Former World No.1 Boris Becker feels Rafael Nadal winning the French Open 14 times is bigger than any other record in tennis. Nadal has clinched the Roland Garros on 14 occasions, which is the most for any player at a single Major.
Novak Djokovic comes second as he has won the Australian Open on 10 occasions. Meanwhile, Nadal is well known as the king of clay and has an outstanding record of 112-3 in the French Open.
Nadal has been almost invincible in Paris and the Spaniard has always brought his A-game to the court. The Spaniard has ticked all the right boxes but he has struggled with his injuries in the last 18 months.
Nadal won his 14th French Open title by beating Casper Ruud in the 2022 final. The 22-time will most likely play his last Roland Garros this season.
“You win it five times, that’s a lot, you win it 10 times, it’s impossible. Nadal’s won it 14 times. I don’t know any other record in any other sport that equals that,” Becker said on CNN.
The German shared his surprise when he learned that Nadal had drawn with Italian Open champion Alexander Zverev in the first round of the French Open. The Spaniard was drawn with the German because he isn’t seeded.
“In the beginning, I didn’t believe it and thought that someone had made a mistake. Only then did I realize that Nadal wasn’t seeded this year. So it was logical. But at first I actually thought that they were both seeded – because you’re just used to Rafa being seeded first or second in Paris.”
Nadal leads Zverev by 7-3 in the head-to-head. The duo had played a mouth-watering contest in the semifinals of 2022 Roland Garros before Zverev suffered a horrific ankle injury.
