'I don’t know any other record in any other sport that equals..........' - Boris Becker lauds Rafael Nadal's 14 French Open titles

Former tennis legend Boris Becker heaps praise on Rafael Nadal ahead of his opening round against Zverev at the French Open 2024, which is set to commence on Sunday, May 26. Notably, Rafael Nadal has been the most successful player in tennis history, having won the title around 14 times, and he will be looking to grab the title in the ongoing edition.

Notably, the Spaniard has just lost three times on the Parisian Clay in his 19 years of the career, and his win-loss record in the French Capital stands at 112-3, a great win rate of 97.4%, despite withdrawing from third round back in 2016 owing to injuries. His name has definitely become great in French Open history.

Becker highlights the absurdity of Nadal's record in Paris by citing other tennis greats, including himself, who were unable to win the French Open. In addition, the 56-year-old  talks about some of the tennis greats who performed magnificently but failed to win the title. The German-born star also talks about how mental strength plays a big role in winning matches.

I don’t know any other record in any other sport that equals that: Boris Becker

“You win it five times, that’s a lot. You win it 10 times, it’s impossible. Nadal’s won it 14 times. I don’t know any other record in any other sport that equals that. Borg won it six times, which at the time was unheard [of], but [Pete] Sampras never won it, [Stefan] Edberg never won it, Becker never won it. So there’s no shame in not winning the French Open,” tennis great Boris Becker told CNN. 

“Believe it or not, I liked playing Paris. I had a big support, they liked my style. I know I never won it, the only major I didn’t win. I made the semifinals a few times, but I did as good as I could with my style. The ultimate goal on clay, the mentality is to make one less mistake than the opposition, which is different to all the other surfaces," he added further.