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Rafael Nadal of Spain hugs the Musketeers’ Cup as he celebrates victory following the mens singles final against Dominic Thiem of Austria during day fifteen of the 2018 French Open at Roland Garros on June 10, 2018 in Paris, France. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
via Getty
Rafael Nadal of Spain hugs the Musketeers’ Cup as he celebrates victory following the mens singles final against Dominic Thiem of Austria during day fifteen of the 2018 French Open at Roland Garros on June 10, 2018 in Paris, France. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Rafael Nadal has already scripted feats of the kind at Roland-Garros that may never be surpassed and has etched his name among the all-time greats who graced the famed arena. And, now, the legend of Rafael Nadal in Paris will become immortal, thanks to a statue that’s ready to be unveiled.
It is understood that the statue at Roland-Garros will be inaugurated on Thursday and there is already a lot of excitement building up among his fans around the event.
A Rafael Nadal's statue is going to be inaugurated on tomorrow at @rolandgarros.
How would you imagine it (share a photo as example) 💬
— We Are Tennis (@WeAreTennis) May 26, 2021
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The Spaniard, who lifted a 13th career French Open title last year, which is more than any other player before or after, will be looking to continue his incredible love affair with Paris this time as well.
Rafael Nadal lifted his 13th career French Open title last year
In 2020, Nadal had set up a dream final against old rival and current World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and beat him in straight sets to lay his hands on the trophy yet again.
However, he got his clay season off to an inauspicious start this year, crashing out in the quarter-finals at Monte-Carlo Masters, an event where he has 11 career titles, after losing to eventual runner-up Andrey Rublev.
via Reuters
Tennis – ATP Masters 1000 – Italian Open – Foro Italico, Rome, Italy – May 16, 2021 Spain’s Rafael Nadal reacts during his final match against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
But by the time he had wound up his engagements at Barcelona, Nadal seemed to have done the much-needed course correction as he picked up a record 12th title in the Catalan city following a thrilling win over current World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas.
However, he hit the skids again in Madrid. Coming into the tournament in the quest of a sixth career title, he failed to put it past eventual champion Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals.
Nadal brought his faltering clay season back on rails in Rome
Forced to return to the drawing boards again, Nadal came up with a vastly improved show in Rome and was, in fact, close to the familiar beast-mode on clay as he made the tournament final on the back of some typically gutsy wins, including close ones against Jannik Sinner and Denis Shapovalov.
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Read More: WATCH: Rafael Nadal’s Top Shots of 2020
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The Spaniard set up another final with defending champion Djokovic after avenging his Madrid defeat to Zverev in the semi-final. Rolling back the years and putting on a vintage show, Nadal prevailed over the World No. 1 in three sets to win his tenth crown.
With two titles and two quarter-final finishes, his clay season looks much better than where it was post Madrid, and the ‘El Matador’ will fancy defending his title come Roland-Garros.
