Beating Nadal in the Roland Garros Final is the toughest feat in tennis history?

RAFA2005RG

RAFA2005RG

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Notice I didn't just say "beating Nadal at Roland Garros". See, Soderling beat Nadal in the 4th Round. Soderling also beat Federer at Roland Garros (in the QF I believe). But Soderling lost to Nadal and Federer in Roland Garros Finals. Beating a legend in the final is far tougher than going for broke in a 4th Round or even a QF. The pressure is on both players in the final, even the mass underdog.
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I don't believe its possible to beat Nadal in a Roland Garros Final. His self-belief is off the charts at Roland Garros, and more importantly for Nadal to be in the RG final it would mean he's in acceptable physical condition. He had the injections to numb his knee before the 2012 RG semi and the final, so even though he was injured (and most likely a bit off-balanced) he was in acceptable physical condition. He is so comfortable on clay (far more than on grass, as we saw vs Rosol) that his definition of 'acceptable physical condition' can be something like 60% and he'd still beat everyone at Roland Garros.
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That final vs Djokovic is the centerpiece of why beating Nadal in a Roland Garros Final is the toughest feat in tennis. Djokovic had beaten Nadal in 3 straight slam encounters and still looked lost for most of that match. Compare that to Djokovic at his favorite slam - the Australian Open - it took him 6 hours to dispose of Nadal! The domination we see from Nadal is at a whole other level to anyone in the history of tennis. Nadal is the Dexter Morgan of tennis. And clay is his blood.
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I actually agree with you here. He's the man on the red clay, and RG is his turf, and he has turned back all challengers. So yes, I would say beating Rafa at RG is the toughest challenge in all of tennis.
 
So I'm hoping arguments can be made for Sampras at Wimbledon and Connors at the US Open etc., because Nadal isn't the only dominator of a slam. Its been a while since I've seen Sampras play, and someone who watched and rewatched all of Sampras' Wimbledon finals would be valuable in this discussion. The only Sampras Wimbledon final I saw more than once was Agassi-Sampras 99 and that was pure perfection. I only saw Sampras' other Wimbledon finals once each.
 
RAFA2005RG said:
So I'm hoping arguments can be made for Sampras at Wimbledon and Connors at the US Open etc., because Nadal isn't the only dominator of a slam. Its been a while since I've seen Sampras play, and someone who watched and rewatched all of Sampras' Wimbledon finals would be valuable in this discussion. The only Sampras Wimbledon final I saw more than once was Agassi-Sampras 99 and that was pure perfection. I only saw Sampras' other Wimbledon finals once each.
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Sampras has been taken to a fifth set once and won in straights three times (as has Nadal). So Nadal is one set ahead. Then again, Sampras won that fifth set 6-2. http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/07/08/12/federer-and-sampras-wimbledon-finals

I believe Sampras has only been broken 2 or 4 times in total in those Wimbledon finals. That's quite something too.

But as for a more detailed analysis, you'll have to ask someone else. Haven't rewatched them in years.

I would add that Toni said something like had the match not been stopped last year, Nadal would have been in serious trouble. And that's how I saw that match too. Don't recall if Sampras was ever in a similar situation at Wimbledon

All in all - they're pretty even as far as I can tell.
 
Well, it is not impossible to beat Nadal in a RG final. Going on the court, anyone has a chance. There is always the possibility of injury or the other player treeing out of their mind Rosol style. With that being said, I agree with you that beating a healthy Nadal in the RG finals and with the pressures involved is the toughest match for anyone to win right now. It will be interesting to hear from others who have more knowledge about past eras as to their opinions on the toughest matchup at the other slams.
 
I would say it is close to the toughest, if not the toughest. Nadal at his best is probably the best clay court player of all time.

He plays the kind of game where at his best it will take an act of God to beat him on clay.

However, if someone like Sampras is playing his best during a final on a fast surface, there really is no way to get in the match. With how well some guys serve on fast courts, there is no opportunity to beat them on their service games.

With Nadal, if his opponent just decides to go for broke and gets lucky, it's possible to beat him. Although, Nadal makes it near impossible because of how difficult it is to win a single point against him.
 
