The 2007 Rafael Nadal tennis season officially began on 1 January 2007 with the start of the Chennai Open. He won five titles, including one Major and three Masters.

Year summary Rafael Nadal started the year by playing in six hard-court tournaments. He lost in the semifinals and first round of his first two tournaments and then lost in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open to eventual runner-up Fernando González. After another quarterfinal loss at the Dubai Tennis Championships, he won the Indian Wells Masters after beating Novak Djokovic in the final, before losing to Djokovic in the quarterfinals of the 2007 Miami Masters.

He played five clay-court tournaments in Europe after that, winning the titles at the Monte-Carlo Masters, the Torneo Godó in Barcelona, and the Italian Open, before losing to Roger Federer in the final of the Hamburg Masters. This defeat ended his 81-match winning streak on clay, which is the male Open Era record for consecutive wins on a single surface. He bounced back quickly in the French Open, not dropping a set en route to the final where he faced Federer once again, this time winning in four sets to join Björn Borg as the only man to win three French Open titles in a row since 1914.

Between the tournaments in Barcelona and Rome, Nadal defeated Federer in the "Battle of Surfaces" exhibition match in Mallorca, Spain, with the tennis court being half grass and half clay.

Nadal played the Artois Championships at the Queen's Club in London for the second consecutive year. As in 2006, Nadal was upset in the quarterfinals. Nadal then won consecutive five-set matches during the third and fourth rounds of Wimbledon before being beaten by Federer in the five-set final. This was Federer's first five-set match at Wimbledon since 2001.

In July, Nadal beat the unseeded Stan Wawrinka in the final of the clay-court Stuttgart Open, which proved to be his last title of the year. He played three important tournaments during the North American summer hard court season. He was a semifinalist at the Canadian Masters in Montreal before losing his first match at the Cincinnati Masters. He was the second-seeded player at the US Open, but was defeated in the fourth round by David Ferrer, and spent the tournament dealing with a knee injury.

After a month-long break from tournament tennis, Nadal played the Madrid Masters in Madrid and the Paris Masters, but David Nalbandian beat him in straight sets in the quarterfinals and final of those tournaments. To end the year, Nadal won two of his three-round robin matches to advance to the semifinals of the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, where Federer defeated him in straight sets.

In addition, there were rumors at the end of the year that the foot injury he suffered during 2005, caused long-term damage, which were given credence by coach Toni Nadal's claim that the problem was "serious". Nadal and his spokesman strongly denied this, however, with Nadal himself calling the story "totally false".

