Vamos Rafa!
Hearty congratulations!
Soooo happy for you Champ!
#9
#14
#1

June 8th, 2014 at 1:05 pm

Next year, I will be going for my 10th FO title. Think about that for a minute and let it sink in. The magnitude of dominance is unparallelled in this sport.

I am a very Humble person by nature, but accomplishments speak very highly of me.

I ran out the Arrogant One’s clock on the FO.
I might run out the Egg Lover’s clock also.

June 8th, 2014 at 1:17 pm

I am just LeBroning..that’s all.

June 8th, 2014 at 1:23 pm

I don’t know what a 9 time champion has to do to shake off the ‘underdog’ tag each year. Even the tournament moved his opening match to Suzanne Lenglen, a court he has not played on since he was a teenager.

At the end of the day, getting a win against him at Masters level is irrelevant. You have to be able to beat him on the biggest stage, where it counts most. Where he is undefeated in a final.

I don’t doubt that next year Nole will go into RG as the favorite once again. I just wonder what Rafa has to do to prove himself to people, that he can actually win the title he’s already won 9 times. Win 10? 11? 14?

You may go into May/June with better form, but until you’ve done the deed where it matters most, he is the favorite.

June 8th, 2014 at 1:24 pm

hahahhaahahah

bbc copied this stats for their live coverage

http://www.bbc.com/sport/live/tennis/26793570

June 8th, 2014 at 1:25 pm

and that 1 to 1

June 8th, 2014 at 1:28 pm

Nadal is an incredible player. I honestly hope he never gets injured again so that he can reach his full potential. Yes, even if that means eclipsing Federer’s, my all time favorite, records. May the best, be the best. I always wondered, if Federer never existed, maybe Nadal would be my man.

June 8th, 2014 at 1:32 pm

has nadal officially withdrawn from halle?

June 8th, 2014 at 1:34 pm

In addition to his starts at RG, Nadal added this to his mind boggling stats: he’s won at least 1 major for 10 consecutive years. That’s better than Federer, Sampras, or anyone else in the Open era.

June 8th, 2014 at 1:36 pm

he’s won at least 1 major for 10 consecutive years. That’s better than Federer, Sampras, or anyone else in the Open era.
—
The cat lovers are sleeping. Wait for them to bring up fatherhood, husbandhood, etc.

Thanks for acknowledging what is a fact.

June 8th, 2014 at 1:47 pm

Guess who is the youngest to reach 14 GS?

June 8th, 2014 at 1:55 pm

#DREAMIN9

#VAMOS

Rafa himself says Nole’s day will come.

June 8th, 2014 at 1:55 pm

I said it before this tournament started, as lousy as Nadal looked leading in, he was my pick to win.

Don’t bet against the house.

Now the Heat need to bring it!

June 8th, 2014 at 2:01 pm

Now the Heat need to bring it!
—
I took some inspiration from your Fearless loser and started Lebronning after the match.

June 8th, 2014 at 2:08 pm

http://bloguin.com/attackingthenet/2014/eight-is-not-enough.html

“As was said when this tennis blog started three weeks ago, Rome is a nice tournament to win, but Paris is what matters on European red clay. Players fatten their bank accounts and rise in the rankings when they conquer Italy. They become immortals when they subdue France, its moody crowds, and its preference for a very particular brand of tennis. This is why majors are majors, and Masters 1000s are Masters 1000s.

There are entirely legitimate reasons to love and value the Masters more than the majors, but the reality of best-of-five-set tennis is precisely what makes major tournaments the ultimate tests of the best performers on the planet. When you win a best-of-three tournament, you know you’ve been effective. When you win a best-of-five-set tournament, you can be sure that you have sustained your effectiveness… at least more than anyone else. When you win a major in men’s tennis, laying the best-of-five beast at your feet, you can be confident in knowing that your toughness — your ability to master the intangible challenges of this sport — has been tougher than your opponent’s toughness.”

PREACH!

June 8th, 2014 at 2:37 pm

Rafa, I told you, YOU ARE THE BEST!!!!!!
Wish you good health so we can keep enjoying watching you win. QUE VIVA ESPAñA COñOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

June 8th, 2014 at 3:06 pm

Ese Bejarano! Esa eñe! Viva Nadal, coño!

June 8th, 2014 at 3:26 pm

History repeat again, again, and again.
Rafa is unbeatable in a best of 5 sets on clay and I dont know why this so called “specialists” are keeping chosing the wrong guy. Why?

