He's the Russian tennis player who was the last man to defeat Rafael Nadal on clay. That was in April 2005 and since then, Nadal has gone on to become the number two player of the world and winner of the last two French Opens.
But even more impressively, Nadal has accumulated a historic men's streak of winning 72 consecutive matches on clay (Chris Evert holds the women's record with 125 straight wins). On Sunday, Nadal overpowered Guillermo Canas 6-3, 6-4 to win the Barcelona Open for a record-equalling third time and tp preserve his streak as he prepares to compete for a third straight French title. He next plays the man's tournament in Rome which begins in a week.
"It's great to win again at home," said Nada, according to the Associated Pressl. "This streak is not a normal thing, and I know it will end some day. But I'm only thinking about playing each match well. I'm very happy after winning here three times at my club," said Nadal. "Willy (Canas) is one of the best players in the world on clay, and he's having a fantastic start to the season."
Canas joked: "Congratulations to Rafa for this season.. and the previous one, and the one before that."