Singles matches

Tournament Match Round Opponent Rank Result Score Chennai OpenChennai, IndiaATP World Tour 250Hard, outdoor1–8 January 2007 1 / 235 1R Rainer Schüttler 96 6–4, 6–2 2 / 236 2R Karan Rastogi 480 6–4, 6–1 3 / 237 QF Davide Sanguinetti 106 6–3, 6–2 4 / 238 SF Xavier Malisse 37 4–6, 6–7(4–7) Medibank InternationalSydney, AustraliaATP World Tour 250Hard, outdoor7–13 January 2007 5 / 239 1R Chris Guccione 107 5–6 RET Australian OpenMelbourne, AustraliaGrand SlamHard, outdoor15–28 January 2007 6 / 240 1R Robert Kendrick 90 7–6(8–6), 6–3, 6–2 7 / 241 2R Philipp Kohlschreiber 61 7–5, 6–3, 4–6, 6–2 8 / 242 3R Stan Wawrinka 40 6–2, 6–2, 6–2 9 / 243 4R Andy Murray 16 6–7(3–7), 6–4, 4–6, 6–3, 6–1 10 / 244 QF Fernando González 9 2–6, 4–6, 3–6 Barclays Dubai Tennis ChampionshipsDubai, UAEATP World Tour 500Hard, outdoor26 February 26 – 4 March 2007 11 / 245 1R Marcos Baghdatis 17 3–6, 6–2, 6–3 12 / 246 2R Igor Andreev 139 6–2, 3–6, 7–6(7–2) 13 / 247 QF Mikhail Youzhny 18 6–7(5–7), 3–6 Pacific Life OpenIndian Wells, United StatesATP World Tour Masters 1000Hard, outdoor5–18 March 2007 – 1R Bye 14 / 248 2R Arnaud Clément 53 6–3, 7–6(7–3) 15 / 249 3R Fernando Verdasco 33 6–4, 6–4 16 / 250 4R Juan Carlos Ferrero 23 6–1, 6–1 17 / 251 QF Juan Ignacio Chela 31 7–5, 7–5 18 / 252 SF Andy Roddick 3 6–4, 6–3 19 / 253 W Novak Djokovic 13 6–2, 7–5 Sony Ericsson OpenMiami, United StatesATP World Tour Masters 1000Hard, outdoor21 March – 1 April 2007 – 1R Bye 20 / 254 2R Ricardo Mello 127 7–6(9–7), 6–2 – 3R Olivier Rochus 36 Win W/O 21 / 255 4R Juan Martín del Potro 63 6–0, 6–4 22 / 256 QF Novak Djokovic 10 3–6, 4–6 Monte Carlo MastersMonte Carlo, MonacoATP World Tour Masters 1000Clay, outdoor14–22 April 2007 – 1R Bye 23 / 257 2R Juan Ignacio Chela 22 6–3, 6–1 24 / 258 3R Kristof Vliegen 52 6–3, 6–1 25 / 259 QF Philipp Kohlschreiber 59 6–2, 6–3 26 / 260 SF Tomáš Berdych 14 6–0, 7–5 27 / 261 W Roger Federer 1 6–4, 6–4 Torneo GodoBarcelona, SpainATP World Tour 500Clay, outdoor23–29 April 2007 – 1R Bye 28 / 262 2R Kristof Vliegen 53 6–1, 6–2 29 / 263 3R Thomas Johansson 73 6–1, 6–4 30 / 264 QF Potito Starace 72 6–2, 7–5 31 / 265 SF David Ferrer 16 7–5, 6–1 32 / 266 W Guillermo Cañas 28 6–3, 6–4 Internazionali BNL d'ItaliaRome, ItalyATP World Tour Masters 1000Clay, outdoor5–13 May 2007 – 1R Bye 33 / 267 2R Daniele Bracciali 125 6–4, 6–2 34 / 268 3R Mikhail Youzhny 16 6–2, 6–2 35 / 269 QF Novak Djokovic 5 6–2, 6–3 36 / 270 SF Nikolay Davydenko 4 7–6(7–3), 6–7(8–10), 6–4 37 / 271 W Fernando González 6 6–2, 6–2 Masters Series HamburgHamburg, GermanyATP World Tour Masters 1000Clay, outdoor14–22 May 2007 – 1R Bye 38 / 272 2R Óscar Hernández 69 7–5, 6–1 39 / 273 3R Igor Andreev 164 6–4, 6–1 40 / 274 QF Fernando González 5 6–4, 6–4 41 / 275 SF Lleyton Hewitt 21 2–6, 6–3, 7–5 42 / 276 F Roger Federer 1 6–2, 2–6, 0–6 French OpenParis, FranceGrand SlamClay, outdoor27 May – 10 June 2007 43 / 277 1R Juan Martín del Potro 59 7–5, 6–3, 6–2 