‘This record will never be beaten’ – Reaction to Rafael Nadal winning ‘phenomenal’ 14th French Open title

Eurosport’s experts have been queuing up to laud Rafael Nadal after he clinched a “phenomenal” record-extending 14th French Open title.

Nadal now has a staggering 22 Grand Slam singles titles to his name, which puts him two clear of the tallies of his great tennis rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer in the all-time race. It is also the first time Nadal has won the Australian Open and the French Open in the same year.

Nadal suggested in his victory speech afterwards that he will not leave the sport just yet and plans to instead “keep fighting”, and it was a sentiment that delighted the Eurosport experts, many of whom were courtside in Paris.

“We are witnessing sports history with Rafa, we thought it before, and now even more so,” Mats Wilander said.

“John McEnroe said he will never be beaten – and no, this record will never be beaten at a Grand Slam. Will this record be beaten in any sporting event that’s annual? That’s the question.

“He’s not going anywhere! The way he looked from 3-1 in the second set… that’s as good a clay-court match as you can play. It’s unbelievable. I thought he’d show his age at some point. I thought the modernity of Casper Ruud’s game would pay dividends, but it didn’t. He played so smartly in the big points, and I can only imagine what Casper Ruud felt during that match. It’s impossible!

“I would think it must be [the sweetest title for Nadal]. First of all, he didn’t know if he was going to be able to play, every morning when he woke up. But now [we must] focus on not 14… but 22! He’s two ahead of Novak and Roger now, and this could be the reason that he goes down as the greatest player of all time. Again, he’s so humble and in the present moment that it seems like he’s going to keep going.”

Tim Henman added: “It was an absolutely phenomenal performance from Nadal. He was relentless, ruthless and a very worthy champion.

“When you’ve won as much as Rafa has, you just never know what’s around the corner. He’s been very frank and very honest about the future, saying that he doesn’t know whether he’s going to be here next year.

“When you see a performance like that, winning 11 games in a row, it was just another clay-court masterclass. You would’ve thought that when he wins these big titles – don’t forget he won the Australian Open, and the French Open now – surely it’s going to motivate him to keep going.

“That’s what we all have our fingers and toes crossed for because it’s a privilege to see one of the greatest champions of our sport playing like that.”

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