June 8th, 2014 at 6:49 pm

My heartfelt congratulations to Rafa and his legions of fans especially in this forum namely Alison, Metan, Okiegal, Steve, Nirmal and host of others. Having short of words to describe it, I would say it is an incredible achievement in the annals of this sport which would be unparalleled for generations to come. In all likelihood, it might not be surprassed too and will become a “stand alone” record which is here to stay thereby engraving Rafa’s name in the history books in golden letters as long as Tennis and human kind lives. For Rafa, it was really a challenge. He had an opponent who had beaten him four times before and who had the measure of him. There were sceptics too who talked about the match ups and the fact that Rafa is uncomfortable with Novak’s game, which infact is true to an extent. Moreover, Rafa’s record in clay court tournaments was relatively low key having lost to Almagro, Ferrer, losing nearly to Nishikori and Novak. But, to get them all off the hook, and beat Novak comfortably in the finals in four sets require some taking. Rafa played well, but I would not say he was at his highest level and at the other end, for some reason Novak was struggling physically on court. We do not know why ? But he infact was. That can be no excuse for the defeat for Rafa beat him comprehensively. Novak did make a late come back at the fag end of the fourth set but by then it was too late and Rafa grabbed the moment and won his incredible 9th. Great going Rafa. And next year, he will be going for his 10th title and is there anybody to stop him ? Still other than Novak, I find nobody out there who can inspire confidence that they will get the better of Rafa. Such is his sheer domination.

June 8th, 2014 at 9:04 pm

Hearty congratulations. You are a real champion and a fighter. You are inspiration to many across the world. Stay healthy and win as many slams as possible.

June 9th, 2014 at 12:17 am

@Michael

Nice post and thanks! You always put things into perspective. I thought Novak had some issues myself. I missed the throwing up on court thing. I’m sorry he was sick. You don’t want to be ailing when having to face Rafa on clay and at Roland Garros to boot!
Rafa had a problem himself with cramping. I know Novak will win this slam at some point. He has played good this year. Beating Rafa this spring with four titles is nothing to sneeze at. A setback today, but nothing to be ashamed of, imo. On to grass!!

June 9th, 2014 at 12:33 am

Okiegal,

Once again congratulations on your man winning for the 9th time at Rolland Garros. Yes, I too believe that Novak will win French at some point of time. But belief is one thing and reality is another. The fact is Rafa is still only 28 despite winning for the 9th time. He has another two good years and I am not sure how many more time he will go on to win ? But in my opinion, it would not be less than 11. Novak can win this tournament only by outlasting Rafa. He is the only man who can do it. He has done it on other courts including Clay. However, he is yet to replicate that success at Rolland Garros. The question is – can he get the better of Rafa in this court in the next two years ? There are many other imponderables as well ? You must be physically fit. You should once again grind and come all the way to the finals and then beat Rafa. It appears to be a Herculean task. But not to be discourteous to Novak who has a never say die attitude, let us hope he comes out with his best and complete that coveted grand slam.

June 9th, 2014 at 1:00 am

@Michael

Yes, Michael, Rafa has done it again. What can I say?? This accomplishment is unbelievable. He owns Roland Garros and the opponents he faces there! An amazing player. Enjoyed the feedback, as usual! It’s nighty night time for me!

June 9th, 2014 at 1:47 am

Prior to this final, Djoker has maybe won four straight against Nadal, but what matters the most in tennis is, of course, the slams. He’s 0-4 vs the Spaniard in the slam matches since winning that 2012 AO final, and it’s precisely THESE 4 LOSSES (or wins, if you look at it from the Nadal’s perspective) that will be of TREMENDOUS IMPORTANCE not only with regards to his H2H vs Nadal, but also to Nadal’s eventual GOAT status (if there’s even such title in tennis) or, at the very least, “better than Federer” status.

Had Nadal lost, say, 3 from these 4 matches, his current GS H2H vs Djoker would’ve been perfectly even at 6:6, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, he would’ve had 3 GS titles less (11 compared to 14), which would quite possibly mean another 2 or so years of wait if he was to equal or break that Federer’s record of 17 GS titles. But now that he has 14 instead of 11, he’ll have to win “only” 3 or 4 more, which, in my account, will be a reality in 2016, at the very least (let’s not fotget that he still has 2 slams in 2014 to play). And once he breaks that Federer’s record number of 17 GS titles, all debates on who’s the better of these two will be pretty much closed…

June 9th, 2014 at 8:03 am

It made me laugh when Ben predicted that Novak would thrash Nadal in 3 sets. I don’t know how serious he was.

As a fan, this was one of the most emotional victories of his career. Hope his next Slam win is Wimbledon.

June 9th, 2014 at 2:39 pm

It is plain grotesque dominance – this Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros. Hopefully some other name than Federer or Nadal wins the next two GS’s.

June 9th, 2014 at 2:56 pm

@Conty
Yeah! Hoping this AM duo is going to prove a winning partnership!

June 9th, 2014 at 3:45 pm

It would have been nice to see Djokovic complete his career slam but props to Nadal the Beast of Roland Garros.

Onto the grass we go!

June 9th, 2014 at 4:11 pm