NADAL AND ROLAND GARROS: HIS 14 WINS (FOR NOW)
Once again, he's done it again. Last Sunday, June 5, 2022 Rafa Nadal raised the emblematic Copa de los Musketeers, as tradition dictates. Seeing Rafa with the trophy is not an image that surprises us, and it is the 14th time that he has given us a Roland Garros final. Rafa is from another planet, he is the undisputed king of the clay. We recently told you 10 things about the Roland Garros, but today we want to talk about the undisputed tennis legend Rafa Nadal and his history with the Roland Garros.
RECORD IN GRAND SLAMS
For starters, is there any guy among mortals capable of winning a total of 22 Grand Slams? Nadal's record is something impossible to define, and it is that year after year it grows and grows. Trying to estimate the number of wins he will achieve throughout his career is not even worth it. At 36, the man from Manacor has made history: 2 Australian Open, 14 Roland Garros, 2 Wimbledon and 4 US Open.UU., but have you ever stopped to think how many victories he has in the Parisian tournament?
The thing about Rafa and the Roland Garros is one of those relationships that start when they are very young and don't seem to have an end date. The first time we saw the still child bite the trophy was in 2005, when he beat Mariano Puerta at just 19 years old. Since then, Nadal's victories in the Philippe Chatrier have been added one after another. And the last one (for now) took place on June 5, 2022, after beating the Dane Casper Ruud (6-3, 6-3, 6-0). In fact, it even ends sooner if we count only the only 4 editions that it has not won, one in 2009, another two in 2015 and 2016 and the last one in 2021. In fact, he has never lost a Roland Garros final. To get down to business, let's break down their numbers!
UNRIVALED FIGURES
Nadal's figures do not stop feeding a legend. Of the 115 games played at Roland Garros, they have only lost 3, and one of them due to being unable to show up due to injury. In other words, out of 115 games 112 have won, a wild game. Come on, has won 97.39% of all the games it has played in this tournament. What a beast!
Despite these data, everything indicated that this Roland Garros would be won by Djokovic, Alcaraz or Tsipipas, since Nadal was not in his best physical moment due to injury. And it is that when shooting he carries a chronic injury to his foot that causes a lot of pain and does not make it easy for him. However, once again he has taught us all a lesson. A life lesson based on four rules: effort, improvement, perseverance and humility, above all humility.
The question we all ask ourselves is: how long is Nadal going to continue making us so happy? Will there be a next Nadal? We don't know how many victories he has ahead of him, but experience tells us that Nadal will be around for a while. The day may come when a new tennis player excites us as much (or comes close) as he has, but for now let's continue to enjoy this genius. There is much to learn from him.
