2009 French Open the tournament, four-time champion Rafael Nadal was unbeaten in French Open singles matches, having won every match and tournament since his debut in 2005. His victory against Russian Teymuraz Gabashvili in the second round on May 27 was his 30th consecutive win, breaking the record for the longest French Open winning streak by a man or woman, held by Chris Evert, who won 29 consecutive matches. Nadal extended the record to 31 consecutive matches by beating Lleyton Hewitt on May 29. In his fourth round match on May 31, Nadal was defeated by World No. 23 Robin Söderling in four
Rafael Nadal final of a Grand Slam on all three surfaces (grass, hard, and clay). Novak Djokovic and Nadal have met 52 times (more than any other pair in the Open Era) and Nadal trails at 25–27. Nadal leads on clay 16–7, while Djokovic leads on hard courts 18–7, and they are tied on grass 2–2. In 2009, this rivalry was listed as the third greatest of the previous 10 years by ATPworldtour.com. Djokovic is one of only two players to have at least ten match wins against Nadal (the other being Federer) and the only person to defeat Nadal seven consecutive