Roland Garros: Five things we learned on Day 1: A whole lot of love for Nadal
Cheers rang out and a river of tears flowed as Rafael Nadal, the king of clay, came back to the land where he stomped all over Roger and Novak and Andy and everyone else to the point that he has a plaque in the clay on centre court bearing his footprint and the number 14 to denote his haul of titles. Vamos!
Veni. Lusi. Vici. I came. I played. I conquered.
Apologies to Julius Caesar but his line Veni. Vidi. Vici. (I came. I saw. I conquered) after hacking up Pharnaces II in 47BC at the Battle of Zela in what is now Turkey came to mind during the ceremony to hail Rafael Nadal for his savagery at the Roland Garros Stadium on his way to 14 singles titles between 2005 and 2024. But the warrior supreme says it's no great shakes. "I really feel that if I did it – I don't consider myself somebody very, very special – another one is going to come and achieve that too," said Nadal. "A lot of things need to happen in your favour to make that happen. You need a long career and you can't have a lot of injuries, even if I had lots of them. You can have injuries and you can have very, very bad days. You need some luck, too."
Zen and sensibility
Four tops
Extras
Grit
Read more on RFI EnglishRead also:Djokovic beats Nadal in their 60th match to reach last-16 at Paris OlympicsFrench Open chiefs plan centre court fiesta for Rafael NadalNadal says adios to tennis after Netherlands eliminate Spain in Davis Cup
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