Rafael Nadal he has almost every record imaginable at Roland Garros but he lacks one that he can achieve this Sunday, and that has been missing for 50 years when Andreu Gimeno won the title at 34 years and 10 months “class =” link copy “>Andreu Gimeno he won the title at the age of 34 years and 10 months and became the oldest tennis player to win it. Yes Nadal win Casper Ruud this Sunday he would also make it his home at 36 years and 2 days.
“Oh my god! You got it, Andreu. You have won a Grand Slam. You can always tell that you have at least one. You can retire now. ” he recalled the tennis player in his biography ‘Andrés Gimeno, Passion for tennis’ from the publisher Turpial (2013). The Catalan tennis player, junior champion of Roland Garros, was during the best years of his career on the professional circuit with the Australians Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, Lewis Hoad or the Americans Pancho Gonzalez i Pancho Segura. He played with them on a world circuit created by Jack Kramer before an International Tennis Federation that banned amateur tennis players from covering until, in 1968, their doors were reopened to compete in major tournaments.
For his victory over the local French idol Patrick Proisy (4-6, 6-3, 6-1, 6-1) won in 1972, Gimeno received a prize of 25,000 pesetas (150.25 euros at current exchange rate) and the cup Pierre-Guillou which was then given to the champion. A trophy just 10 inches tall, that Gimeno he always showed pride, and was by his side until his death, at the age of 82, in a residence in Terrassa.
