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“Run Out of Superlatives”: Andy Roddick in Awe of Rafael Nadal After Claiming 10th Italian Open Title

Published 05/17/2021, 7:02 AM EDT

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Spanish tennis superstar Rafael Nadal still continues to dominate the events on the clay courts. Yesterday, he lifted his 10th Italian Open title in Rome after beating World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in fine fashion. With this, the Mallorcan-born athlete lifted his second clay-court title of the season.

After his heroics yesterday, Rafael Nadal was showered with praise from former Grand Slam winner Andy Roddick. The retired player was in awe of the Spaniard’s consistency. At one moment, he ran out of words to describe Rafa’s greatness. 

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The 38-year-old former US Open champion stated, “It’s at this point where you hear these numbers, and they didn’t make sense five years ago. These guys just keep adding these numbers and the consistency with which they show up… To do it year after year and we’re looking at a decade and a half and you run out of superlatives.”

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Andy Roddick had a decorated career

In his career, Andy achieved great honors and won 32 singles titles. Besides winning his only Grand Slam title at the 2003 US Open, he made it to the finals of Wimbledon on three occasions. He even claimed the number one ranking in November 2003. 

Coming back to Rafa, he has thrilled fans from all over the world. His achievements on the clay-court events are so great that it seems impossible for any professional player to emulate them. He has won the French Open 13 times, Barcelona Open 12 times, Monte Carlo 11 times, and the Italian Open 10 times. 

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Rafael Nadal won in Barcelona earlier this season

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In the current season, Nadal played at the Australian Open but lost in the quarterfinal. He returned on the Tour after a break and competed in Monte Carlo. Although he did not go deep into the event, he won the Barcelona Open the following week. 

Rafa lost in Madrid last week but bounced back in Rome. He will now shift his focus towards the French Open and will look to lift the 21st Grand Slam title of his career. 

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Written by:

Rohan Kollare

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Rohan Kollare is a tennis author for EssentiallySports. Rohan has a post-graduate diploma in Sports Management and a trophy cabinet adorned with accolades won in district and state-level tennis competitions. He has previously worked in Content Operations for Disney’s Hotstar for over a year, covering tennis and Formula One.
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