French Open 2020: Can Rafa win his 13th title and equal Roger Federer’s record?


French Open 2020: Can Rafa win his 13th title and equal Roger Federer’s record?
Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal showed his best form as he returned back on court at the Italian Open. Rafa was defending his title at the Italian courts but fell prey to the aggressive game style of Diego Schwartzman.

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Now the second tour that Nadal is set to participate in is the French Open. Nadal is the defending champion and a 12-time winner at the Roland Garros. However, hitting the courts after half a year’s halt, his chance to win could be affected.

Slam after a break of six months

Rafael Nadal

Nadal played the Australian Open in January and lost the quarter-finals. The Spaniard gave a tough fight to Dominic Thiem before crashing 6-7, 6-7, 6-4, 6-7. Rafa won the Mexican Open on 1st March 6-3, 6-2 against Taylor Fritz.

Since then he was away from the tour. Rafa was back on tour only last week with the Italian Open. Rafa displayed a phenomenal form as he looked strong and well prepared. However, against Diego Schwartzman, Rafa failed to outperform the Argentine. He won 6-2, 7-5 against the defending champion.

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In the post-match conference, Rafa said “I did my job here [in Rome]. I did a couple of things well and other things bad. That’s it…At least I played three matches. I fought until the end. But losing that many serves, you can’t expect to win a match, no? Something that I have to fix.”

“I know how to do it. I’m going to keep working and keep practising with the right attitude and try to give me a chance to be ready,” Rafa added.

Nadal was honest in the post-match conference and accepted his loss. He seemed optimistic as he has hardly any time before he steps onto the French clay.

A hard road to 20th grand slam

Rafael Nadal

Roger Federer has a record of 20 grand slams (the most by a men’s player). He is away from the tour due to a knee injury. The Spaniard, on the other hand, has 19 grand slams to his name. The upcoming French Open may seem like a perfect opportunity to clench his 20th title as he is the King of Clay.

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Nadal participated in each French Open since 2005 and won every time except three seasons. While he still wore a Capri short and sported a sleeveless t-shirt with a long hairstyle, he lifted the Roland Garros trophy. Since Pete Sampras at the 1990 US Open, Rafa was the only teenager to win a slam. The only times he failed to win the title were in 2009, 2015 and 2016.

Rafa Nadal won the French Open in 2005 to begin his legacy on the clay. While others have a hard time kissing the trophy once, Rafa owns it 12 times.

  1. 2005
  2. 2006
  3. 2007
  4. 2008
  5. 2010
  6. 2011
  7. 2012
  8. 2013
  9. 2014
  10. 2017
  11. 2018
  12. 2019

As the season of 2020 ends, Rafael has only his eyes fixes at the last slam, the French Open. He missed the American slam to participate at Roland Garros. He will have to dig deep as he fights the GOAT contender Novak Djokovic and next-gen squad.

Also Read: Schwartzman showed Nadal is beatable on clay: Novak Djokovic

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