The King of Clay

Rafael Nadal might be from the small island of Mallorca in the Mediterranean, but he owns a parcel of land in Paris. And what a piece of land he owns, it is called Court Phillipe Chartier in the eastern suburb of the city. Technically, it is part of Stade Roland Garros, the tennis complex where at the end of June and early June, the French Open is held, but after winning his 11th title on the clay of Paris, Rafa Nadal can rightly lay claim to that piece of land and not one person, not even Roger Federer will begrudge him that.

He is truly the King of Clay, but Nadal has shown himself to be one of the greatest of all time, he managed a career Grand Slam before Federer and even beat the Swiss on his home turf of Wimbledon in one of the most exhilarating finals of all time, Federer did win the French but did not beat Nadal to do it that year, when the Mallorcan was injured. But despite the other titles, despite being one of the trio of domination in men’s tennis, Nadal will forever be the master of the red surface. After all, when he has been fit over the past 15 years, the French Open is just a contest to see who ends up losing to him in the final.