I think it's up there with Sampras. It's one of those things that if Nadal reaches the FO finals, a different him emerges
 
Once Nadal gets to 8-0 in RG finals he will be officially the toughest man to ever beat! Nobody will care anymore about Frauder's 17 fraudulent "slams".
 
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what a great thread......well done.......of course it is the greatest challenge in tennis history and also one of the greatest challenges in sports history.......

nadal simply cannot be taken down in a roland garros final.......it will take somebody to fight for 7 to 8 hours in the afternoon sun just to drag him to 8-8 in the fifth and you still have to close it from there.......i don't think anybody in the history would be physically or mentally up for it.......
 
Beating peak Federer in a non-clay slam. Safin was the only man to do it and just barely.
 
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Definitely the toughest feat in tennis history. I cant think of another that even comes close. Second toughest would be beating prime Navratilova at Wimbledon I suppose, and third toughest beating prime Sampras at Wimbledon.
 
Would have to agree here...most people are beaten before they step onto the court in an RG final against nadal.
Evidenced by djokos choke at least years french final
 
NadalAgassi said:
Definitely the toughest feat in tennis history. I cant think of another that even comes close. Second toughest would be beating prime Navratilova at Wimbledon I suppose, and third toughest beating prime Sampras at Wimbledon.
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True. You can add Borg's Wimbledon run from 1976-80* as the other impossible mission for opponents.

*Yes, McEnroe had his chances, but in the end, Borg was too focused when the experience would have emotionally shattered anyone else in that last set.
 
THUNDERVOLLEY said:
True. You can add Borg's Wimbledon run from 1976-80* as the other impossible mission for opponents.

*Yes, McEnroe had his chances, but in the end, Borg was too focused when the experience would have emotionally shattered anyone else in that last set.
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Yes, that or beating Borg at Roland Garros.
 
It is hard to put one above the other since neither have ever been done.

Perhaps the fact that, while Pete never lost a Wimbledon final, he did lose 7 times there in earlier rounds. Rafa, to date, has only been beaten one time at Roland Garros.

Borg as also perfect in Roland Garros finals and had a 49-2 career record there. He at least deserves an honorable mention.
 
Start da Game said:
..

nadal simply cannot be taken down in a roland garros final.......it will take somebody to fight for 7 to 8 hours in the afternoon sun just to drag him to 8-8 in the fifth and you still have to close it from there.......i don't think anybody in the history would be physically or mentally up for it.......
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How many of those hours would be actual play?...
 
spinovic said:
Perhaps the fact that, while Pete never lost a Wimbledon final, he did lose 7 times there in earlier rounds. Rafa, to date, has only been beaten one time at Roland Garros.

.
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Good point though not strictly relevant to the final discussion - but indirectly it is
 
I would amend the op slightly and say: beating Nadal in a RG final is the toughest feat in tennis history and it's never been done.
 
Teaching Nadal NOT to pick his butt every single point is the toughest feat in tennis history and it's never been done.
 
...beating Laver in a slam final in 69, Graf in 88 and, of course, beating Borg at a RG final during his best years.
 
What people don't realise is that even if you beat Nadal in a French Open final, you've then got to fight Jenova afterwards.
 
Hood_Man said:
What people don't realise is that even if you beat Nadal in a French Open final, you've then got to fight Jenova afterwards.
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Actually, once you do beat Nadal in a French Open final, you have to travel to Mt. Silver and face this:

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Only then can you be classified as a true champion, and the credits will start rolling.
 
shaking his hand after a double buttpicking session is something unbeatable.I certainly wouldn´t be able to...
 
To answer OP's question : No. The toughest feat in tennis and world history is beating Nadal at the Real Slam final in Cincy which is pretty much outside the realms of possibility since Nadal has never made it to a Real Slam final It has never been done and is not likely to be done ever :twisted:
Beating him in a WTF final comes a close second though it has been done before once.
 
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i am not a nadal basher or anything. i am a fed fan but i admire nadal for his accomplishents. everybody will agree with me that he is very good for tennis and the sport has missed him. in my opinion since he is aging i do not think he will reach many more french open finals. this trend will sooner or later stop just like federer reaching wimbledon finals. but i will give him this: he will never lose a french open final. EVER!!!
 
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