Rafael Nadal Discusses His Legacy in 'King of Roland-Garros' Interview Video

Rafael Nadal believes his legacy at Roland-Garros is more broad than the record-setting 14 titles he won in Paris.

"My legacy is about passion, about love, about determination, about hard work, and about trying to have as much success as possible but prevailing positive values," he said in an interview for the tournament's official site. "I consider myself a normal guy. That's it. ... I am a very familiar guy that I grew up having around very positive examples in terms of hard work, in terms of showing me how things need to be done, and I think I have been lucky to have good people and a lot of good family next to me. I really received a very positive education."

It will be a long time before any men's tennis player is as synonymous with one Grand Slam as Nadal is with Roland-Garros.

The French capital was the setting for his first breakthrough. He was just 19 when he defeated Mariano Puerta in the 2005 final, upsetting top-seeded Roger Federer in the semifinals.

Then Nadal managed to fend off Father Time once more when he swept Casper Ruud aside in 2022 and lifted the Coupe des Mousquetaires at the age of 36.

The legend wasn't afforded a proper farewell in Paris, but nobody ever is in such a physically grueling sport. His final run at Roland-Garros ended in a straight-set defeat to Alexander Zverev last year.

Anybody who watched Nadal over a nearly 20-year period will testify to how dominant he was on the French clay. He set an almost impossible standard for future generations to chase.