Records, they say, are there to be broken. But it seems beyond the realms of possibility that we will ever see dominance like this again.
On Sunday, Rafael Nadal won title No. 11 at the French Open. Eleven. Just let that sink in.
While his la decima triumph of 2017 may have been more headline-friendly, the significance of this win cant be overstated.
No player has won 11 titles at the same major solely in the Open Era. Heck, just one other player had managed to pick up more than three crowns at Roland Garros in that time. And next year, Nadal can DOUBLE Bjorn Borgs haul of six trophies.
Even at 32, you wouldnt bet against him doing exactly that.
Male Open Era French Open winners
11 – Nadal
6 – Borg
3 – Wiliander
3 – Lendl
3 – Kuerten
Nadals sheer brilliance is beyond belief. And Im happy to wager that no player will win a best-of-five sets Grand Slam more than Nadal has in my lifetime.
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Only Margaret Court has won a major 11 times and a significant total of her Australian Open wins came prior to the Open Era. Its reasonable to believe Nadal will surpass her efforts in 2019.
The Spaniard exudes excellence on clay. The sheer brutality of his strokes is remarkable. The intense focus on every point amazing. His continued desire to win astounding.
Since 2005, only two men have inflicted defeat on the undisputed King of Clay on his favourite court and, in truth, only Novak Djokovic has looked like mounting a serious challenge to his throne.
Nadal French Open record
2005 – Winner (beat Puerta)
2006 – Winner (beat Federer)
2007 – Winner (beat Federer)
2008 – Winner (beat Federer)
2009 – Round four (lost to Soderling)
2010 – Winner (beat Soderling)
2011 – Winner (beat Federer)
2012 – Winner (beat Djokovic)
2013 – Winner (beat Ferrer)
2014 – Winner (beat Djokovic)
2015 – Withdrew after round two
2016 – Quarter-finals (lost to Djokovic)
2017 – Winner (beat Wawrinka)
2018 – Winner (beat Thiem)
Ken Rosewalls brutal on-court assessment of 2018 runner-up Dominic Thiems performance as a little bit disappointing was rather harsh but it serves as a reminder of how far even the finest clay specialist of this up-and-coming generation is away from Nadal.
The world No. 1 dominated proceedings from start to finish, brilliantly nullifying the threat of Thiems ferocious groundstrokes. Mentally, he always held the edge.
Thiem captured his excellence nicely after the match.
If you win a Grand Slam tournament 11 times, one single one, then this is just very exceptional and amazing, the world No. 8 said.
You need to have, I think, many extraordinary skills and talents and work ethics to achieve that.
Throughout the two weeks in Paris, we have seen various attempts to down Nadal, with different styles enjoying a mixed level of success.
And yet, the tennis great has dropped just one set at Roland Garros in the past two years. It beggars belief.
More remarkably, hes never lost beyond the semi-finals in his 13 years at the French Open. His record stands at 22-0.
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With father time playing catch up, its difficult to conceive that Nadal will maintain that record, unless he quits while hes ahead.
But its even less conceivable to see anyone coming close to what hes achieved again.
Advertisement Advertisement
Records, they say, are there to be broken. But it seems beyond the realms of possibility that we will ever see dominance like this again.
On Sunday, Rafael Nadal won title No. 11 at the French Open. Eleven. Just let that sink in.
While his la decima triumph of 2017 may have been more headline-friendly, the significance of this win cant be overstated.
No player has won 11 titles at the same major solely in the Open Era. Heck, just one other player had managed to pick up more than three crowns at Roland Garros in that time. And next year, Nadal can DOUBLE Bjorn Borgs haul of six trophies.
Even at 32, you wouldnt bet against him doing exactly that.
Male Open Era French Open winners
11 – Nadal
6 – Borg
3 – Wiliander
3 – Lendl
3 – Kuerten
Nadals sheer brilliance is beyond belief. And Im happy to wager that no player will win a best-of-five sets Grand Slam more than Nadal has in my lifetime.
Advertisement Advertisement
Only Margaret Court has won a major 11 times and a significant total of her Australian Open wins came prior to the Open Era. Its reasonable to believe Nadal will surpass her efforts in 2019.
The Spaniard exudes excellence on clay. The sheer brutality of his strokes is remarkable. The intense focus on every point amazing. His continued desire to win astounding.
Since 2005, only two men have inflicted defeat on the undisputed King of Clay on his favourite court and, in truth, only Novak Djokovic has looked like mounting a serious challenge to his throne.
Nadal French Open record
2005 – Winner (beat Puerta)
2006 – Winner (beat Federer)
2007 – Winner (beat Federer)
2008 – Winner (beat Federer)
2009 – Round four (lost to Soderling)
2010 – Winner (beat Soderling)
2011 – Winner (beat Federer)
2012 – Winner (beat Djokovic)
2013 – Winner (beat Ferrer)
2014 – Winner (beat Djokovic)
2015 – Withdrew after round two
2016 – Quarter-finals (lost to Djokovic)
2017 – Winner (beat Wawrinka)
2018 – Winner (beat Thiem)
Ken Rosewalls brutal on-court assessment of 2018 runner-up Dominic Thiems performance as a little bit disappointing was rather harsh but it serves as a reminder of how far even the finest clay specialist of this up-and-coming generation is away from Nadal.
The world No. 1 dominated proceedings from start to finish, brilliantly nullifying the threat of Thiems ferocious groundstrokes. Mentally, he always held the edge.
Thiem captured his excellence nicely after the match.
If you win a Grand Slam tournament 11 times, one single one, then this is just very exceptional and amazing, the world No. 8 said.
You need to have, I think, many extraordinary skills and talents and work ethics to achieve that.
Throughout the two weeks in Paris, we have seen various attempts to down Nadal, with different styles enjoying a mixed level of success.
And yet, the tennis great has dropped just one set at Roland Garros in the past two years. It beggars belief.
More remarkably, hes never lost beyond the semi-finals in his 13 years at the French Open. His record stands at 22-0.
Advertisement Advertisement
With father time playing catch up, its difficult to conceive that Nadal will maintain that record, unless he quits while hes ahead.
But its even less conceivable to see anyone coming close to what hes achieved again.
Advertisement Advertisement
