Between 2006 and 2010, Djokovic and Nadal met nine times on clay, with the Spaniard winning all of those meetings. But in 2011 May, the Serbian tennis star finally clinched his first victory in their meetings on clay after winning the Madrid Masters final 7-5 6-4.

Rafael Nadal has backed ‘amazing’ Carlos Alcaraz to enjoy ‘one of the best tennis careers of all time’. Alcaraz, 21, has developed into one of the best players in the world over the past two years, winning four Grand Slams – including back-to-back Wimbledon titles.

Rafael Nadal is the only man to win over 50 matches at the Madrid Open, while two other players have reached 30 victories at the event. The Madrid Open was staged on the indoor hard courts of the Madrid Arena from its inaugural edition in 2002 until 2008.