There is probably no more illustrative description of the powerful link between Rafael Nadal and Roland Garros than the one proposed in his day by the famous Andre Agassi, who recommended to his rivals that, in case they take a look and see that it was their lot a dance with the Balearic on the Chatrier, the best thing they could do was “call the airline and change the ticket home for the next day.” Countless similes, metaphors and more or less grandiose qualifiers have been used to refer to one of the most recognizable links in the history of sports, but perhaps no phrase is as accurate as that of the American, who came to suggest that measuring up against the Spanish in his cage in Paris it was nothing short of mission impossible, practically a guarantee of failure.
Hence the incalculable value of the triumph obtained this Sunday by Alexander Zverev, the deserved heir to the glory that the Swede Robin Soderling (2009) and the Serbian Novak Djokovic (2015 and 2021) achieved in their day, the only two players who had achieved up to now materialize one of the most applauded feats in tennis: defeat Nadal in the Bois de Boulogne. “He has won here 14 times,” recalled the German, referring to an unparalleled hegemony over a tournament in which the Mallorcan began to make something of his own in 2005, when he was barely 19 years old and had landed in the city with the help of his uncle. and in the company of his agent. That was the whole structure. We still remember the ebullience of that “hyperactive” and “innocent” boy who bowed down to Mariano Puerta in the final, the first episode of a wonderful saga.
“Rafa exploded like a volcano,” portrayed Carlos Costa, the man who has directed his career, in a report published in June 2020, coinciding with the 15th anniversary of Nadal’s first title at Roland Garros. The agent said that a year earlier, the tennis player had not been able to participate due to a last-minute injury and that he would return the following year to lift the trophy. No sooner said than done. That’s where the spell was born, the beginning of a surely unique epic that has gone through various phases, from disaffection – whistles in the initial phase – to current fascination. A three-meter statue confirms this. “No one will be able to match what Rafa has done here, winning it so many times is to some extent unreal. I think it is one of the greatest achievements in sport, in general,” explains the director of the French great, Amélie Mauresmo.
There are 74 victims, illustrious names: from Federer to Djokovic. He knocked them all down. And only the Serbian, twice, and the fierce Soderling, who didn’t even tell the time and turned away when they passed each other in the locker room – “I didn’t come to the circuit to make friends” – achieved the feat before he joined Zverev. “Today I’m not the protagonist, Rafa is,” said the one from Hamburg, elegantly according to the script, after achieving the 6-3, 7-6(5) and 6-3 that defeated the Manacor player in the first round, a circumstance that had never occurred. After all, almost all of Nadal’s steps through the French arena led to the same photo, the 14 bites of the Musketeers Cup. “Rafa is a monster and he will have a statue here,” said the then president of the local federation (RFFT), Bernard Giudicelli, in 2017.
“It makes them feel small”
First there was that tortuous final against Puerta (2005), and then successes came successively against Federer (2006, 2007, 2008 and 2011), Soderling (2010), David Ferrer (2013), Djokovic (2014 and 2020), the Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka (2017), the Austrian Dominic Thiem (2018 and 2019) and the Norwegian Casper Ruud (2022). All of them succumbed to Nadal’s tyrannical exercise on the Chatrier clay. “It doesn’t make sense or logic, but something happens when Nadal plays there. He plays harder, he looks like another player. When the rivals enter the court and listen to the presenter recite all the titles, he makes them feel smaller, while Rafa becomes bigger. Nobody wants to play against him on that court,” explains German Boris Becker, winner of six majors, former number one and today an analyst for Eurosport.
“Playing against him in the Chatrier is the biggest challenge in tennis,” Zverev said at the beginning of this month, agreeing with all his colleagues that in there, with the Spaniard on the other side of the net, a claustrophobic and oppressive feeling is generated. , and the spaces are multiplied by ten. It happened with Federer at the Center Court in Wimbledon or Djokovic at the Rod Laver in Melbourne, but no sensation, they say again and again to those who are asked, as impressive as that of fighting with Nadal in Paris, a kingdom now open to new rulers. . In any case, it is difficult for any of them to surpass the bar of 14 trophies, an iconic and unparalleled number in the history of the racket. He dreams of emulating Iga Swiatek, three laurels for now.
“He taught me to always fight until the end,” praises the number one, who follows in the historical footsteps in the tournament of figures who left their mark such as Graf, Evert or Seles. None of them, however, are close to the extraordinary average recorded by the Spaniard, winner in 112 of the 116 duels he has settled (96.5%). “This place is magical for me, many things have happened here that were difficult to imagine,” he conceded last Saturday, during the day of media attention that preceded the starting signal of this edition that smells like the end. She doesn’t rule out Nadal making a comeback next year, but at the same time adds that it probably won’t happen. And meanwhile, the numbers shine and history guards the legacy of a man like gold. Martian: Nadal and Paris, Paris and Nadal, or a journey never before known.
NADAL’S NUMBERS IN PARIS
AC | Paris
116 games, of which he won 112. He only lost against Soderling, Djokovic (2) and Zverev. His average is 96.5%. The most convincing was against Nikoloz Basilashvili, in 2017: 6-0, 6-1 and 6-0.
74 opponents. He has imposed himself on all the players he has faced. Djokovic has been the most frequent, with a balance of 8-2 in favor of the Spaniard. The German Lars Burgsmuller was the first.
29 wins against top-10. Djokovic has been the only one capable of defeating him.
Four editions without giving up any set. They were those of 2008, 2010, 2017 and 2020.
300 hours and 58 minutes on the track. The longest was against the local Paul-Henri Mathieu, in 2006: 4h 53m.
2,194 consecutive days without losing. It is their longest undefeated streak. He got it between May 31, 2009, when he lost to Soderling, and June 3, 2015, more than six years later, when he lost to Djokovic in the quarterfinals.
31 games until he lost his first game. After achieving four consecutive titles, he clashed with Soderling in the round of 16 (6-2, 6-7(2), 6-4, 7-6(2).
100% effective in their 14 finals played. In six of them she had a ranking inferior and in five the rival was number one.
The second male debutant champion. He did it in 2005, after the Swede Mats Wilander achieved it in the 1982 edition.
34 sets conceded in 19 participations, which is equivalent to an average of less than two lost sets per edition.
You can follow The USA Print in Facebook and xor sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.
_
