Prior to the Roland Garros final, Rafael Nadal was oozing with confidence despite knowing the match would be played under the roof!

‘King of Clay’, Rafael Nadal clenched his record-equaling 20th Grand Slam this year at the Roland Garros. Nadal won the French Open for a record 13 times in his stellar career. The count still remains in progress as long as the Spaniard stays focused and committed to his goals.

The fact that the World No.2 lost early in Rome, coupled with the heavier conditions had tipped Novak Djokovic to end Rafael Nadal’s reign in Paris.

A little backstory about the 2020 Roland Garros final – it was announced that the match would be held under the roof due to bad weather. That only increased the expectations of a Djokovic win, since he has historically been much more comfortable playing indoors than the Spaniard.

As it turned out, Nadal’s confidence was surging that day and he went on to demolish the World No.1 Djokovic in one of his best performances at the Roland Garros final.

“I don’t care, it doesn’t change anything, I’m going to win this match”: Rafael Nadal prior to the final

Carlos Moya, coach of Rafael Nadal recently recalled how the coaching team was a bit apprehensive in breaking the news to Rafa Nadal 15 minutes prior to the big final.

“When they come to tell us that the final will be played indoors, we wonder how we’re going to announce that to Rafa,” Moya said.

“15 minutes from the match, Francisco Roig (Rafa’s co-trainer) told him so. And there, Rafa’s response was: ‘I don’t care, it doesn’t change anything, I’m going to win this match,” said the Spanish coach recalling the anecdote.

Nadal’s poor results on the tour had put Djokovic ahead in the list of favorites to oust Nadal on clay but little did the world understands that form might be temporary but class is always permanent and the clay-court champion defied the odds on the territory that he has proudly conquered 13-times now.

There is a subtle difference between showing arrogance and simply keeping your head high with self-confidence and the latter is what was reflected in the Spaniard’s comment upon learning the news.

Novak Djokovic was at a loss of words after the humiliation

The 2020 French Open final saw Rafael Nadal produce one of the best performances of his career. Demolishing the Serbian mastermind, who is a fountain of agility, stamina and efficiency in straight sets is absolutely commendable.

The Spaniard’s performance at the French Open final left even Djokovic at a loss for words after the final.

“No, no, I was fine. Everything was okay,” Djokovic told the media in Paris after his loss.

“I was ready for this match. It’s just that I was outplayed. I was beaten by a guy who was just perfect today – especially the first two sets. That’s all there is to it,” he added.

“I will absolutely not find any other justification for this loss. He was just better,” Djokovic concluded.

Also Read: “Sick and tired of it,” Roger Federer’s comment on Nadal’s forehand one of the best on-court chats of 2020