Winning the French Open on his tournament debut at 19-years-old was the perfect platform for Rafael Nadal to launch towards stardom.
Across 19 appearances at Roland Garros, he won the Grand Slam title 14 times in a record that covers both the men’s and women’s singles.
Nadal faced Wawrinka for a historic Grand Slam titleAFPParis has maintained its reverence for the Spaniard from his maidan success in 2005 right until his final match 19 years later, and beyond.
Nadal has plenty of historic moments to choose from throughout his red clay reign in the south-west end of the French capital.
But one highlight in particular that may have gone under the radar witnessed the creation of an all-time record in Grand Slam history.
In 2017, Nadal returned to France after a wrist injury saw him exit in the third round against Marcel Granollers a year earlier.
From the first round until the fourth, he beat Benoit Paire, Robin Haase, Nikoloz Basilashvili and Roberto Bautista Agut in straight sets.
Nadal was then one set up in the quarter-finals against Pablo Carreno Busta before his compatriot retired through injury after ten games.
Another three set win would follow in the semi-finals against Dominic Thiem to book himself into his tenth final at the French Open.
His seventh and last opponent was Stan Wawrinka, who beat Roger Federer, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Novak Djokovic for the title in 2015.
Nadal once again looked comfortable out on the clay and his quality appeared to have a knock-on effect on his opponent.
Towards the end of the second set, Wawrinka fired an effort past the baseline and then furiously smashed his racket onto the court.
Wawrinka destroyed his racket after he overhit a forehand shotRoland-Garros YouTube He even hit his new racket against his head before the next pointRoland-Garros YouTube The remnants were left at the side of the courtRoland-Garros YouTubeDespite it already being destroyed, the Swiss player then folded the racket around his knee for good measure.
Wawrinka was given a code violation before returning to the court with new strings, although he briefly whacked them on his head.
Just moments later, Nadal won the next point to go two sets up and boost him towards another French Open title.
The third and final set was his most dominant as he dropped just one game to beat Wawrinka 6-2 6-3 6-1.
Nadal went on to lift the Coupe des Mousquetaires for the tenth time and without losing a single set throughout the tournament.
This was the third time after 2008 and 2010 in which he did so.
Nadal didn’t drop a single to claim French Open gloryGetty No other player has won more than ten titles at the tournament than himGettyHe also became the first men to win ten singles titles at the same Grand Slam, a total that eventually extended to 14.
Djokovic is the closest to matching his success at a single major with ten victories at the Australian Open.
Given his immense and unwavering success at Roland Garros, Nadal spoke afterwards on just how special the tournament is to him.
“I try my best in all the events, that’s a real thing,” he said. “But the feeling that I have here is impossible to describe and it’s difficult to compare to other places.
“For me the nerves, the adrenaline that I feel when I play on this court is impossible to compare to another feeling.
“So for me, it’s the most important event in my career without a doubt so to win again here is something that I cannot describe.”
Nadal has an incredible record at the French OpenNadal’s final four French Open titles followed in the subsequent five years, with his semi-final exit in 2021 the only outlier.
It’s therefore no surprise that he has a statue near the Roland Garros entrance to mark his eternal status as a clay court legend.
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