Rafael Nadal said goodbye to the tennis courts this year, closing the chapter on one of the most extraordinary runs, including 22 Grand Slam titles and an unmatchable 14 victory at the French Open, in tennis history. To commemorate his achievements, Eurosport has released a documentary, ‘Nadal, the King of Paris’. The film doesn’t just highlight Nadal’s accolades, it dives into the rivalries that shaped his career, particularly his epic battles with Roger Federer. Per Alex Corretja, an Eurosport expert, it was that one ‘impossible’ outing between the two legends of the sport!

In the documentary, former Spanish tennis player Alex Corretja and former world No. 1 Justin Henin, recall expecting a “colossal” career from a young Rafael Nadal and watching the Spaniard do things that “could not be possible”. Going down the memory lane Corretja talked about the then-19-year-old’s debut performance at the 2005 French Open where he clinched the title against Mariano Puerta.

“You could feel that if he was able to do that in his first time in Paris, that will mean that maybe I was thinking in very optimistic way, [he could] win five, six Roland Garros,” two-time French Open runner-up Corretja said. “That would have been a great record. Of course, we were very wrong about it.” Then, the four-time Roland-Garros champion Henin reminisced about a time when she sensed women’s tennis was on the verge of a significant breakthrough.

“There is something happening in men’s tennis. And you could feel that was a defining moment, one that was going to leave a mark,” she said. “You could imagine that what Nadal was going to achieve would be this colossal. It was the start of something we couldn’t have expected.”

And it was.!

Nadal took home the French Open trophy consecutively from 2005 until 2008. He defeated his arch rival Roger Federer thrice to claim the two of these titles. However, of the three times, there was one year which two times French Open runner up Alex Corretja thought was monumental. So which year was it?

It was the 2008 French Open which saw Nadal defeating Federer in straight sets with dropping just 4 games in the whole match. This marked Federer’s worst loss at a major in his entire career. It also marked the third consecutive year that Nadal defeated Federer in the French Open final, and the fourth consecutive year that Nadal defeated Federer at Roland Garros (extending back to their 2005 semifinal encounter).

Corretja said, “Roger Federer was the king. He was the perfect player. He was the elegance, you know, the class, then on clay, best of five, against Rafa, he was his worst nightmare. I have to admit that that day I felt like it could not be possible what we saw.”

Talking about their rivalry, let’s take you back to where it all started.!

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s rivalry started back in 2004 at the Miami Open. A 17-year-old Nadal shocked the world by beating Federer, who was already the World No. 1. It was the kind of upset that makes everyone stop and take notice. And it was just the beginning.

Over the years, their matches became must-watch events. They’ve met a total 40 times out of which Nadal leads with a 24-16 lead. But that’s not the only big rivalry in Nadal’s extensive career.

Unlike Federer, “Djokovic was capable of facing Rafa”

There was one person beside Roger Federer who could truly trouble Rafael Nadal on the court and that was Novak Djokovic. In fact the 24-time Grand Slam champion is the only player to have defeated Nadal in all four majors. Talking about their rivalry Henin said, “Physically and tennis-wise, Djokovic was capable of facing Rafa.” How?

“By getting closer, by maintaining intensity, with a lot of quality.”  She further highlighted, “Djokovic was the only one who could rise to this challenge, because he realized that it was possible, because he had the mental strength that few players have, and he had more assets than Roger Federer, because Djokovic was complete, he knew how to play everywhere.”

The duo have met 60 times on court with Djokovic having a slight edge by leading 31-29 in their head-to-head. Even with such a close competition Djokovic has managed to defeat Nadal only twice out of the 10 times they have met at Roland Garros. This just puts into perspective what a total beast the Spaniard is on clay. You can catch the documentary on Eurosport 1 and discovery+ on December 26th.