Here’s what Rafael Nadal had to say after winning 14th Roland Garros title in Paris:
“Merci, merci beaucoup. First of all, Casper, it’s a real pleasure to play with you a final here in Roland Garros. You are great. I want to congatulate you for an amazing career you are having.
“Especially these two weeks, I think it is a very important step forward. I am very very happy for you and your family and your team. I wish you all the very best for the future.
“I have to follow with my team, my family, everybody. It is completely amazing, the things that are happening this year.
“I can thank you very very much for all the things you are doing with me and did over all of the years. Without you none of this would be possible.
“It’s difficult to describe the feelings I have now. I never believed I would be here at 36, being competitive again, playing in the most important court of my career one more time.
“It means everything. It means a lot of energy to keep going.
“I don’t know what is going on in the future. I will keep fighting to keep going. It is amazing the things that are happening this year. Without my team and family this would not be possible, especially in the tough moments in terms of injuries. Without you I would have been retired much before.”
Casper Ruud also had a nice words for Rafa:
“This is a first time for me so let’s see how I do. The first and most important thing is to congratulate Rafa. It’s your 14th time, 22nd all around in Grand Slams. We all know what a champion you are.
“Today I got to feel how it is to play against you in a final. It’s not easy and I’m not the first victim. I know there have been many before!
“To you Rafa, your team, your family, you have taken me into your Academy with open arms, also my family. You are a true inspiration for me. We all hope you will continue for some more time.”
Rafa
All these 22 grand slams winnings are because of Your Great Sportsmanship,Humility and Respect towards your opponents. I Pray you come out of your health issues soon and Enjoy a great Life. Vinny
Fine and dandy,but wearing a 2.5 million dollar watch is not being nearly humble enough,and most of us out here in THE REAL WORLD,work our butts off,all our lives,are forced to work through injuries,cancer,asthma,and other ailments,because our employers have point system penalties for attendance,and will never make 2.5 million our whole lives.I admire his skills,but now…..not as much,when the hell is enough,with so called famous people having way too much,and 98% of us do not,going to end????Once again,we are all of working people out here after covid,and now 6.00 gas,inflation growing and growing,are barely getting by,and he is,and all the others like him are laughing to the bank,DAMN IT ALL TO HELL!!!!!!!
Your tenacity and humility makes you a person to be admired.. Take care of yourself
Even God decided to move the rain away and smiled down His sunshine on RG today. Thank you for that, Lord. Rafa you ARE the G.O.A.T. Thank you thank you thank you for 22/14 and so much more! Vamos!!
Thank God I was not alone in praying for sunshine! Thank You Lord for Your Hand on a Man nearly as Humble as the Incomparable JC!!!
Rafa, enhorabuena! Te lo mereces todo. Siempre has sido mi modelo a seguir en la vida porque eres una bellísima persona y un gran luchador que en todo momento respetas al contrario. Tu humildad y compañerismo no tienen límites. Estoy muy orgullosa de considerarme “Nadalista” 100%. Vamos, Nadal! Cuídate mucho! Siempre estarás en nuestros corazones! Gracias por las alegrías que nos has dado a lo largo de los años!
Once again we have witnessed the greatness of Rafa Nadal…. Can’t even describe how proud and happy I am for his 14th Victory at Roland Garros and now to hold the record of 22 Grand Slams. We know he wants to continue but the need to find a solution for the his foot problem is primary because “I can’t keep going the way that I’m doing”. I get it Rafa…. Your quality of life is so important.
For now….Congratulations Rafa….Maybe a miracle will come along in terms of another Doctor who has an idea of his own through modern medicine that can help you. Perhaps that’s wishful thinking on my part as I do not want to hear the “R” word….
Enjoy this victory Rafa… You certainly deserve it!!
Judith Edwards
I prayed for you all the way for you to be healthy and do what you do best! Prayers answered! Congratulations Rafa my Champion!❤️🎉👍
Happy, proud and well deserved❤️❤️❤️
I know that Rafa is indifferent to such small things as points and rankings but there are a lot of pluses for Rafa fans to dream about. Is anyone sure where Rafa will rank now? I believe I read that he would move up to No. 3 with a victory today. If I am wrong Rafa will be no worse than number 4.
With Sascha likely out of Wimbledom with his terrible injury and Daniil knocked out by Putin’s War, Rafa stands to be the number 1 or 2 seed for Wimbledon. That would be very helpful if Rafa is able to play.
And Rafa could end up as year end No. 1 if he does just OK in the North America hard court swing.
Rafa is just the greatest and that’s all there is to it!
Number 4 tomorrow I think, and with Daniil and Sascha unfortunately unable to play Wimbledon, Rafa would be second seed. If healthy he would have a good chance, Rafa is great on grass. I don’t know. The possibilities are extreme, one way or the other. Some people talking about CYGS, but I doubt Rafa’s even thought about it. I hope the treatment he’s going to have next week (he spoke about it in the press conference) works, even if it sounds scary, because plan B sounds even worse. I just want him to enjoy this win, it’s a shame he has to think about those things. He’s amazing.
Hi JAS-Uk. Remember that Roland Garris was a week later in the year in 2021 so those points won’t fall away for another week yet.
The ablation procedure is not really scary. Its just burning away an unwanted mass. I had it last year for a completely different type of problem. But since a nerve is such a tiny object the only question is whether it will work or not. So maybe it is scary.
Thanks David for sharing your experience. Let’s hope Rafa won’t need any surgery!
AMEN TO A GRAND YEAR, unexpected and thus,more precious, As much as we all would love to watch for years to come, what a good time and way to take time to rest your body and enjoy blessings.. Only you know your heart and hurts and energy. I wish you nothing but wonderful days ahead, no matter what is in your future. VAMOS CHAMPION , forever. THANK YOU for being you !!!!!-This 86 year old is so glad she lived long enough to see all of this.
Incredible. Congratulations Rafa!
Congratulations, Rafael Nadal. Gracious speeches from you and Casper. #14 and 22👏👏💪💪👍🤛but, most importantly, enjoy this spectacular moment. It is not a dream; it is your reality. Tu es Roland Garros toujours👑🏆🏅🎆❤️
Congratulations Rafa. I’m so happy for you. Well done to Casper too. Massive respect between the two is clear and so nice to see these days. Vamos.
Congratulations Rafa you are a legend. Always humble.as well.
Rafa is humble and takes care of business at the same time. He can take a breath now. He has done it all and more. Ruud handled it well and is a nice guy also. You will see him back many more times. Best of luck to him.
THE LEGEND OF RAFA NADAL CONTINUES…
VAMOS