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Rafael Nadal celebrates

‘Rafael Nadal Roland Garros record is a joke,’ says former British number one


Tim Henman has described the Roland Garros record of Rafael Nadal as ‘absolutely phenomenal’ after he recorded his 99th French Open win.

Nadal was has only ever lost twice on the Paris clay, translating that success into 12 French Open titles.

He dispatched Diego Schwartzman in straight sets in the semi-finals on Friday, and Henman is as impressed as the rest of us.

“His record at Roland-Garros is a joke, it is absolutely phenomenal,” Henman told Eurosport of Rafael Nadal.

“You look at his history, he’s got his 99th win, how he maintains the level of form, avoids injuries, and back in the 13th final without dropping a set is incredible.”

Nadal overcame Schwartzman with relative ease, particularly considering his recent defeat to the Argentinian in Rome.

Henman, though, believes that match did have an affect on the semi-final.

“I’m sure Rafa learnt a lot from that match in Rome,” he said.

“Even though he has a fantastic record against Schwartzman he made a lot of adjustments today, stamped his authority on the first two sets.

“The third set did get a bit close, but when you have got that platform of a two sets to love lead it does make things a lot easier.”


Michael Graham, Tennishead.net Editor, has been a professional sports journalist for his whole career and is especially passionate about tennis. He's been the Editor of Tennishead.net for over 5 years and loves watching live tennis by visiting as many tournaments as possible. Michael specialises in writing in-depth features about the ATP & WTA tours.