With tears in his eyes behind his pink mask, Musketeers Cup on his arm, Rafael Nadal listens to the Spanish anthem rise under the roof of the Central. The Majorcan was already the undisputed king of spring, here he is an autumn legend.
By outclassing Novak Djokovic in the final (6-0, 6-2, 7-5 in 2h41), the world No. 2 pushed the boundaries of reality a little further: 13 titles in the capital, 100th match won out of 102 played on his Parisian promised land and especially 20 crowns in Grand Slam. Like a certain Roger Federer …
“It’s a great honor for me to congratulate you,” the Swiss immediately wrote on social networks. We pushed each other to be better. Hope # 20 will be another stop on our journey. Well done Rafa, you deserve it. Simple. Class. For the rest, superlatives and puns have long been worn out.
“I can’t even imagine what it means to have this record, breathes Guy Forget, the tournament director. Winning Roland-Garros 13 times is beyond comprehension. It’s something that can never be beaten, it’s beyond anything we might have thought ten years ago. He had already doubled Borg’s record (Editor’s note: six successes), it’s incredible. For me it is the greatest success that we have seen in sport. “
“It’s just monstrous”
Never had the winds seemed so contrary (weather, court, roof…) for the left-hander of Manacor. And rarely has Nadal been so domineering. No set conceded over the whole of the fortnight for the fourth time barely since 2005. And a real spanking administered to the world n ° 1 to complete his masterpiece. With seven small games on the scoreboard, Djokovic just did better than Federer (4) and Wawrinka (6), respectively crushed in the final in 2008 and 2017! The chestnut season is in full swing beyond all expectations.
“It’s just monstrous,” sums up the former DTN Arnaud Di Pasquale. We are all amazed. When Roland starts, you see him worried. Then we say to ourselves that he has an easy picture. Afterwards, you almost consider Djoko as the favorite … We do not measure the mental strength of Nadal. And you feel that there is a world that separates him from the others on clay. He is playing the second best in the world on the surface and there is no match. It’s crazy ! He stepped on her. “
Arnaud Clément points to a physical gap. “Djokovic refused the entry fight, observes the former captain of the French Davis Cup team. And we do not emphasize enough the tactical genius of Nadal. He made even sharper changes of pace, long lifeless bullets that completely neutralized the Serbian. We always talk about the conditions but it’s simple. It is the best that adapts best… ”
The 21st next June?
The triumph of the “gladiator”, which gives the closing Sundays the air of circus games, will of course revive the clubhouse discussions on its place in history. In front of Federer, behind, or just next to it? Apart from the Masters, which he does not seem to be leaving to go to in November, Nadal has won everything.
“There is no debate, breath Clément. Nadal’s fans will have one opinion, Federer’s another. But the only justice of the peace, once you’ve won all four, is the total. Today, Nadal is Federer’s equal. After that we can always quibble about Olympic gold (Editor’s note: what does the Swiss in singles not have) or the Masters… ”Especially since the book is not yet closed. “The most fascinating thing is to see how these three guys trivialized the Grand Slam victory,” notes Di Pasquale. When Sampras won his 14, we thought he would never be beaten and they are three ahead. And we have an appointment with Nadal next June for the 21st… ”
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