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Every player who beat Rafael Nadal at the Shanghai Masters as he failed to win the title before he retired

Rafael Nadal’s illustrious career included 22 Grand Slam titles and 36 Masters 1000 trophies, yet the Spanish legend never claimed the Shanghai Masters crown despite eight appearances. His journey at the event began in 2009, where he reached the final only to fall to Nikolay Davydenko in a tight three-set loss.

Early exits followed in 2010 and 2011, with Jurgen Melzer and Florian Mayer ending his campaigns in the third round, while a knee injury kept him off the court in 2012. Nadal returned in 2013, reaching the semifinals before Juan Martín del Potro halted his progress, and suffered another early defeat in 2014 at the hands of compatriot Feliciano López.

After another semifinal appearance in 2015—this time losing to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga—he exited in the second round in 2016 to Viktor Troicki. His final appearance in 2017 saw Nadal return to the final, where Roger Federer ended his Shanghai Masters drought with a dominant 6-4, 6-3 victory.

Nadal, who retired in 2024, remained unfazed by the title’s absence, insisting he approached every tournament with equal intensity regardless of past results.

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