Rafael Nadal: '2011 victory over Roger Federer was...'

In addition to being one of the greatest athletes in the history of modern sport, Rafael Nadal also boasts a record that is unlikely to be broken in the near future. The Spanish phenomenon has won Roland Garros 13 times out of 16 overall attempts. Of the 20 Slam titles posted by the Majorcan, 65% arrived on the clay courts in Port d'Auteuil. The former world number 1 was recently a guest on the show 'Alvarez Cafe', in which he retraced his extraordinary rides in Paris in 2011 and 2020. Nine years ago Rafa beat eternal rival Roger Federer in the final, after that the Swiss had interrupted Novak Djokovic's impressive streak in the previous round. This year, however, there were doubts about the chances of the 34-year-old from Manacor, also due to the different position on the calendar linked to the global pandemic. Nadal has once again denied his detractors by winning the tournament without giving up a single set, as well as demolishing world number 1 Novak Djokovic in the final.

Nadal on the toughest victories for him

Recently, Rafael Nadal reflected on the 2011 and 2020 seasons. As compared to the other years, the Spaniard found these ones to be particularly challenging. He explained, “2011 was very difficult after coming from a difficult year. And then I would say that the one with the most adverse conditions was this year 2020. I had only played one previous tournament on clay. The conditions in Paris were not positive, things turned out well, but playing cold for my body is difficult, then for my style of play, playing with so much cold makes my shots less effective.” During this year’s French Open, Rafa lifted the title for the 13th time in his career. He dismantled Novak Djokovic in the final, winning in straight sets. Nadal also pondered on why he has been such a brutal force at Roland Garros. The Spaniard said, “At Roland Garros, I play well because it is a very large court, where I control the angles very well, but to control the angles well you have to have a ball that responds to the racket. This year the ball changed and that together with the cold made it a ball that took less effect.” The pandemic instilled plenty of different lessons in our lives, but the picture might vary from each person. While one might use this period to attain self-growth, others might come out of it affected on the negative end. “Even if I’m fine, others may not. You should put yourself in the shoes of others and support them. Because I believe that unfortunately many will come out of this year mentally damaged,” mentioned Roger Federer in a recent interview.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/37P9hoY