There’s only one name that pops in our head immediately when French Open is mentioned and Rafael Nadal showed why he is a class apart in the clay-court Grand Slam event by winning it a record 12th time in 2019.
Nadal had two Germans and a Belgian to contend with in his first three rounds, defeating qualifiers Yannick Hanfmann and Yannick Maden in straight sets, before taking four sets to dispose off David Goffin.
He needed only three sets against Argentine Juan Ignacio Londero in the fourth round and he knocked off Japan’s Kei Nishikori and Switzerland’s Roger Federer also in straight sets in the quarters and the semis. He dropped the second set in the final against Austrian Dominic Thiem, who had defeated top seed Serbian Novak Djokovic in five sets in their semi-final. Nadal, however, was ruthless in the next two sets as he went on to win the match 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 to lift his favourite trophy one more time.
Did you know?
With his victory in 2019, Nadal had won the French Open men’s singles title for a record 12th time.
With his 12th French Open title, Nadal broke the all-time record for the most singles titles won by a player – male or female at the same Grand Slam tournament. Following his 2018 victory, Nadal had shared the record with Margaret Court. She had won the Australian Open 11 times.
Nadal went on to win the French Open in 2020 as well. This means that 13 of Nadal’s record 20 Grand Slam titles so far have come at the French Open.
Picture Credit : Google
