Ten-time champion Nadal rates wins over Coria and Federer as his best Rome memories

The Spaniard says his 2005 and 2006 triumphs stand out above all others, partly because they were played out over five sets

Simon Cambers

May 8, 2024

It was fitting that 19 years to the day since Rafael Nadal began his domination of clay-court tennis by beating Guillermo Coria in an all-time classic final at the Italian Open, the Spaniard should single out that triumph as his best memory of one of the most successful tournaments in his career.

Nadal has won Rome 10 times, more than any other player in history, a run that has produced so many memories, he’s probably forgotten one or two of them.

But his win over Coria in 2005, and his victory over Roger Federer in 2006, when he saved two match points, remain fresh in the memory.

“At the end is true that I won 10 times here,” he told reporters in Rome on Wednesday. “But if you tell me my memories, I mean, for me I’m much more fresh the memories of the first two victories in five sets against Coria and against Roger than the other days.

“Even if I had amazing, good matches against Novak (Djokovic), against great players. But that’s what I think the people remember more. Me, as experience, as a player, too. If I have to pick, I going to say the first one and then the second one.”

Nadal: “I was losing 3-0 in the fifth”

The win over Coria followed wins in Monte-Carlo and Barcelona and set Nadal up perfectly for Roland-Garros, where he went on to win the title for the first of his 14 times.

“For me, was the first time that I won in Monte-Carlo that year, in Barcelona later, then in Rome,” he said. “All these tournaments are tournaments that have an amazing tradition in our tour. Since I was a kid, I was watching these tournaments on TV. So for me be able to win in Rome, that was amazing for me in that time, no?

“I was very young. I had plenty of energy. I have been always a very passionate person, I mean, probably in everything in life, but especially in the sport, not only as a player, but as a fan, too.

“So for me to be able to win that first time here, the way that the matches have been great level of tennis, but at the same time I remember 5 hours 14, the match, and losing I think 3-0 in the fifth. I remember the support of the crowd. That atmosphere became amazing, no? So I can take that match of my memory, honestly.”

“I miss five-set Masters finals”

Rome and all the Masters 1000 events are now best of three sets, including the final. Nadal said he misses the five-set finals.

“All the unforgettable moments, most of important moments of tennis have been playing in matches best-of-five because at the end of the day that makes the matches more emotional, more dramatic, the people gets more involved,” he said.

“In a way, I miss that past times when we were playing the Masters 1000s at the best-of-five, those amazing battles that are part of the history of our sport.”