2012 Rafael Nadal tennis season

Main article: Rafael Nadal
2012 Rafael Nadal tennis season
Name Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera
Country  Spain
Calendar prize money $4,997,448
Singles
Season record 42–6 (87.5%)
Calendar titles 4
Current ranking No. 4
Ranking change from previous year Decrease 2
Grand Slam results
Australian Open F
French Open W
Wimbledon 2R
US Open DNS
Doubles
Season record 7–1 (87.5%)
Calendar titles 1
Current ranking No. 66
Ranking change from previous year Decrease 7
Injuries
Injuries knee injury
Last updated on: September 10, 2012.

The 2012 Rafael Nadal tennis season officially began on January 2 with the start of the 2012 ATP World Tour.

Year summary

Asian/Pacific hard court season and Australian Open

Nadal during the finals of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters

Nadal began his World Tour season at the Qatar Open. He beat Philipp Kohlschreiber and qualifier Denis Gremelmayr in rounds one and two and then won against seventh-seeded Mikhail Youzhny.[1] In the semifinal he played poorly and lost to Gaël Monfils in two routine sets.[2]

Australian Open

In the Australian Open Nadal began the tournament by breezing past qualifier Alex Kuznetsov of United States.[3] The second round against Tommy Haas, who has never won a set against Rafael, was a little tighter but Nadal again advanced in three straight sets.[4] He outwitted compatriot Feliciano López in Fourth Round and won in Quarter-final and Semi-final, he won in 4 sets against Tomáš Berdych and Roger Federer, respectively. By doing so, he has reached the Finals of all four Grand Slams consecutively. In the final, on January 29, he was beaten by Novak Djokovic in five sets, the match being the longest ever match for a Grand Slam title. The epic final lasted 5 hours and 53 minutes. They set a new world record, breaking the latest longest major singles final between Mats Wilander and Ivan Lendl, which lasted 4 hours and 54 minutes, at the US Open in 1988.[5]

US hard court season

At Indian Wells, Nadal made it to the semifinals, where he was beaten by Roger Federer, who went on to win the tournament. However, he won the Doubles event of the tournament for the second time in succession after beating John Isner and Sam Querrey in the final.

He also made the semifinals in Miami, but withdrew because of problems with his knee, the hard-court season taking its toll on his weak spot once again.

European clay court season and the French Open

As the clay court season started, Nadal was seeded 2nd at the 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters in April. He was troubled in his opening round by seed number 47, Nieminen of Finland, but prevailed in two sets. He then went on to clinch his 8th Monte Carlo trophy in 9 tries by beating Qualifier Mikhail Kukushkin, easing through Stanislas Wawrinka, and defeating Gilles Simon in the Semifinal, before topping World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the final. This ended a streak of 7 straight final losses to Djokovic, which began at the 2011 Indian Wells Masters Final. Novak admitted that Nadal was just a better player, when asked whether the death of his grandfather early at the beginning of the tournament was affecting his whole play.

A day after the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Final, Nadal traveled to Barcelona where he received a 'bye' in the first round. His tremendous record on clay continued as he beat compatriot David Ferrer to clinch his seventh title in eight years at the Barcelona Open.

The Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open did not go very well for Nadal since he lost early in the 3R to Fernando Verdasco. Nadal stated that he was very unhappy with the new blue-colored clay and threatened not to attend in the future if the surface was not changed. Several other players such as Novak Djokovic agreed with Nadal in his criticism.[6]

In the last tournament before the French Open Nadal went to Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. He won every single match in two sets finishing with his second victory over Novak Djokovic and his third title in 2012.

French Open

At the French Open, Nadal managed to win all six matches before facing Novak Djokovic in the Final, in which Nadal won in four sets. During the entire tournament, Nadal only lost a single set (against Djokovic in the final). With his seventh championship victory at Roland Garros, Nadal became the most successful tennis player at the French Open.

Throughout the entire Clay court season, Nadal did not drop a single set on the red clay across 3 tournaments and 23 matches, which started in Monte Carlo, Barcelona, BNL d'Italia and was ended by Novak Djokovic in the Final of the French Open. He collected 5 bagels along the way (a bagel is a score of 6–0 in a set of a tennis match).

