Former director of the Roland-Garros tournament and consultant for Amazon Prime, the former captain of the French Davis Cup team puts Rafael Nadal’s 14th victory at the very top of the pyramid of sporting achievements, and not only in the tennis.
Does Rafael Nadal still manage to surprise you?
GUY FORGET. It doesn’t surprise me, it surprises everyone. If it had been said a few years ago that someone would win the same Grand Slam tournament 14 times, no one would have believed it. It was impossible to imagine and, the best part, is that it’s an ongoing series.
Do you think he will return to Roland-Garros?
I think so. In any case, I hope so.
He says he played with an anesthetized foot during the fortnight…
Playing with a sleepy foot is always better than playing with a sore foot. If his doctors accepted this treatment, it was because they were sure not to put his health in great danger. What I hope over time is that the pain that haunts him will fade.
Isn’t he taking too many risks for the rest of his life?
I think the people around him know what they are doing.
Wasn’t the final too frustrating?
It’s always the same: we would always like to have more competitive finals. When, in the second set, Ruud leads 3-1, we say to ourselves that he can take the round and come back to one everywhere. But he loses his service. Then Nadal kicks the accelerator, takes the second run and then it’s over.
What is Rafael Nadal’s place in tennis history?
For me, Rafael Nadal has achieved the greatest feat in the entire history of sport. Point bar. He is above Ali, Pelé or Jordan.
Why ?
Try to find in a discipline as popular as tennis, not in a sport that has 25 licensees in the world, a champion who is able to win 14 times the toughest tournament on the planet, the most difficult thing that exists. There are not any. We said when Borg won Roland-Garros six times, it’s monstrous, no one will do better. Sampras has won 14 Grand Slam titles. Nadal has won Roland-Garros 14 times. It’s unimaginable.