Rafael Nadal lost the final of the Madrid Open to Roger Federer. This was the first time that Nadal had lost to Federer since the semifinals of the 2007 Tennis Masters Cup. By beating Lleyton Hewitt in the third round of French Open, Nadal set a record of 31 consecutive wins at Roland Garros, beating the previous record of 28 by Björn Borg. This run came to an end on 31 May 2009, when Nadal lost to eventual runner-up, Robin Söderling in the 4th round. This was Nadal's first and, until 2015, only loss at the French Open. After his surprise defeat
2014 Rafael Nadal tennis season withdraw from the Rogers Cup, the Western & Southern Open and the US Open where he was the defending champion. Nadal announced on 24 October that he would not be competing for rest of the season due to appendicitis and eventually underwent surgery. Despite an injury plagued season, Nadal still ended the year at No. 3 with 4 titles. Rafael Nadal won the title at 2014 Qatar Open after defeating Gaël Monfils in the final on January 4. Nadal reached his third final Down Under by dispatching his old rival Roger Federer in the semi-finals with a straight set victory