Rafael Nadal reveals his “Worst Ever Moment” at French Open
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Little known facts about Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal is the greatest clay court tennis player in the history of the world, and that is a fact. But the thirty-four year old never gets too ahead of himself, and always plays it down. Among many other titles, on clay, the man from Mallorca has also won the French Open 13 times.
To put it into context, the next best in men’s tennis is 6 French Open wins by Bjorn Borg. Talking to AFP media, Nadal spoke about everything French Open.
Worst moments for Rafael Nadal at the French Open
Two of the worst moments that Rafael Nadal had at the Roland Garros have been losing to Robin Soderling in 2009 and then injuring his wrist in 2016. In 2009 Robin Soderling became the first man to beat Rafael Nadal at the French Open. Nadal, who was chasing his fifth consecutive French Open, was beaten in the fourth round by Robin Soderling. The match has often been described as one of the biggest upsets in tennis.
In 2016, Nadal pulled out of the French Open with a wrist injury ahead of his third round clash. Nadal had said at that time that if he had continued to play, he would have had a broken wrist by the end of the next match.
Rafael Nadal said, “My worst memories are without a doubt 2009 and the loss to Soderling, but also 2016, when I had to give up due to a wrist injury.”
Rafael Nadal believes that no one is invincible
This has been Rafael Nadal’s formula for many years. No matter what he feels inside, outside he will never admit he is one of the favourites. Rafael Nadal says, “No-one is invincible, anywhere,” He adds, “This year I lost (early) in Monte Carlo and Madrid. I hope not to lose here at Roland Garros. What I can do is fight.”
Nadal then goes onto speak about the number of issues he had with his body, and how he never expected his body to hold up for this long. Nadal says, “Ten years ago, I had so many physical problems that it was difficult for me to imagine that my career would last so long,”
Nadal confirms what everybody already knew, that he is in love with Roland Garros. He says, “Roland Garros is a very special place for me.” Nadal wants to come back here and play well every year. He believes that “But favourite or not, that is not the question. What matters is to play well, and the one who plays the best will be whoever has the most chances of winning the tournament. My goal is to be the one who plays the best.”
But it was not always this way for Rafael Nadal, he was not always in love with the Roland Garros. In Fact he was a little intimidated. He found other tournaments like Monte Carlo better but now things have changed. Nadal says, “ At the beginning, I think I played better in Monte Carlo or in Rome, to be honest,” he continued “It is more difficult to have a good feeling at Roland Garros, the court is very big and there are different sensations.
He concluded, “I never had bad feelings here, but it is also true that I had very good feelings in other tournaments on this surface.”
Also Read: REVEALED! Roger Federer’s path to claim his second French Open title
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Auri Ghosh
(652 Articles Published)