As the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the planet in 2020, an amazing coincidence on October 11 that year, provided some respite and joy to sports fans. Rafael Nadal and Lewis Hamilton equalled two greats of their respective sports in all-time records. The Spaniard matched Roger Federer’s Grand Slam tally, whereas the Brit Formula 1 driver drew level with Michael Schumacher for most race wins.
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The world came to a standstill in early 2020, and sporting events were also affected. Everything came to a screeching halt, resuming only under extremely restricted conditions months later. All schedules bore a new look and tennis and F1 were no exceptions.
The French Open, usually held in May-June, began on September 27, 2020, with the final on October 11. Nadal opted to skip the US Open, which was interestingly held before the Roland Garros that year. Well-rested, he came in seeded second and blazed through the field to set up a final with Novak Djokovic. He defeated the top seed in straight sets in the final to win the tournament without dropping a set.
With this win, his 13th French Open title, Nadal matched Federer’s count of 20 Grand Slams on October 11. On the same day, around 300 miles away, Hamilton equalled a legendary record in his sport.
After the pandemic disrupted the F1 calendar, a rejigged schedule was introduced featuring many makeshift one-off Grands Prix. One such temporary race was the Eifel Grand Prix in Germany, held on October 11. Hamilton secured the first position for his 91st race victory. This meant he tied iconic racer Schumacher for most race wins in Formula 1.
Two legendary records, both often labelled unbeatable, were equalled on the same date in 2020. Interestingly, Nadal and Hamilton would both go on to break the record. The Mercedes driver won the very next race, the Portuguese Grand Prix, to surpass Schumacher. Nadal, however, had to wait until 2022, when he won two Slams to overtake Federer.
Rafael Nadal and Lewis Hamilton were joined by iconic team that matched all-time NBA record on same date
Rafael Nadal and Lewis Hamilton were not the only ones who equalled all-time feats on October 11, 2020. In a truly historic day for sports, the Los Angeles Lakers joined the two superstar athletes in matching records on the day.
Hours after Nadal and Hamilton had sealed their achievements, the Lakers achieved their own halfway across the world. They faced Eastern Conference champions Miami Heat in the sixth game of the best-of-seven NBA Finals. Leading 3-2, the Lakers were only one victory away from clinching the title.
On the night of October 11, LeBron James scored 28 points as his team bagged the sixth game to win the NBA Finals 4-2. This was their 17th NBA Championship title, tying the Boston Celtics for the most in the league’s history.
So October 11, 2020 was a historic day that saw three all-time records across three different sports get equalled. Since it was facilitated by a rare event like a global pandemic, such a day will likely never happen again.
