Brad Gilbert feels his former protege Andre Agassi and 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal mastered the challenging weather conditions on Court Philippe-Chatrier at the French Open.
Affectionately dubbed the "King of Clay," Nadal ranks as the most successful player in the history of the French Open with 14 titles to his name. The Spaniard became the first man since Mats Wilander in 1982 to win the French Open title on his tournament debut in 2005. Additionally, he became the youngest champion (19 years) at the clay court Major since Michael Chang (17 years) in 1989.
Nadal holds an impressive 112-3 win/loss record at the French Major, resulting in a remarkable win rate of 97.4 percent. He was forced to forgo his title defense at the 2023 French Open due to injury.
Meanwhile, Andre Agassi won the French Open title in 1999 under Brad Gilbert's tutelage. He achieved notable success at Roland Garros, reaching the semifinals twice (in 1988 and 1992) and making it to the finals in 1990 and 1991.
On Monday, June 1, Gilbert took to social media and shed light on the methods to combat the windy conditions on the center court at the French Open. He mentioned that Andre Agassi had enjoyed playing in breezy conditions, especially in hot weather.
"When it is very breezy on center court, against the wind, [key] is to be aggressive so u don't get pushed all over the [clay] and with the with got to play spin and lots of margin, using a bit more of middle of court, @AndreAgassi loved breezy conditions especially when it was hot," Gilbert tweeted.
Gilbert concurred with a fan who ranked Agassi and Nadal as the two best players in windy and hot weather conditions.
"2 great ones in the wind. ad it hot weather good luck," he posted.
He also agreed with a fan's assessment of Agassi maybe being the best wind player ever.
"Andre Agassi certainly right up there on wind list," he tweeted.
Novak Djokovic recalls Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer's 'Battle of Surfaces' amid windy conditions during French Open 2R win
Novak Djokovic recently shared his experience with the challenging windy conditions he encountered on Court Philippe-Chatrier during his second-round clash against Marton Fucsovics at the ongoing French Open.
He stated that the conditions had reminded him of the 'Battle of Surfaces' exhibition match between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
"The wind was blowing extremely hard from one end. I actually thought of [Rafael] Nadal and [Roger] Federer's exhibition match in Spain when they played half of the court grass, half clay. That was how I felt today. Like 'Bambi on ice' on one end," he said.
The match held on May 2, 2007, saw the two legends compete on a court split over two surfaces, with one side being clay and the other grass.
Nadal defeated Federer 7–5, 4–6, 7–6(10) to claim victory in front of his home crowd at the Palma Arena in Mallorca.
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