On the crushed red brick of Roland Garros, Nadal's dominance is a tale worthy of mythological proportions
Spain's Rafael Nadal gestures to the public as he leaves the court after losing against Germany's Alexander Zverev in their men's singles match. Pic/AFP
When David Ferrer, that perennial underdog, stumbled off the court after a semi-final loss to Rafael Nadal at the French Open in 2012, he offered a statement that could only be described as a masterclass in understatement. "Winning a match against Rafa at Roland Garros is almost impossible," he proclaimed, clearly reveling in the realisation that he had just endured a tennis lesson of epic proportions. After all, he managed a mere five games against Nadal—a feat that, frankly, would have put him in the ‘barely-there’ category of competition. It would have brought little solace to Ferrer that he had outperformed Roger Federer, who famously collected only four games in the 2008 final against the same clay-court maestro.