"Pete Sampras was the biggest legend for winning 14 Grand Slams, Rafael Nadal won 14 at Roland Garros alone" - Gael Monfils

Gael Monfils recently marveled at Rafael Nadal's unparalleled record at the French Open while discussing the Big 4 with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Monfils hailed the 14-time Roland Garros champion as 'the best'.

Monfils and Tsonga are two of the most popular tennis players to have never won a Grand Slam. While Monfils' best results were his semifinal runs at the French Open in 2008 and the US Open in 2016, Tsonga reached the final of the 2008 Australian Open but fell to Novak Djokovic.

Monfils invited Tsonga to the inaugural episode of his 'Talk Show' on YouTube where the two Frenchmen discussed why neither of them ended up with a Major.

Both were in agreement when they felt that the Big 4 of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, was the biggest reason. Monfils also mentioned how the Spaniard crushed him in the final of the 2016 Monte Carlo Masters to give an example of the Big 4's quality. He said (translated from Spanish):

"The Big 4 were better than us. They made you look weak. For example, against Nadal in Monte Carlo, I played the best match of my life on clay and he beat me 6-0 in the third set."

Monfils hailed the 22-time Grand Slam champion as 'the best' and mentioned how his insane Roland Garros record compared to Pete Sampras's all-time Grand Slam record.

He is the best, I gave it my all and he killed me physically. It's incredible, Sampras was the biggest legend of our sport for winning 14 Grand Slams, Nadal won 14 at Roland Garros alone."

The Spaniard led Gael Monfils 14-2 and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 10-4 in their head-to-head meetings.

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"I don’t know any other record in any other sport that equals that" - Boris Becker on Rafael Nadal's 14 French Open triumphs

The Spaniard after conquering the 2022 French Open - Source: Getty

The now retired Rafael Nadal decimated his protege Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 to win his 14th French Open and the 22nd Grand Slam title of his career. Boris Becker opined that the Spaniard's resume at Roland Garros was unparalleled, not just in tennis, but all sports.

"You win it five times, that’s a lot,” tennis great Becker told CNN. “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."

He also added how some of the greatest players of all time never won the Paris Major, while the second most successful player at the event was eight titles behind the Spaniard.

“Borg won it six times, which at the time was unheard [of], but [Pete] Sampras never won it, Edberg never won it, Becker never won it. So there’s no shame in not winning the French Open,” Becker added.

The 14-time Roland Garros champion played the event for the final time this year. He lost to Alexander Zverev in straight sets in the opening round to finish his career at the Clay Major with a staggering 112-4 win/loss record.