European grass court season, Wimbledon Championships and the Summer Olympics

For the first time since his debut in 2005, Nadal revisited the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany. There he enrolled in both the Doubles and Singles events. He partnered up with Marcel Granollers as his Doubles team-mate as well as "hitting company." After disappointing Quarter Finals losses at both the Singles and Doubles events of the Gerry Weber, Rafael Nadal took a week off from the tour and took a visit to his hometown, Manacor.

Wimbledon Championships

Wimbledon Championships did not go well for Nadal and was a disaster for him. He lost early in the second round to Lukáš Rosol in 5 sets in one of the greatest shocks in Grand Slam history. Rosol then succumbed to Philipp Kohlschreiber in the following round. After his loss, Nadal was off into yet another rest, this time in Sardinia.

London Olympics

Nadal's second appearance at the Summer Olympics, saw him chosen by the Spanish Sports Federation as the flag-bearer of Spain. He gained automatic entry to the Men's Singles Event and was the defending champion.

But on 19 July, Nadal stated that he will be withdrawing from the Olympics citing knee injury as his issue.

Summer US hard court season

After he withdrew from the London Olympics due to knee tendinitis, Nadal missed the rest of the US Open Series, leading up to the US Open, stating that he will not return to court before the recovery.

U.S. Open

On 15 August, Nadal announced via Twitter that he was withdrawing from the 2012 US Open (tennis).[7] He had already withdrawn from the 2012 Rogers Cup and the 2012 Western & Southern Open.

Autumn season

On 3 September, Nadal announced on his homepage that he would not play for the next two months in order to rest and allow his knee to recover. He ultimately missed the remainder of the 2012 season, having received qualification for the ATP World Tour Finals in London after his second round exit from Wimbledon, before pulling out due to injury. Despite missing the final four months of the season, Nadal managed to finish ranked No. 4 in the world, his lowest year-end ranking in eight years.

Nadal stated in his announcement: "I have missed the Olympics and the US Open in the last few weeks, two of the most important tournaments of the year and that I really wanted to play. I really want to be back competing and enjoying the tennis tour, but I have many years in front of me and my knee needs some rest. I will be back when I have no pain and able to compete with guarantee[...]." [8]

All matches

Key
W  F  SF QF R# RR Q# A P Z# PO G F-S SF-B NMS NH
(W) Won tournament; reached (F) final, (SF) semifinal, (QF) quarterfinal; (R#) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; competed at a (RR) round-robin stage; reached a (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent; played in a (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; won a (G) gold, (F-S) silver or (SF-B) bronze Olympic medal; a (NMS) downgraded Masters Series/1000 tournament; or (NH) tournament not held.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated either at the conclusion of a tournament, or when the player's participation in the tournament has ended.

