2009 French Open – Men's Singles 2009 French Open – Men's Singles Rafael Nadal was the four-time defending champion, but lost in the fourth round to Robin Söderling in a huge upset. This was Nadal's first defeat (of two) at the French Open, having won the title in all four of his previous appearances at Roland Garros since debuting in 2005. With Nadal's loss, there would be a first time French Open champion for 2009. Roger Federer beat Söderling in the final 6–1, 7–6, 6–4 to win his first French Open title, complete the career Grand Slam, and equal Pete Sampras' then-record of 14 Grand Slam
Rafael Nadal defeated Djokovic in the 2017 Madrid Open semifinals (6–2, 6–4), his first victory against the Serb since the 2014 French Open. When they next met Nadal beat Djokovic again, this time on clay in the 2018 Rome semifinals, 7-6(4), 6-3. Their most recent encounter was in the 2018 Wimbledon semifinals, where Djokovic finally emerged victorious after an over-5-hour battle that was spread over two days and went to 10-8 in the fifth set. Nadal and Andy Murray have met on 24 occasions since 2007, with Nadal leading 17–7. Nadal leads 7–2 on clay, 3–0 on grass, and 7–5 on hard