Rafael Nadal given hilarious challenge by Tommy Haas, Stefanos Tsitsipas hopes Nadal never plays at Roland Garros again

Rafael Nadal’s awe-inspiring record at Roland Garros has prompted a couple of players - Tommy Haas and Stefanos Tsitsipas - to come up with wild ideas to end the Spaniard’s dominance in Paris.

While the German has challenged Nadal to play at the French Open with an instrument resembling a wooden spatula, Tsitsipas has gone a step forward, saying that he would like to ban Nadal from the French Open.

Tommy Haas recently uploaded an Instagram story of him practicing tennis with a wooden racquet that had a minuscule head. What made the story particularly interesting though is the caption, where Haas stated that Rafael Nadal should wield a similar instrument at Roland Garros.

Tommy Haas le propuso a Rafa jugar la próxima edición de #RolandGarros con una cuchara de madera. ¿Se animará, @RafaelNadal? 🧐🔥🐂📽️: tommyhaasofficial (IG)#Viral pic.twitter.com/kutyHdZEdt

— ESPN Tenis (@ESPNtenis) January 13, 2021

In the Instagram story, we can see a ripped Haas showing off his forehand skills whilst practicing shirtless on a sun-kissed hardcourt. The former World No. 2 unleashes a forehand captured in slow-motion, which gives the viewers enough time to read his caption about Rafael Nadal.

The Mallorcan is, of course, currently preparing for the upcoming Australian hardcourt swing. Nadal is nowhere near as prolific at Melbourne Park as he is at Roland Garros, but he remains one of the favorites to win the title along with Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem.

Stefanos Tsitsipas' tongue-in-cheek comment about Rafael Nadal

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Rafael Nadal at the 2020 ATP Finals

Stefanos Tsitsipas recently hosted a Q&A session with fans on Twitter. That's when a fan called drivevolleys asked the Greek to name the one thing that he’d like to ban for eternity.

Tongue firmly in cheek, Tsitsipas responded that he’d like to ban Rafael Nadal from playing at the French Open.

Rafa playing at the French

— Stefanos Tsitsipas (@StefTsitsipas) January 10, 2021

Tsitsipas’ comment got a lot of responses; it has been liked 916 times and counting so far. 117 people have retweeted it and a further 102 have quoted-tweeted it, making this particular question the most popular one amongst all that were posed to the Greek star.

Stefanos Tsitsipas is no stranger to Rafael Nadal’s fearsome prowess on the court. The Greek has faced Nadal seven times so far but boasts of just one win - at Madrid 2019.

At the French Open, Nadal's dominance is even more staggering. The World No. 2 has taken part in the event 16 times and lost just two matches in total, while winning the title on 13 occasions.

The Spaniard has a 98% win record in Paris, and of the only two people who have ever defeated him there (Novak Djokovic and Robin Soderling), one is not even playing anymore.

The 2020 French Open was seen as one of the best chances for a player to end Nadal’s hegemony at the event, given how the conditions were unsuitable to his game. But Nadal overcame all the odds and triumphed yet again, and that too without dropping a set.

It is thus hardly surprising that Stefanos Tsitsipas - or any player for that matter - would want to bar Rafael Nadal from playing at the French Open.