Tennis legend Rafael Nadal made light work of a teenage Jannick Sinner at the 2020 French Open despite the match going deep into the night.
Rafael Nadal won the 2020 French Open without dropping a set, the fourth time in his legendary career that he has accomplished this feat of sporting dominance. His toughest test that year — in addition to the vacant stands due to COVID-19 — was a quarterfinal matchup against future Wimbledon champion Jannick Sinner.
Their quarterfinal matchup got off to a late start. Even though the Spaniard made light work of a then-teenage Sinner in straight sets (7-6, 6-4, 6-1), the match ran until 1:30 AM. Nadal labeled playing at that time of night as “dangerous.”
“No, the problem is the weather. Having two days in the middle is not a big deal. Of course, it is not ideal to finish a match at 1:30 in the morning. But the problem is the weather,” the French Open legend said post-match. “It is too cold to play. Honestly, it is very, very cold to play tennis, no?
“I know football players play under these conditions, but is a little bit different. They are all the time moving. We stop, we come back, we stop on the changeovers.
It is a sport that you are stopped in a lot of moments, no? I think is a little bit dangerous for the body to play with these very heavy conditions. But that’s what happened today.”
Nadal boasts a perfect 3-0 head-to-head record against Sinner, although the pair would face off at distinctively different arcs in their careers. The veteran Spaniard would also beat the young Italian at the 2021 French Open.
Nadal was effusive in his praise of his opponent after the match. “Sinner is a very, very young talent with a lot of power, great shots,” he said.
“The conditions here were a little bit difficult because he was hitting every ball very hard, for me it was difficult. The ball, with this court, the spin is not there. For me, it was difficult to pull him out of the position.”
Sinner beat No. 11 David Goffin in the first round before upsetting No. 6 Alexander Zverev in the Round of 16 to reach his first major quarterfinal in just his second-ever main draw at a grand slam.
After topping Sinner, Nadal ousted Diego Schwarzmann in the semifinals and longtime rival Novak Djokovic in the finals to capture a fourth-straight French Open title.