44 / 278 2R Flavio Cipolla 227 6–2, 6–1, 6–4 45 / 279 3R Albert Montañés 50 6–1, 6–3, 6–2 46 / 280 4R Lleyton Hewitt 16 6–3, 6–1, 7–6(7–5) 47 / 281 QF Carlos Moyá 26 6–4, 6–3, 6–0 48 / 282 SF Novak Djokovic 6 7–5, 6–4, 6–2 49 / 283 W Roger Federer 1 6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4 Stella Artois ChampionshipsLondon, United KingdomATP World Tour 250Grass, outdoor11–17 June 2007 – 1R Bye 50 / 284 2R Juan Martín del Potro 59 6–4, 6–4, 51 / 285 3R Max Mirnyi 58 7–6(7–3), 6–3 52 / 286 QF Nicolas Mahut 106 5–7, 6–7(0–7) The Championships, WimbledonWimbledon, United KingdomGrand SlamGrass, outdoor25 June – 8 July 2007 53 / 287 1R Mardy Fish 38 6–3, 7–6(7–4), 6–3 54 / 288 2R Werner Eschauer 72 6–2, 6–4, 6–1 55 / 289 3R Robin Söderling 28 6–4, 6–4, 6–7(7–9), 4–6, 7–5 56 / 290 4R Mikhail Youzhny 13 4–6, 3–6, 6–1, 6–2, 6–2 57 / 291 QF Tomáš Berdych 11 7–6(7–1), 6–4, 6–2 58 / 292 SF Novak Djokovic 5 3–6, 6–1, 4–1 RET 59 / 293 F Roger Federer 1 6–7(7–9), 6–4, 6–7(3–7), 6–2, 2–6 Mercedes CupStuttgart, GermanyATP World Tour 500Clay, outdoor16–23 July 2007 60 / 294 1R Alexander Waske 135 6–1, 6–1 61 / 295 2R Philipp Kohlschreiber 37 6–3, 6–3 62 / 296 QF Juan Mónaco 29 6–1, 6–3 63 / 297 SF Feliciano López 84 6–1, 7–5 64 / 298 W Stan Wawrinka 50 6–4, 7–5 Rogers CupMontreal, CanadaATP World Tour Masters 1000Hard, outdoor6–12 August 2007 – 1R Bye 65 / 299 2R Marat Safin 22 7–6(7–4), 6–0 66 / 300 3R Paul-Henri Mathieu 23 3–6, 6–3, 6–2 67 / 301 QF Frank Dancevic 91 4–6, 6–2, 6–3 68 / 302 SF Novak Djokovic 4 5–7, 3–6 Western & Southern Financial Group MastersOhio, United StatesATP World Tour Masters 1000Hard, outdoor11–19 August 2007 – 1R Bye 69 / 303 2R Juan Mónaco 25 6–7(5–7), 1–4 RET US OpenNew York, USAGrand SlamHard, outdoor27 August – 9 September 2007 70 / 304 1R Alun Jones 123 7–5, 3–6, 6–4, 6–1 71 / 305 2R Janko Tipsarević 56 6–2, 6–3, 3–2 RET 72 / 306 3R Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 74 7–6(7–3), 6–2, 6–1 73 / 307 4R David Ferrer 15 7–6(7–3), 4–6, 6–7(4–7), 2–6 Mutua Madrileña Masters MadridMadrid, SpainATP World Tour Masters 1000Hard, indoor15–21 October 2007 – 1R Bye 74 / 308 2R Marcos Baghdatis 22 6–4, 6–4 75 / 309 3R Andy Murray 17 7–6(7–5), 6–4 76 / 310 QF David Nalbandian 25 1–6, 2–6 BNP Paribas MastersParis, FranceATP World Tour Masters 1000Hard, indoor27 October – 4 November 2007 – 1R Bye 77 / 311 2R Filippo Volandri 41 6–3, 6–1 78 / 312 3R Stan Wawrinka 36 6–4, 6–3 79 / 313 QF Mikhail Youzhny 18 6–4, 6–2 80 / 314 SF Marcos Baghdatis 22 4–6, 6–4, 6–3 81 / 315 F David Nalbandian 21 4–6, 0–6 Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai, China Year-end Championships Hard, indoor 11–18 November 2007 82 / 316 RR Richard Gasquet 8 3–6, 6–3, 6–4 83 / 317 RR David Ferrer 6 6–4, 4–6, 3–6 84 / 318 RR Novak Djokovic 3 6–4, 6–4 85 / 319 SF Roger Federer 1 4–6, 1–6

See also 2007 ATP Tour 2007 Roger Federer tennis season

References

External links

ATP tour profile