Rafael Nadal won his 50th consecutive set on clay on Thursday to break John McEnroe’s 34-year record and beat Diego Schwartzman at the Madrid Open.
Nadal’s comfortable 6-3, 6-4 victory took him into the quarter-finals in the Spanish capital and means he sets a new Open era best for the longest streak of victorious sets on a single surface.
McEnroe’s 49-set winning streak on carpet in 1984 included him clinching the Madrid Indoor Open title and Nadal may well be about to follow suit.
He will play Austria’s Dominic Thiem on Friday for a place in the last four, incidentally the last man to beat the Spaniard on clay at Rome last year.
Nadal had insisted before the match this latest milestone had barely crossed his mind but if nothing else, it is testament to the 31-year-old’s relentless consistency over the past 12 months.
The run includes tournament triumphs in Barcelona, Monte Carlo and last year’s French Open, where he will be the clear favourite later this month to claim a 17th major crown.
Rafael Nadal sets a new record, defeating Diego Schwartzman 6-3 6-4 in Madrid to win 50 consecutive sets on clay. Beats John McEnroe's record of 49 on carpet in 1984.
— Stuart Fraser (@stu_fraser) May 10, 2018
🇪🇸 Rafael Nadal on clay:
— bet365_aus (@bet365_aus) May 11, 2018
6-1 6-4 6-1 6-1 6-4 6-3 6-0 6-1 6-0 6-1 6-2 6-2 6-2 2-0 6-3 6-4 6-0 6-2 6-3 6-1 6-2 6-2 6-3 6-1 6-4 6-4 6-1 6-3 6-3 6-2 6-0 6-2 6-4 6-1 6-3 6-2 6-4 6-4 6-1 6-3 6-0 7-5 6-4 6-0 6-2 6-1 6-3 6-1 6-3 6-4
😮 Fifty. Straight. Sets. pic.twitter.com/9XaWfjCRWt
21st straight win on clay...
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 10, 2018
💪💪 @RafaelNadal #MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/QGJZN1ZMOZ
6-1 6-4 6-1 6-1 6-4 6-3 6-0 6-1 6-0 6-1 6-2 6-2 6-2 2-0 (ret) 6-3 6-4 6-0 6-2 6-3 6-1 6-2 6-2 6-3 6-1 6-4 6-4 6-1 6-3 6-3 6-2 6-0 6-2 6-4 6-1 6-3 6-2 6-4 6-4 6-1 6-3 6-0 7-5 6-4 6-0 6-2 6-1 6-3 6-1 6-3 6-4
— Christopher Clarey (@christophclarey) May 10, 2018
Nadal on clay since start of '17 French Open. No tiebreakers in sight
Good morning. Here is Rafael Nadal's 50 consecutive sets won on clay in points... pic.twitter.com/DTCg1TO1BN
— Stuart Fraser (@stu_fraser) May 11, 2018
In 1984, our four-time champ John McEnroe set a record that would stand for 34 years - 49 successive sets won on a single surface (carpet). @RafaelNadal has just broken it! 50 sets won in a row on clay!
— Fever-Tree Championships (@QueensTennis) May 10, 2018
Congratulations Rafa Nadal! #QueensTennis
Stat - @ATPMediaInfo pic.twitter.com/YVjQAvcC53
Rafael Nadal wins his 50th straight set on clay to break John McEnroe's (carpet) Open Era record of consecutive sets won on any surface.
— George Bellshaw (@BellshawGeorge) May 10, 2018
A simply magnificent achievement from the true King of Clay!
Nadal equals John McEnroe's one-surface record of 49 consecutive sets won by taking opener v Schwartzman 6-3 at #MMOPEN
— Andy Schooler (@NetTalkTennis) May 10, 2018
McEnroe's run came on carpet in 1984
Games lost: Nadal 99, McEnroe 128
Tie-breaks played: Nadal 0, McEnroe 3
World No. 1 @RafaelNadal comes full circle Friday when he puts 21-match and 50-set clay win streaks on the line against World No. 7 @ThiemDomi. Thiem is last man to win a set and a match vs. Nadal on clay, doing so 19 May 2017 in @InteBNLdItalia QF. Nadal is 2-0 vs. Thiem since.
— ATP Media Info (@ATPMediaInfo) May 10, 2018
Just a reminder that Nadal has won 50 consecutive clay court sets dropping only 107 games at an average of 2.14 games dropped per set.
— Mihir (@_buggywhip) May 11, 2018
Carry on with your day.
Meanwhile, there is this response from the man himself
‘Rafa, 50 consecutive sets on clay. How are you?’
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) May 10, 2018
Rafa. ‘In the quarterfinals of Madrid’
The King of Clay reigns supreme
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 10, 2018
5️⃣0️⃣ straight sets on clay - the longest streak on any surface in @atpworldtour history
Congratulations, @RafaelNadal! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/7YdAr5Jvjj