Rafael Nadal picks his favourite Roland-Garros final

With 14 men’s singles titles, Rafael Nadal is the most successful player in the history of Roland-Garros.

Rafael Nadal has picked the 2020 French Open final, which he played against Novak Djokovic, as his favourite Roland Garros final.

With 14 titles at the French Open, the former Spanish tennis star is the most successful player in the tournament’s history. The Spaniard won his final Roland Garros title in 2005 after he defeated Argentina’s Mariano Puerta in four sets.

Later, he defended his title for consecutive years before bowing out in the fourth round of the French Open following his defeat to Robin Soderling in 2009.

Returning next year, Rafael Nadal later won five consecutive titles in the French capital between 2010 and 2014. The 22-time Grand Slam champion suffered only his second defeat at the Parisian clay during the quarterfinals to Novak Djokovic in 2015.

In 2016, Nadal was forced to withdraw from the third round of the tournament due to a wrist injury. Nevertheless, the ‘King of Clay’ later returned to full strength and won the title four more consecutive times.

In his recent interview with Roland-Garros, the former Spanish tennis star has revealed that the 2020 title, which he won in three straight sets against Novak Djokovic, is his favourite.

In 2020, the French Open was delayed and was played from September 27 to October 11. Talking about the final, Rafael Nadal said, “Maybe the first two sets of the 2020 final. Very, very special.

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It was the year of COVID, we played Roland-Garros later on the season with much colder conditions, against (Novak) Djokovic in the final. With the feeling that it was probably the year that I was less favourite.”

He further added, “I was able to get in the final, and then in the final. And then, I was able to increase my level of tennis in a very special way. These two sets, I think, have been so special.”

The former Spanish midfielder won his 14th and last French Open title in 2022, after beating Casper Ruud in the final. He returned for one last match at the 2024 French Open; however, his campaign came to an end in the first round after he lost to eventual finalist Alexander Zverev.

Later, Rafael Nadal retired from professional tennis at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals with an unprecedented record win-loss record of 112-4 at the Parisian clay at Roland-Garros.

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