The sand surface slows the ball more than grass, allowing Nadal to use his athleticism to score points and hit the famous forehand.
This, in turn, helps him hit the ball harder and more accurately, while the hotter summer temperatures in mainland Europe – where the majority of the clay court season takes place – help Nadal generate more bounce.
It is notable that Nadal had more success in Monte Carlo and Rome, two of the tour's three clay-court Masters tournaments, than in Madrid (the third), because the Spanish capital's altitude means the ball has less topspin and bounces deeper.
“The conditions at Roland Garros suit him perfectly,” said Austrian Dominic Thiem after losing to Nadal in the 2018 final. “It’s similar to Monte Carlo, where he also plays great.”
“The space at Roland Garros is also very large. We can go very far behind the baseline. That’s an advantage for him.”
In 2020, the conditions were anything but Nadal's liking.
At the start of the tournament, Nadal said that the colder conditions in autumnal Paris and a heavier new ball presented him with the “toughest test” he had ever faced at Roland Garros.
Even Djokovic suggested before the match that he felt the conditions gave him a “better chance” because Nadal couldn't get the ball as high.
Nevertheless, the Spaniard won the title without losing a set.
Two-time French Open champion Jim Courier said he believed the conditions actually helped Nadal, particularly in the final against top seed Djokovic.
Nadal played at the highest level with controlled aggression, scoring 31 game-winning goals and making just 14 unforced errors.
“Maybe we were thinking about it wrong and maybe Rafa was too,” said Courier, speaking from his position as a television analyst for ITV.
“Maybe the slower conditions helped him. Rafa was able to get to the ball and land the shot with so little risk because he has so much spin on the ball.”
“The fact that he had almost as many winners as Novak, who played so much riskier tennis and made fewer than a third of the unforced errors, was mind-blowing.”
