Back in 2008, Rafael Nadal was dubbed the “King of Clay” – he wasn’t by any means the first player to be awarded this title, but there’s little doubt that he’s the most successful and the undisputed “King of Clay,” with eleven French Open titles to his name.

One such player, aiming to emulate and strip Rafa of his French Open title later this month is Austrian, Dominic Thiem. At 25-years-old, the ATP world number 4 is seven years younger than his rival and has upset him before, as we will go on to mention.

Bet Tennis · Dominic Thiem · Rafa Nadal · Roland Garros

By Scoop Malinowski

First set Nadal comes out with full ferocity and a sense of desperation. He has not win a clay tournament all year and urgently needs to win the final in Rome to restore and re-establish his King of Clay dominant aura as Roland Garros looms around the corner.

Nadal dominates Djokovic 6-0 but as Nadal has that facial expression of fierce ruthless intensity, Djokovic looks tired and not all there mentally.

Djokovic · Rafa Nadal · Rome

Rafael Nadal made a very provocative comment last week comparing the value of men’s and women’s tennis.

Question: “In tennis, should women earn as much as men?”

Rafael Nadal: “It’s a comparison we shouldn’t even make.

equal prize money · Rafa Nadal

By Scoop Malinowski

There is no man alive on planet earth who can defeat Rafael Nadal on court Philippe Chatrier at Roland Garros. Dominic Thiem tried today and with his inferior defensive skills and less offensive creativity, became victim no. 11.

Rafa Nadal · Roland Garros final

By Scoop Malinowski

Maria Sharapova has declared her revival this week in Rome, crunching Ashleigh Barty in three sets but more impressively she administered a beatdown to Rafa Nadal on the practice court.

Sharapova shared an Instagram video of her playing one, presumably winner take all point, against the “King of Clay” and after a long, brutal, fiercely contested rally, Sharapova began to show her superiority by manipulating the 31-year-old around the court.

Maria Sharapova · Rafa Nadal · Sugarpova

By Scoop Malinowski

The top seed and ATP world no. 1 Rafael Nadal lost an epic five setter last year in the final to Roger Federer despite being up 3-1 in the fifth set, but the 31-year-old lefty has not played an official match yet this year and his last match was a loss in three sets at the ATP World Tour Finals to no. 7 seed David Goffin.

Roger Federer, the world no. 2 and defending champion, looked sharp in winning all four of his matches at Hopman Cup two weeks ago. The 36-year-old Swiss, who has won in Melbourne five times, is the odds-on favorite to conquer again.

Australian Open · Kyrgios · Rafa Nadal · Roger Federer

By Scoop Malinowski

Tiger Woods did not win Hero World Challenge golf tournament in Nassau, Bahamas yesterday but it was not because of a lack of support from the best tennis player in the world.

The ATP world no. 1 Rafael Nadal had been vacationing on nearby Exuma Island and decided to fly in for the day to watch and support his friend Tiger, who is returning to competition after a nine month layoff. Woods played well and finished at -8 on the final leaderboard, good enough for a ninth place finish and ten strokes below the winner Rickie Fowler.

Albany Golf Club · PGA · Rafa Nadal · Tiger Woods

By Scoop Malinowski

Another edition of America’s biggest sporting event, The US Open, is in the books, and this year’s tournament once again delivered tennis genius, history, magic and so much more.

Rafael Nadal won his 16th major title today with a dominant straight set win versus major final debutante Kevin Anderson who shocked the entire tennis world by winning six matches at a major, by far the best result of the 31 year old’s career.

Rafa Nadal · US Open 2017