Rafael Nadal dominated at the French Open winning a record 14 titles at Roland Garros.
The French Open may never see a better player grace Court Phillipe Chatrier than 14-time champion Nadal.
Nadal won his first title in Paris at the 2005 French Open before adding another 13 to his trophy cabinet over the next 17 years, winning at Roland Garros one final time in 2022.
His clay-court excellence propelled him to a 112-4 record at the tournament, only falling to defeat against three players: Robin Soderling (2009), Novak Djokovic (2015, 2021), and Alexander Zverev (2024).
Nadal retired from tennis in 2024, and three ATP veterans now reflect upon the challenges they faced when taking on the Spaniard in Paris.
Richard Gasquet and Adrian Mannarino say they ‘couldn’t warm-up’ against Rafael Nadal in Paris
Speaking on the Ultimate Tennis Showdown’s YouTube channel, Richard Gasquet revealed what frustrated him ahead of his matches with the 14-time French Open champion.
“Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros, when Marc Maury starts listing his resume,” he said.
“When he says world junior champion at 16, every time he says it I’m like that again?
“Then there’s Nadal, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, I mean he says it 14 times and the crowd is going wild.”
Belgium’s David Goffin shared what he thought to himself when warming up against Nadal.
“You’re still just warming up, even during the warm up he’s still blasting these heavy shots and you’re just standing there listening to his resume thinking ‘alright let me just try hit this with the strings’,” he said.
Gasquet and Adrian Mannarino continued the discussion about warm-ups with Nadal, as they explained how difficult it was to prepare.
“He misses a bunch, but he’s hitting with everything he’s got, so you can’t really warm up,” said Mannarino.
“It’s un warm-up able,” said Gasquet.
They aren’t the only ex-players to have mentioned this, as John Isner and Sam Querrey discussed practicing with Nadal recently.
“It was a horrible practice because he was hitting the ball so hard and ripping every third ball for a winner, and I didn’t enjoy it, and he saw my game as well,” said Isner.
“He misses a lot of balls, he red lines and hits every ball as hard as he can,” added Querrey.
“You could be ranked eight in the world, and you are catering your practice around him, which is totally fine, but he is not a fun guy to practice with.”
Did Richard Gasquet or David Goffin ever come close to beating Rafael Nadal at the French Open?
Nadal played Gasquet three times at Roland Garros, and Goffin once, coming out on top in each of his four meetings with the pair.
- 2021 French Open 2R – Rafael Nadal beat Richard Gasquet, 6-0, 7-5, 6-2
- 2019 French Open 3R – Rafael Nadal beat David Goffin, 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
- 2018 French Open 3R – Rafael Nadal beat Richard Gasquet, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2
- 2005 French Open 3R – Rafael Nadal beat Richard Gasquet, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2
Gasquet failed to take a set off the Spaniard at his favorite tournament, never once taking Nadal to a tiebreak.
Goffin fared marginally better in his one career meeting with Nadal in Paris, bravely fighting back to win the third set 6-4 in their 2019 clash.
He was unable to complete the turnaround, eventually losing in four: 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
Goffin did, however, secure two wins over the 38-year-old on hard courts, at the ATP Finals in 2017 and at the ATP Cup three years later.
The world number 55’s win over Nadal in London eight years ago was one of the best of his career, as he secured a memorable three-set victory, 7-6, 6-7, 6-4.
Goffin went on to reach the final of the ATP Finals that year, losing out to Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov.
It remains to be seen how Goffin, Mannarino, and Gasquet will perform at this year’s French Open, but they’ll all no doubt breathe a sigh of relief knowing they won’t have to play Nadal.
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