"Novak Djokovic winning 10 Australian Opens is far more impressive": Fans react to Boris Becker's "impossible" Rafael Nadal-French Open verdict
Novak Djokovic loyalists have responded fiercely to the Serb's former coach Boris Becker saying that he does not know if Rafael Nadal's record 14 French Open title triumphs have any equals in the vast world of sports. Nadal's exploits at Roland Garros and at other prestigious tennis tournaments on clay have immensely contributed to his career title haul (92) on the ATP Tour.
In a recent interview, Becker said that considering the high level of difficulty associated with the French Open, even winning five titles is a remarkable achievement. According to the German (as quoted by CNN), ten Roland Garros title wins make for an "impossible" task. He then turned his attention to Nadal's staggering achievements at the clay-court Major.
"You win it five times, that’s a lot. You win it ten times, it’s impossible. Nadal’s won it 14 times. I don’t know any other record in any other sport that equals that," Becker said.
However, the six-time Grand Slam winner's comments failed to impress Djokovic's fans on X (formerly Twitter). One set of the Serb's fans cited Djokovic's record ten Australian Open titles and 24 Grand Slam title triumphs, claiming that they deserve more merit compared to Nadal's French Open dominance.
"Djokovic Winning 10 AO’s far more impressive. He did it against the system. And HC’s competition is 1000x bigger than its on clay plus didn’t skipped other slams to focus in there..," one fan wrote.
"14 at one surface is not more impressive than 24 at multiple different ones," another fan commented.
"When Novak holds every other tennis record possible, Nadal fans," wrote yet another fan, who also included a GIF intended to mock the Spaniard's loyalists.
Another set of fans cited examples of some of the greatest records held across different sports. In their opinion, these records were just as impressive, if not more, than Nadal's 14 French Open titles.
"That's coz he never watched other sports. Bradman's (cricket) career avg of 99.99 has stood for 100+ years, Jahangir Khan was unbeaten for 555 squash matches, Bolt's 9.58 will also stand for centuries," wrote one fan.
"Joe Calzaghe (boxer): 21 world title defences. There is no other British sports person with a record even close to that," commented another fan.
"Phelps in Olympics. Check his medal stats, bro," another fan chimed in.
"No one will be able to match what Rafael Nadal was able to do at the French Open" - Amelie Mauresmo
Former WTA World No. 1 and French Open tournament director Amelie Mauresmo recently echoed sentiments similar to those of Becker. Mauresmo boldly predicted that Nadal's French Open achievements will never be equaled. She also credited the Spaniard for making the claycourt Major more popular.
"The tournament has its history with Rafa and that will remain for life because a priori, no one will be able to match what he was able to do here. The myth made the tournament grow too, of course," Mauresmo told Eurosport.
Nadal is set to start his campaign for a 15th Roland Garros title against World No. 4 Alexander Zverev on Monday, May 27. Meanwhile, Djokovic is preparing for his first-round encounter against Pierre-Hugues Herbert, which will take place on Tuesday, May 28.