Sports Records and History

Rafael Nadal won the 2008 French Open without losing a set, becoming the first man to do so since Bjorn Borg in 1980. Federer lost to Nadal in the 2008 final. Sampras and Agassi had retired or were past their prime by 2008. This was part of Nadal's dominant clay court period.

Nadal had an 81-match winning streak on clay from 2005-2007, finally broken by Roger Federer in Hamburg 2007. This is one of the most dominant streaks in tennis history. 55, 60, and 72 are all lower than his actual streak. The streak established his "King of Clay" reputation.

Roger Federer was ranked World No. 1 for four consecutive years from 2004-2007 (237 consecutive weeks total), the first player to achieve this feat. Nadal has been No. 1 but not for four consecutive calendar years. Sampras had multiple stints but not four consecutive years. Marat Safin had brief periods at No. 1 but not sustained dominance.

Leander Paes won the 2008 US Open mixed doubles title with Zimbabwean player Cara Black. Sania Mirza partnered with Mahesh Bhupathi in that tournament, while Jelena Jankovic and Dinara Safina were not his partners.

Lleyton Hewitt became the youngest male player to reach world No. 1 at age 20 years and 268 days in 2001. He achieved this after winning the US Open in 2001 and consolidating his ranking through strong performances throughout the year.

Rafael Nadal was the first player to simultaneously hold Grand Slam titles on three different surfaces - clay (French Open), grass (Wimbledon), and hard court (Australian Open) - after winning the Australian Open in 2010. Andre Agassi was the first to win all four majors across his career on different surfaces, but not simultaneously.