Why Rafael Nadal's latest record could be his biggest achievement yet

Andy Murray said last month that he thought Rafael Nadal winning 13 times at Roland Garros was “one of the best records in sport – maybe the best”. But Nadal’s latest record might just be his biggest achievement.

Nadal – winner of 20 Grand Slam titles, 1,002 singles matches, 86 titles, Olympic gold, and five Davis Cups – has now spent 790 successive weeks in the ATP top 10, breaking Jimmy Connors’ 32-year record.

He first entered the top 10 as an 18-year-old on April 25, 2005, and is still standing at the age of 34. Connors lasted 789 weeks, while Roger Federer's best stretch was 734 weeks from October 14, 2002 until October 31, 2016.

Not only has Nadal lasted longer than both, he has spent the majority of that time (81 per cent) ranked at No 1 (209 weeks) or No 2 (351 weeks) in the world.

That kind of longevity and consistency is often spoken about as one of the hardest traits in sport for players or teams.

Yes you might be able to win one week, but what about the next? And the next? And the next? And the next month? And the next year? Nadal has been doing it for over a decade and a half..

And many of those years have passed with questions over his health and his knees.

Would he ever win Wimbledon because of his knees? How long would his knees last with all the hard-court tournaments on tour? Would his powerful, energetic game last long enough to ever challenge Federer at the top of the Grand Slam leaderboard?

Those questions have been answered so emphatically that they don't even feel relevant to Nadal anymore. He's 34, looked as fit as ever at the French Open - which he won without dropping a set - and seems likely to outlast both Federer and Murray.

World No 50 Richard Gasquet, who at 34 has played through the era of Nadal and Federer, said recently that he was in awe of the consistency.

"What impresses me the most with the best players is that they manage to keep their motivation, every tournament and every week.

Nadal has suffered injuries – knees, wrist and back among them – but has never been out for long stretches like some of his rivals. When he did go undergo surgery in 2014 on his appendix it was late in the season and he only missed a handful of events before returning at the start of 2015. He also missed much of the second half of the 2012 season with a knee injury but didn't fall lower than fifth in the rankings.

Perhaps some of it is good fortune. Federer has spent far longer in the top 10 than Nadal – 921 weeks vs 790 weeks – and Djokovic is not far behind on 656, but both Federer and Djokovic saw their top-10 streaks ended by injuries.

However, along with Nadal, Connors and Federer, only Ivan Lendl has a run of more than 600 consecutive weeks in the top 10 (619). Djokovic's best is 555 weeks - 4.5 years behind Nadal's best.

There must also be an acceptance that Nadal has played through pain and injuries throughout his career. In 2005 he was told he might not have a career due to foot problem and even earlier this year he admitted he came close to taking a prolonged break.

“I considered shutting down my season to see if my body would recuperate instead of playing through injury after injury,” he said.

“I was reluctant and hesitant to return. Physically, because of another tendon tear in my knee, and on top of going through all the treatment required in the recovery process, there was dealing with the pain. That’s the reality of the matter — it was different this time. That’s not how it usually works with me.

“Between the level of pain and just being sidelined, there came a time when I just felt tired of all of this. I was sick of always being in pain. I get it: with competing comes pain. But when you’ve accumulated injuries, decided to deal with them, recovered from them and before you even get back on the court you’ve acquired another, that takes a toll.”

When will the pain prove too much for Nadal? For a player who seems to savour the suffering it might not be anytime soon, especially with the chance to now win Grand Slam No 21.

Were he to win another Slam and overtake Federer at the top of the standings it would further add to his ‘GOAT’ status, but his remarkable longevity should also count for something. Nadal has done what no player has done for over 30 years, and he doesn’t show any signs of slowing.