Just when everyone thought that Rafael Nadal was ready to step down and give the top spot to someone else, the Spanish champion makes another move that tells differently. Right at the heels of successive losses to Novak Djokovic, Nadal ups his game just in time to win the French Open and equal Roger Federer’s record, establishing his dominance on the clay courts of Roland Garros once again.
The game pitted the two greatest players in the sport, and Nadal pounded the clay to rule the match and end with a 7-5, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-1 for a sixth French Open title. Nadal would grind along the baselines and used his strong, violent forehands to pummel Federer, who remarked, “He plays better against the better ones, and that’s what he showed today. He’s a great champion, on clay, especially.”
Nadal, known as the King of Clay, would have ceded the World Number 1 title to Serb player Novak Djokovic if he had lost on Sunday. He holds a 45-1 record in Paris, the same number of titles as Bjorn Borg. However, Nadal is so much more than the greatest player on clay is. With a lead of 17-8 in the series, a 6-2 in the Grand Slam finals and an edge of 5-2 at the French Open, Nadal has consistently shown that he is among the greatest players in every surface. Not all the statistics faze Nadal, who turned 25 on Friday.
“When you talk about these statistics, when you try and make these comparisons, really it’s not very interesting to m. I’m very happy with what I have, with who I am. I’m not the best player in the history of tennis. I think I’m among the best. That’s true. That’s enough for me.”