Nadal in his farewell tour faced Cobolli in the first round of Barcelona and Zverev in the first round of Roland-Garros.
Now, they’re facing each other in the Roland-Garros final.
Even on his way out, he never had it easy.
Rafa Nadal played in 14x Roland Garros finals. Half of them against Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
Not only did he win every single one, he never even got taken to a 5th set.
The crazy amount of gruelling 5-set matches this year really puts this into perspective.
Ver el documental de Rafa me ha hecho llorar. No solo por todo lo que ha vivido, sino porque representa una parte muy importante de mi historia.
Rafa significa mis inicios, el motivo por el que empecé a jugar al tenis y la persona que me hizo creer que los sueños podían hacerse realidad. Gracias a él aprendí a soñar en grande cuando era solo una niña.
Lo que ha dejado en este deporte es simplemente inexplicable. Su legado permanecerá para siempre, no solo por todo lo que ganó, sino por la manera en que inspiró a toda una generación.
Siempre me sentiré agradecida por haber podido vivir y compartir momentos como este. Como echo de menos verle jugar… Y sí, es mi habitación… sigo siendo una fan, y siempre lo seré.
🥹❤️
With Alcaraz injured, Sinner melted in the heat and Djokovic being 345 years old, the stage is set for a generational bottle job of an opportunity for Zverev.
Rafa Nadal won the 2022 French Open with his left foot completely numb. His doctor had been injecting anesthetic into the nerves before every match, for two solid weeks. After one of those matches he couldn’t walk, and his father had to carry him to the hotel.
That was his 14th French Open title. No tennis player, male or female, has ever won the same tournament that many times. His career record at the French Open was 112 wins, 4 losses. That 96.6% win rate is the highest by any player at any major in history. Only three men ever beat him in Paris: Söderling in 2009, Djokovic twice, and Alexander Zverev in his final appearance in 2024.
The forehand that powered all of it spins faster than a washing machine on spin cycle. About 3,200 rotations per minute on average, peaking at 5,000. Federer’s spins at 2,500. Sampras and Agassi were at 1,800. Nadal’s ball spins about 80 times in the time it takes to cross the court.
The condition in his foot is called Müller-Weiss syndrome. It is a rare disease where a small bone in the middle of the foot slowly collapses. He has had it since 2005. There’s no cure. He once said he doesn’t remember what playing without pain feels like.
He retired last November in tears, after Spain lost a Davis Cup quarter-final to the Netherlands. Across 23 years he won 22 Grand Slams, 92 tour titles, and 1,080 of his 1,308 singles matches. He held the world number one ranking for 209 weeks and earned $134.9 million in prize money.
The Netflix series drops May 29, in the middle of this year’s French Open. He turns 40 five days later. The tagline is “A Life Beyond Limits.” That was the job description of a tennis career he played, for years, on a foot doctors said could not hold up.
Zverev after beating Tien at the Australian Open
“You’re one of the few players who has your dad and brother as a part of your team. Do you guys ever get sick of each other?”
Zverev: “I get sick of them but they don’t get sick of me because I pay for everything” 😂
Novak Djokovic says Sinner and Alcaraz will never replace Federer and Nadal:
“No, it’s not the same. Sinner and Alcaraz are exceptional players, but for me, Federer and Nadal will never be replaced. And a large part of me left with them.”
https://t.co/rYta84sDOI
Tee Higgins just made a GENIUS play to slide down after making this big catch to let the clock continue to go.
So smart. So unselfish. Football IQ through the roof.
4 lives stolen. An NYPD officer leaves behind a pregnant wife and 2 young sons.
Because a gunman from a state with weak gun laws brought an AR-15 to New York.
We once had a national assault weapons ban. It worked.
Republicans in Congress must find the courage to pass it again.
Rafael Nadal during April-August 2008:
Monte-Carlo🏆
Barcelona🏆
Hamburg🏆
Roland-Garros🏆
Queen's🏆
Wimbledon🏆
Canada🏆
Olympic🏅
— 4 wins vs Federer.
— 4 wins vs Djokovic.
— 3 wins vs Murray.
— 32-match unprecedented win streak across all three surfaces.
The shortest @RolandGarros men's singles final in the Open Era since 1980:
Rafa Nadal def Roger Federer in 2008 French Open final, 6-1, 6-3, 6-0, that lasted for 1 hour, 48 min & one of the most lopsided in French Open history.
@RafaelNadal🐐👑🥇
#sportskeeda_tennis 📸
Carlos Alcaraz after saving 3 championship points against Jannik Sinner to win Roland Garros:
“When I was feeling worse, I had no more strength, I tried to think about Rafa, about all the comebacks he made." 🥹
(via @francetvsport)
Alcaraz on taking a photo of Rafa Nadal’s footprint before his match against Musetti at Roland Garros, ‘Having a little bit of Rafa Nadal on Philippe Chatrier while I’m playing is a great inspiration’
“I saw you before the match during your warm up, you went over and took a picture of Nadal’s plaque. Why was it important for you to do that today?”
Carlos: “I think it was the first time I could warm up before the match here on Chatrier. So I tried to make the most of the time. Took a bit of time to take a picture of that. Having a little bit of Rafa Nadal on Philippe Chatrier while I’m playing is a great inspiration. I try not to think about it too much in the match. But in difficult matches, I think about the effort and the level of Rafa, how he’s fighting all the time. He never gives up. I try to think about it and try to do it myself. All I could do is take a memory of that plaque from Rafa Nadal.” 🥹
Carlos Alcaraz says he can’t imagine winning 14 Roland Garros titles, ‘Just 1 man on the planet was able to do it’
“Could you imagine coming back here with 14 titles one day?”
*Carlos smiles*
Carlos: “I can’t, honestly. It’s something you can’t think about it. Just one man on the planet was able to do it. I can’t imagine.”
(via Roland Garros Press)