Paris – As The France Open It enters a new era after the Rafa this year, there are a couple of predominant feelings among the tennis players.
One is: it is a pity that the world cannot see the king of clay, like Rafael Nadal became called, his unique brand of implacability of heavy topspin In the crushed red brick of Roland-Garros, where he won a record 14 of his 22 Grand Slam titles.
The other, expressed by men who would love to have the opportunity to carve their own history in the place, go like this: go, it will surely not have that guy who is now coming out now that now The 38 -year -old Spanish is retired.
“Fortunately, or unfortunately, I never got to Play it in Roland-Garros“Said American Tommy Paul, a semifinalist from the Australian Open of 2023 currently in 12th place.
“It’s good not to have to worry about him, I guess,” Paul added with a smile. “That is the main thing that comes to mind.”
The players repeatedly used the word “different” to describe how it will be without Nadal.
“It will be strange to fans, especially,” said the player of the 10 best Lorenzo Musetti, an Italian who reached the semifinals in Wimbledon and won an Olympic bronze medal in 2024. “But the story he made in Paris will never be forgotten.”
Definitely, Nadal’s domain in Paris had no precedents.
“Impossible,” said defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, “repeat.”
Nadal collected more championships than any other player in a large tennis tournament, ranging from his first, which arrived two days after his 19th birthday in his debut in 2005, to his Last at 36 in 2022 on a painful foot that required injections of nerve ornaments. He was 112-4 in general at the event.
A measure of how good was Nadal there is reflected in his records faced against the other two members of the three greats of male tennis, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. Nadal was 8-2 against Djokovic at the France Open, which represents approximately 15% of all Grand Slam losses of Djokovic anywhere, and 6-0 against Federer.
“What legend. What ambassador for sport,” said Australian player Tehanasi Kokkinakis about Nadal. “One of the best athletes in history, not only in tennis.”
He certainly left his indelible brand in Paris. A larger statue was erected than life near an entrance to the tournament land in 2021, while it was still active; A ceremony that honors him It will take place on Sunday at the main stadium, Court Philippe-Chaatrier, after the first three games of day 1.
One imagines that Nadal will be treated with the type of applause and songs of “Ra-Fa!” He often listened to, even when he played for the last time on the site, In the Paris Olympic Games last year – And he described the “feeling and unforgettable emotions” he enjoyed.
And no one who faced him, nor saw him, in the France Open he will forget his left -handed whip of a right blow or the way he stopped so far back to return the service or the way he pursued each ball. Or the way in which the sand announcer listed all his increasing list of championship years before a match. Or the way Nadal would mite his trophies after winning one, something emulated that Naomi Osaka after claiming his first Clay-Court title last month.
“As a tennis community, everyone will miss Rafa, sure. If I are thinking about that selfishly, I would say: ‘Of course I want to see Rafa play. Of course I want him to be here,'” said Victoria Azarenka, former number 1 and twice Australian Victoria Azarenka. “But I see it a little different. I look at him as that was his decision. The same thing with when Serena (Williams) left. Of course, I miss Serena; she was my greatest motivating. But they have followed in her life what is best for them. And I only have so much respect for what they have done for the sport. How much they have contributed it. What ascended it. The only thing is to say is, thanks, thanks to the players.
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Howard Fendrich has been the AP tennis writer since 2002. He finds his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich. More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tenis
