Nadal is the king of Roland-Garros, not the prince of Paris : His incessant struggles in Bercy

Rafael Nadal, Roland-Garros 2020, Bercy 2018

2020: Title No 13, lucky for some – and certainly for Rafael Nadal, dismantling Novak Djokovic in the Roland-Garros final. Will he be equally dominant indoors in the same city?

Carrie Dunn

November 7, 2020

1/16

2005: Roland-Garros champion / Withdrew from Bercy

Rafael Nadal's first title at Roland Garros, notably with a victory in the semi-final against world No 1 Roger Federer. The Spaniard, who was suffering from tendonitis in his left arm, missed Bercy a few months later.
2/16

2006: Roland-Garros champion / Withdrew from Bercy

Rafael Nadal achieves his second title at Roland-Garros, with another victory against Roger Federer, in the final this time, but still no Bercy for the Mallorcan, missing it due to an intercostal elongation.
3/16

2007: Roland-Garros champion / Bercy runner-up

Unstoppable, Nadal won his third title at Roland Garros and dominated Federer in the final. For his first appearance at Bercy, he reached the final but fell to David Nalbandian.
4/16

2008: Roland-Garros champion / Bercy quarter-finalist

A fourth title at Roland Garros for Rafael Nadal, who does not lose a single set across the fortnight. At Bercy, the Spaniard is much less dominant and loses in the quarter-finals against Nikolay Davydenko.
5/16

2009: 4th round at Roland-Garros / Bercy semi-finalist

A shock - Rafael Nadal's first defeat at Roland Garros. The Mallorcan lost in the round of 16 to Robin Soderling. That year Nadal advanced to the semi-finals at Bercy but lost to Novak Djokovic.
6/16

2010: Roland-Garros champion / Withdrew from Bercy

A return to form for the Mallorcan, who won the title for the fifth time at Roland Garros by beating Robin Soderling in the final and without dropping a set in the fortnight. At Bercy, Nadal was absent for the first time since 2006, suffering tendonitis in the left arm.
7/16

NADAL_2011_BeFunky-collage

2011: A sixth title at Roland Garros for Rafael Nadal, and his fourth in which he defeated Roger Federer in the final. The Spaniard withdrew from Bercy, seeking rest before the London Masters.
8/16

2012: Roland-Garros champion / Withdrew from Bercy

Rafael Nadal becomes the most successful man in the history of Roland-Garros with seven titles, beating Novak Djokovic in the final. Another Bercy absence for the Spaniard, with an injury to the left knee.
9/16

2013: Roland-Garros champion / Bercy semi-finalist

After an epic semi-final won against Novak Djokovic in straight sets, Rafael Nadal triumphed in the final by beating David Ferrer - his eighth title at Roland Garros. Present at Bercy for the first time since 2009, the Mallorcan reaches the semi-finals, where he lost to Ferrer, exacting revenge for the French Open.
10/16

2014: Roland-Garros champion / Withdrew from Bercy

A ninth title at Roland-Garros, the fifth in a row for Rafael Nadal, the boss in Paris on clay. Just before Bercy, he has to pull out with appendicitis - the sixth time he missed out.
11/16

2015: Roland-Garros quarter-finalist / Bercy quarter-finalist

Another shock at Roland-Garros, where Rafael Nadal lost for only the second time in his career, in three sets against Novak Djokovic. Present at Bercy, he reached the quarter-finals before being knocked out by Stan Wawrinka.
12/16

2016: Withdrew before his 3rd round before Roland-Garros / Withdrew from Bercy

Nadal's left wrist troubled him, forcing him out of Roland-Garros for the first time in his career, before playing his third round. Still in difficulty with this injury, Nadal puts an end to his season and misses out once again on Bercy.
13/16

2017: Roland-Garros champion / Withdrew from Bercy

The king returned to his throne. Rafael Nadal won Roland-Garros for the 10th time in his career. But at Bercy, nothing had changed - and he missed out due to an injury to his right knee.
14/16

2018: Roland-Garros champion / Withdrew from Bercy

Rafael Nadal won his 11th title at Roland Garros after his victory against Dominic Thiem in the final. He skipped Bercy due to an abdominal injury.
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2019: Roland-Garros champion / Withdrew before his semi-final at Bercy

Rafael Nadal won for the 12th time at Roland Garros by once more beating his big rival on clay Dominic Thiem in the final. Present at Bercy, Nadal reached the semi-finals but was forced to withdraw, victim of an abdominal injury a few hours before playing against Denis Shapovalov.
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2020: Roland-Garros champion / semi-finalist at Bercy

History repeated itself as Rafael Nadal once again fell short at Bercy after winning the Roland-Garros back in October in very much different circumstances. He ran into Alexander Zverev, who is on an 11-match win streak at the time, in his first tournament back after his 13th title at Roland-Garros, and the red-hot German edged him out 6-4, 7-5.