Published 17:43 IST, May 29th 2020
Rafael Nadal predicts that his decorated Roland Garros and clay records will be broken
Spanish legend Rafael Nadal recently revealed that he would be happy if his French Open record of the most title wins will be broken by someone in the future.
World No.2 Rafael Nadal is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time. With 19 Grand Slam singles titles, the current World No.2 is the second most successful among men in terms of Grand Slam wins. Out of his 19 titles, Rafael Nadal has collected 12 French Open trophies, which makes him the most successful player at the Roland Garros. The 33-year old has also registered 81 consecutive wins on the clay courts, thus holding the longest winning streak at any single surface during the Open era.
Rafael Nadal reflects his French Open records
Rafael Nadal was recently involved in an interview with Jose Luis Clerc on ESPN. In the interview, the Spaniard said that he would be happy if his Roland Garros and clay records get broken in the future. Rafael Nadal added that it would be a positive thing for the sport if someone manages to win more than 12 French Open titles or more than 81 matches in a row on clay.
He cited the example of former American player Pete Sampras and how no one believed his 14 Grand Slams tally will be broken in the future. Nadal went on to add that there are now three players who have managed to break Sampras’ illustrious record. While the Spain-based player was referring to himself as one of the players, he was also referring to his on-field rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, who have managed to win 20 and 17 Grand Slams respectively.
Rafael Nadal at French Open 2019
Rafael Nadal won the 2019 French Open singles event by defeating Austria’s Dominic Thiem 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 in the final. With that achievement, Nadal completed a hat-trick of French Open titles, beginning his streak by winning the tournament in 2017 and 2018 as well.
Rafael Nadal retirement trends online
On Friday, May 29, the term ‘Rafael Nadal retirement’ trended on social media. While fans of the sport were left shell shocked over the news, the ‘Rafael Nadal retirement’ trend was later debunked by discovering the truth. A light was shed towards the news that it was not the human Rafael Nadal who was going into retirement but was Bob Baffert’s Triple Crown Nadal the horse instead.
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Image credits: ATP
Updated 17:43 IST, May 29th 2020