomas Zib 6-2, 6-1
   S Jarkko Nieminen 6-2, 7-5
   W Gaston Gaudio 6-3, 6-3, 6-4

   Serve & volley: Nadal 3/3, Gaudio 3/4

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2. Voo de Mar says:

   October 9, 2025 at 12:44 pm

   ☆ Nadal did on clay-courts in 2005 something similar to Muster ten years before. Here’s a comparison of their extraordinary seasons on clay:

   Muster in 1995: record 62-2 (40 won in a row), titles 11 (including Monte Carlo, Rome & French Open)… lost to Corretja & A.Costa
   Nadal in 2005: record 50-2 (36 won in a row), titles 8 (including Monte Carlo, Rome & French Open)… lost to Gaudio & Andreev

   From 2008 onwards, Nadal changed his schedule, he wasn’t interested in playing on clay in the second half of the season,
   the year 2005 remained the best one in his long career regarding clay-court performances

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