{"id":15234,"date":"2024-05-26T08:15:35","date_gmt":"2024-05-26T00:15:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/24hscore.org\/news\/?p=15234"},"modified":"2024-05-25T12:05:54","modified_gmt":"2024-05-25T04:05:54","slug":"the-french-open-impossibility-beating-rafael-nadal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/tennis\/the-french-open-impossibility-beating-rafael-nadal\/","title":{"rendered":"Beating Rafael Nadal at the French Open is the impossible task"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When a fatigued David Ferrer managed to win just five games in his French Open semi-final loss to Rafael Nadal (37) in 2012, he acknowledged the daunting nature of the task. &#8220;Winning a match against Rafa at Roland Garros is almost impossible,&#8221; a bewildered Ferrer admitted as he left Court Philippe Chatrier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ferrer could find little consolation in the fact that he won one more game than Roger Federer did in the 2008 final against Nadal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the clay courts of Roland Garros, few have come close to challenging Nadal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since his stunning debut title in Paris in 2005, Nadal has amassed 14 titles, winning 112 matches and losing just three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Tennis Result<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Welcome back, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RafaelNadal?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@RafaelNadal<\/a> ???<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/RolandGarros?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">#RolandGarros<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/5FQMzRFy1F\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/5FQMzRFy1F<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rolandgarros\/status\/1792549266080092171?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">May 20, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two of those defeats were against Novak Djokovic \u2014 in the quarter-finals in 2015 and the semi-finals in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sweden&#8217;s Robin Soderling was the first to dent Nadal\u2019s record in 2009. Nadal avenged that last-16 loss a year later in the final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The only other time Nadal was stopped in Paris was in 2016 when a wrist injury forced him to withdraw after the second round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2005, Nadal won the French Open on his first attempt, just two days past his 19th birthday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He will turn 38 a week from Monday, though recent injuries might disrupt his dream of a farewell performance in the French capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When Nadal claimed his 14th French Open title in 2022, he became the oldest champion at 36.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This feat was accomplished despite requiring daily painkilling injections to numb crippling pain in his foot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"qme\" dir=\"ltr\">? <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RafaelNadal?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@RafaelNadal<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/RolandGarros?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">#RolandGarros<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/kPObcR8s9Y\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/kPObcR8s9Y<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rolandgarros\/status\/1793213826038436161?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">May 22, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nadal made his Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon as a raw 17-year-old in 2003, but it was his first appearance in Paris that truly captivated fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-1, 7-5 victory in the final against the unheralded Mariano Puerta of Argentina made him the first man since Mats Wilander 23 years earlier to win in Paris at the first attempt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8216;Like a War&#8217;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2005, Nadal won 11 titles, eight of them on clay, including the prestigious Masters tournaments in Monte Carlo and Rome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Entering Paris, he was on a 17-match win streak and was drawn to face Germany&#8217;s Lars Burgsmuller in the first round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;I remember that I was a little sad about the draw,&#8221; Burgsmuller, ranked 96th at the time, told USA Today in 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Everyone was talking about him. Everyone knew that he would be very, very good.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nadal went on to claim the French Open title for the next three years, defeating Federer in the final on each occasion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the 2008 championship match, Nadal allowed his great Swiss rival just four games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That year, he didn&#8217;t drop a set. His compatriots Fernando Verdasco and Nicolas Almagro, both top 25 players, were allowed just three games each in their last-16 and quarter-final thrashings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2017 and 2020, Nadal again won the title without dropping a set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Amazingly, in his 115 matches at Roland Garros, Nadal has been pushed to five sets only three times. He won all three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;With Rafa on clay in best of five, it&#8217;s like a war,&#8221; said Nadal&#8217;s coach Carlos Moya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">John McEnroe, who had legendary battles with six-time Roland Garros champion Bjorn Borg, was able to compare eras.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;I know when Borg played in my day he was like the human backboard,&#8221; said McEnroe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;He was faster than everyone, fitter than everyone, and you couldn&#8217;t get a ball past the guy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;I saw guys get exhausted in the first set, like the best clay court players in the world. It&#8217;s the same thing when you play Nadal. This guy, he comes to play every match. This is a guy that just doesn&#8217;t give it away.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When a fatigued David Ferrer managed to win just five games in his French Open semi-final loss to Rafael Nadal (37) in 2012, he acknowledged the daunting nature of the task. &#8220;Winning a match against Rafa at Roland Garros is almost impossible,&#8221; a bewildered Ferrer admitted as he left Court Philippe Chatrier. Ferrer could find&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":15238,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","rank_math_description":"When a fatigued David Ferrer managed to win just five games in his French Open semi-final loss to Rafael Nadal in 2012,","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[2778,2886,19],"class_list":["post-15234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tennis","tag-french-open-atp-singles","tag-nadal-rafael","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15234"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15234\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15239,"href":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15234\/revisions\/15239"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}