Singles matches

Tournament Match Round Opponent Rank Result Score
Qatar ExxonMobil Open
Doha, Qatar
ATP World Tour 250
Hard, outdoor
2–7 January 2012
542 1R Germany Philipp Kohlschreiber 43
Win
6–3, 6–7(2–7), 6–3
543 2R Germany Denis Gremelmayr 189
Win
6–2, 6–2
544 QF Russia Mikhail Youzhny 35
Win
6–4, 6–4
545 SF France Gaël Monfils 15
Loss
3–6, 4–6
Australian Open
Melbourne, Australia
Grand Slam
Hard, outdoor
16–29 January 2012
546 1R United States Alex Kuznetsov 167
Win
6–4, 6–1, 6–1
547 2R Germany Tommy Haas 205
Win
6–4, 6–3, 6–4
548 3R Slovakia Lukáš Lacko 113
Win
6–2, 6–4, 6–2
549 4R Spain Feliciano López 19
Win
6–4, 6–4, 6–2
550 QF Czech Republic Tomáš Berdych 7
Win
6–7(5–7), 7–6(8–6), 6–4, 6–3
551 SF Switzerland Roger Federer 3
Win
6–7(5–7), 6–2, 7–6(7–5), 6–4
552 F Serbia Novak Djokovic 1
Loss
7–5, 4–6, 2–6, 7–6(7–5), 5–7
BNP Paribas Open
Indian Wells, United States
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Hard, outdoor
12–18 March 2012
1R Bye
553 2R Argentina Leonardo Mayer 78
Win
6–1, 6–3
554 3R Spain Marcel Granollers 26
Win
6–1, 6–4
555 4R Ukraine Alexandr Dolgopolov 21
Win
6–3, 6–2
556 QF Argentina David Nalbandian 74
Win
4–6, 7–5, 6–4
557 SF Switzerland Roger Federer 3
Loss
3–6, 4–6
Sony Ericsson Open
Miami, United States
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Hard, outdoor
21 March – 4 April 2012
1R Bye
558 2R Colombia Santiago Giraldo 57
Win
6–2, 6–0
559 3R Czech Republic Radek Štěpánek 25
Win
6–2, 6–2
560 4R Japan Kei Nishikori 16
Win
6–4, 6–4
561 QF France Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6
Win
6–2, 5–7, 6–4
562 SF United Kingdom Andy Murray 4 Withdrew N/A
Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters
Monte Carlo, Monaco
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Clay, outdoor
15–22 April 2012
1R Bye
563 2R Finland Jarkko Nieminen 48
Win
6–4, 6–3
564 3R Kazakhstan Mikhail Kukushkin 68
Win
6–1, 6–1
565 QF Switzerland Stanislas Wawrinka 26
Win
7–5, 6–4
566 SF France Gilles Simon 15
Win
6–3, 6–4
567 W Serbia Novak Djokovic 1
Win
6–3, 6–1
Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell
Barcelona, Spain
ATP World Tour 500
Clay, outdoor
23–29 April 2012
1R Bye
568 2R Spain Guillermo García-López 78
Win
6–1, 6–2
569 3R Colombia Robert Farah 246
Win
6–2, 6–3
570 QF Serbia Janko Tipsarević 8
Win
6–2, 6–2
571 SF Spain Fernando Verdasco 20
Win
6–0, 6–4
572 W Spain David Ferrer 6
Win
7–6(7–1), 7–5
Mutua Madrid Open
Madrid, Spain
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Clay, outdoor
7–13 May 2012
1R Bye
573 2R Russia Nikolay Davydenko 54
Win
6–2, 6–2
574 3R Spain Fernando Verdasco 19
Loss
3–6, 6–3, 5–7
Internazionali BNL d'Italia
Rome, Italy
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Clay, outdoor
13–20 May 2012
1R Bye
575 2R Germany Florian Mayer 28
Win
6–1, 7–5
576 3R Spain Marcel Granollers 26
Win
6–1, 6–1
577 QF Czech Republic Tomáš Berdych 7
Win
6–4, 7–5
578 SF Spain David Ferrer 6
Win
7–6(8–6), 6–0
579 W Serbia Novak Djokovic 1
Win
7–5, 6–3
French Open
Paris, France
Grand Slam
Clay, outdoor
28 May – 10 June 2012
580 1R Italy Simone Bolelli 111
Win
6–2, 6–2, 6–1
581 2R Uzbekistan Denis Istomin 43
Win
6–2, 6–2, 6–0
582 3R Argentina Eduardo Schwank 192
Win
6–1, 6–3, 6–4
583 4R Argentina Juan Mónaco 15
Win
6–2, 6–0, 6–0
584 QF Spain Nicolás Almagro 13
Win
7–6(7–4), 6–2, 6–3
585 SF Spain David Ferrer 6
Win
6–2, 6–2, 6–1
586 W Serbia Novak Djokovic 1
Win
6–4, 6–3, 2–6, 7–5
Gerry Weber Open
Halle, Germany
ATP World Tour 250
Grass, outdoor
11–17 June 2012
- 1R Bye
587 2R Slovakia Lukáš Lacko 58
Win
7–5, 6–1
588 QF Germany Philipp Kohlschreiber 34
Loss
3–6, 4–6
Wimbledon Championships
London, United Kingdom
Grand Slam
Grass, outdoor
25 June – 8 July 2012
589 1R Brazil Thomaz Bellucci 80
Win
7–6(7–0), 6-2, 6-3
590 2R Czech Republic Lukáš Rosol 100
Loss
7–6(11–9), 4–6, 4–6, 6–2, 4–6

