Rafael Nadal hasn’t lost many matches on clay throughout his career, a surface where he was nearly unbeatable for years.

Nadal lifted the Roland Garros trophy 14 times, a number no other player has come close to matching at any Grand Slam event.

Before he stepped away from tennis in 2024, Nadal had been beaten just four times at the French Open across 19 appearances.

Out of his 535 career matches on clay, Nadal only came up short 51 times. That record includes a loss to a player who never even cracked the top 70 in the ATP rankings.

Olivier Mutis once defeated Rafael Nadal in straight sets on clay

Even though he was already a top 40 player by then, Nadal had never played a match at Roland Garros.

He missed the tournament again in 2004, this time because of a stress fracture in his left ankle.

That same year, Nadal went on to play more tournaments on clay and even picked up his first ATP title in Sopot, Poland.

After losing to Andy Roddick at the US Open, he took his six-match winning run back onto clay at the ATP event in Palermo.

Nadal started well enough by beating Nicolas Almagro in the first round. But his run ended there.

Up against world number 113 Olivier Mutis, Nadal lost 6-3, 6-3 — an unexpected result for the teenager at that point in his career.

Nadal and Mutis never played each other again. For years after that match, Mutis was one of the few players who could say they’d never lost a set to him. That record lasted until Jiri Lehecka broke it in Madrid years later. Hubert Hurkacz and Nuno Borges have also joined that short list since then.

Olivier Mutis’ Grand Slam highlight

While Mutis may not have become a well-known name in the sport, he did reach world number one as a junior and won the boys’ title at Wimbledon in 1995.

But his professional career didn’t quite follow that early promise. He never broke into the top 70, peaking at world number 71.

Mutis’ best showing in a senior Grand Slam came at Roland Garros in 2004, where he made it to the fourth round. That run included wins over David Ferrer and Mario Ancic before falling to Gustavo Kuerten.

That 2004 French Open appearance turned out to be his last, as he retired from tennis two years later at the age of just 28.

After hanging up his racquet, Mutis moved into coaching, taking up a role with Luxembourg’s Billie Jean King Cup team. He’s also worked as a sports director for a local club in Luxembourg.

Read more: