Rafael Nadal will seek the 14th Roland Garros crown in the next two weeks. Rafa has been dealing with an ongoing foot injury, and he hopes to deliver his best tennis at his favorite tournament and challenge Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Rafa lost to Novak in the semi-final a year ago after an epic battle, and his latest Roland Garros crown came in October 2020. Despite winning the title in style, Rafa stated the conditions were far from ideal that year, as they played in cold weather.
Nadal was afraid of getting injured, but everything went perfectly for him, winning the 13th Roland Garros crown without losing a set and lifting the 20th Major trophy to match Roger Federer.
Rafael Nadal shared thoughts about the 2020 Roland Garros campaign.
Roland Garros was Nadal’s second tournament since the end of February, and he had to get used to the new balls and a roof above Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Settling into a fine rhythm, the king of clay lost only 23 games in the opening four encounters, claiming all 12 sets without any trouble and sailing into the quarters. Jannik Sinner was ready to push the grand champion to the limits.
The young Italian served for the opening set and built an early advantage in the second before Rafa prevailed 7-6, 6-4, 6-1 in under three hours to find himself in the semis. Facing another formidable opponent, the Spaniard defeated Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 in three hours and nine minutes, struggling a bit in the third set before winning the tie break 7-0 to set the title clash against Novak Djokovic.
The world’s leading player stood no chance against the Roland Garros dominant figure, and Rafa scored a 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 win to secure the 13th Parisian crown and join Roger Federer at the top of the GOAT race. Nadal is not the top favorite at this year’s Roland Garros, and he will have to beat Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz to reach the title clash.
“The conditions two years ago were good for me because I won. I’m joking, as the conditions were not ideal for playing tennis, with matches at 3 or 4 degrees. I was a little afraid of getting injured, but that’s in the past now,” Rafael Nadal said.
