Rafael Nadal made his Roland Garros debut in 2005 at the age of 18 and wanted to celebrate his 19th birthday in the French capital. After conquering Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome at the beginning of spring, the young Spaniard was already one of the world’s best clay court players and Roland Garro’s favorites.
In Paris, Rafa proved his quality after beating Roger Federer and Mariano Puerta to achieve tennis fame and become the last teenager to win a major trophy. Nadal was the player to beat in his beloved major for the next 15 years.
He won 13 titles and had 100 wins in 102 games! The Spaniard and Roland Garros winner Juan Carlos Ferrero calls Rafa the greatest Roland Garros player in history, on whose list nobody is close to him.
Nadal won nine Roland Garros titles between 2005 and 2015 and suffered the only loss to Robin Soderling in 2009. In the remaining years, he was determined to enter the record books and become the greatest clay court player of all time.
After a few tough years in 2015 and 2016, Nadal was back in top form in 2017 and secured four consecutive Roland Garros crowns to improve his record and build on his unmatched dominance!
Nadal’s 13th Roland Garros crown came in October as the Spaniard overturned all seven opponents in straight sets and challenging conditions to secure the 20th major title.
Ferrero praised Rafael Nadal as Roland Garros’ greatest competitor
In cold and rainy weather, Rafa experienced the new Wilson balls and a roof over Court Philippe-Chatrier.
He didn’t let any of this take its thunder and stood over the entire field to secure the fourth major trophy without losing a set at the age of 34. Nadal overtook the first four laps without breaking a sweat, saving energy for impressive rivals.
In the quarter-finals, the Spaniard prevailed against the young Italian Jannik Sinner in both the first and second set and overpowered a teenager at the crucial moments to enter the semifinals.
In his longest game of the tournament, Rafa ousted Diego Schwartzman 6: 3, 6: 3, 7: 6 in over three hours, struggled a little in the third set, but won the tiebreak 7: 0 for the 13th Roland Garros final .
Nadal really wanted the title after a troubled season and defeated the number 1 in the world, Novak Djokovic, in two hours and 41 minutes 6: 0, 6: 2, 7: 5 to get the 20th major crown and himself To join Roger Federer at the head of the GOAT race.
The Spaniard lost his serve once and on his return he was on the whole Serb, destroyed it in the first two sets and prevailed in the third set to take the 100th Roland Garros victory.
“Rafael Nadal is the greatest player in Roland Garros history. There is no one around him,” said Juan Carlos Ferrero.
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