Rafael Nadal made his Roland Garros debut in 2005 just before he turned 18. The young man, who struggled with injuries in 2003 and 2004 and skipped his favorite major, came to Paris as the favorite after titles in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome.
Rafa proved this on the pitch, lifting the first major crown after defeating Roger Federer and Mariano Puerta and starting his incredible Roland Garros journey that still stands in all its glory. Nadal has been the dominant figure in Paris for 15 years.
He won a staggering 13 titles and suffered two defeats to Robin Soderling and Novak Djokovic in 2009 and 2015. With 100 wins from 102 encounters, the Spaniard wrote record books in Paris that include a dominant run that will not be repeated in any major.
Last October, Nadal had to deal with cold and rainy weather, new Willson balls and a roof over Court Philippe-Chatrier to overcome all these obstacles and beat all seven opponents in straight sets to finish 20th.
Major crown and 13th to secure at Roland Garros. Rafa defeated Jannik Sinner, Diego Schwartzman and Novak Djokovic in the last three games, stood above all rivals and joined Roger Federer at the head of the GOAT race.
Things are not looking so good for the Spaniard this spring. He won the title in Barcelona after the exciting final against Stefanos Tsitsipas and lost in the quarter-finals in Monte Carlo and Madrid.
Alexander Zverev spoke about Rafael Nadal and the upcoming Roland Garros
Andrey Rublev and Alexander Zverev beat Rafa in these two Masters 1000 events, and Zverev is hungry for more in Paris and mentions the players who can beat Rafa in his sacred place.
Nevertheless, the German knows how difficult it is to overthrow the Spaniard at Roland Garros. He says Rafa is still the favorite but is confident about his main rivals’ chances in June.
“Rafael Nadal is still Roland Garros’ favorite; that hasn’t changed. You have to beat him to get the trophy, which is never easy in Paris. The chance for him is relatively big and our job is to to prevent this. Novak, Dominic, Stefanos, Andrey and I can challenge him, “said Alexander Zverev.
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