Doubles matches

Tournament Match Round Opponents Ranking Result Score
BNP Paribas Open
Indian Wells, United States
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Hard, outdoor
12–18 March 2012
Partner: Spain Marc López
150 1R France Michaël Llodra
Serbia Nenad Zimonjić
#5 / #6 Win 6–4, 6-4
151 2R Ukraine Alexandr Dolgopolov
Belgium Xavier Malisse
#50 / #26 Win 6–4, 6-3
152 QF India Leander Paes
Czech Republic Radek Štěpánek
#7 / #22 Win 6–4, 7-6 (7-5)
153 SF Poland Mariusz Fyrstenberg
Poland Marcin Matkowski
#13 / #13 Win 6–2, 6-0
154 W United States John Isner
United States Sam Querrey
#33 / #35 Win 6–2, 7–6 (7-3)
Sony Ericsson Open
Miami, United States
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Hard, outdoor
21 March – 4 April 2012
Partner: Spain Marcel Granollers
155 1R Croatia Marin Čilić
Croatia Ivo Karlović
#80 / #128 Win 6–1, 6-3
156 2R India Mahesh Bhupathi
India Rohan Bopanna
#13 / #12 Loss 4-6, 3-6
Gerry Weber Open
Halle, Germany
ATP World Tour 250
Grass, outdoor
11–17 June 2012
Partner: Spain Marcel Granollers
157 1R Czech Republic Michal Mertiňák
Serbia Viktor Troicki
#78 / #76 Win 5-7, 6-2, (10-8)
158 QF Germany Michael Kohlmann
Germany Florian Mayer
#77 / #62 Withdrew

Tournament schedule

Singles schedule

Nadal's 2012 singles tournament schedule is as follows:

Date Championship Location Category Surface1 Outcome 2011 Points 2011 Points 2012 Outcome 2012
02.01.2012–07.01.2012 Qatar ExxonMobil Open Qatar ATP World Tour 250 Hard SF 90 90 SF
16.01.2012–29.01.2012 Australian Open Australia Grand Slam Hard QF 360 1200 F
08.03.2012–18.03.2012 BNP Paribas Open USA ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Hard F 600 360 SF
21.03.2012–01.04.2012 Sony Ericsson Open USA ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Hard F 600 360 SF
15.04.2012–22.04.2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Monaco ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Clay W 1000 1000 W
23.04.2012–29.04.2012 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell Spain ATP World Tour 500 Clay W 500 500 W
06.05.2012–13.05.2012 Mutua Madrid Open Spain ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Clay F 600 90 R16
13.05.2012–20.05.2012 Internazionali BNL d'Italia Italy ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Clay F 600 1000 W
27.05.2012–10.06.2012 French Open France Grand Slam Clay W 2000 2000 W
11.06.2012–17.06.2012 Gerry Weber Open Germany ATP World Tour 250 Grass DNS 45 QF
25.06.2012–08.07.2012 Wimbledon Championships UK Grand Slam Grass F 1200 45 2R
27.08.2012–09.09.2012 US Open USA Grand Slam Hard F 1200 0 DNS
29.10.2012–04.11.2012 BNP Paribas Masters France ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Hard (i) DNS
05.11.2012–12.11.2012 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals UK ATP World Tour Finals Hard (i) RR 200
Points earned at Davis Cup 280
Points earned at Non-Countable Tournaments 45
Total year points 11010 Decrease 4320 2
Overall points 6690[9]

1 The symbol (i) = indoors means that the respective tournament will be held indoors.
2 Difference between new points and previous points. ATP Points Distribution.

Yearly records

Head-to-head matchups

Ordered by number of wins

See also

References

External links

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