"To play Rafael Nadal on Philippe-Chatrier is probably the toughest job in tennis...he made me suffer" - Yannick Hanfmann

World No. 53 Yannick Hanfmann recently recounted facing 'King of Clay' Rafael Nadal in the first round of the 2019 French Open.

Hanfmann is a German tennis player and cracked the men's top 50 for the first time last year. The veteran's best career results include runner-up finishes at the 2017 Swiss Open and the 2020 Austrian Open, both of which were held on clay courts.

Despite his pedigree on clay, Hanfmann was no match for Nadal when the two met at the 2019 French Open. Speaking to 'CLAY - Historias de Tenis', the German claimed that facing the Spaniard on the Philippe-Chatrier, Roland Garros' center court, was "the toughest job in tennis."

The 32-year-old also expressed dismay with the 22-time Major winner running circles around him at the French Open that day, dismissing him 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 in under two hours.

"I think so. I think to play Rafa on that court is probably the toughest job in tennis. Or was, I don’t know. I felt weird when I saw I got Rafa in the first round. Because I played really well in qualifying and then the draw put such a difficult challenge," Yannick Hanfmann said.

"It was, in one way an amazing match, an amazing experience. But on the other way I felt a little bit sad, because I knew most likely this was going to be the end," he added.

Hanfmann further elaborated:

"I didn’t feel great. Like, he made me just suffer. You know, he just plays such a different kind of ball to anyone else on tour. And especially on that court, on these conditions, it’s elevated by 10. And so, yeah, it was tough to adjust to his game. And, yeah, so he gave me a good lesson."

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"It takes a lot to beat Rafael Nadal" - Yannick Hanfmann

Rafael Nadal poses with the 2022 French Open title

During the same interview, Yannick Hanfmann was quizzed on what he felt was the amount of times a player would have to face Rafael Nadal before they get comfortable against him on the red dirt.

The German replied:

"I don’t know. Well, you’ve got to ask some of these other guys that maybe played him there so many times. I only played him there one time. That was plenty enough. It takes a lot to beat him. He only lost, what, two matches there?"

Nadal is the most successful player in a single Grand Slam tournament. Since his debut at the French Open in 2005, he has amassed an impressive 14 titles.

Moreover, he has won a whopping 112 matches on the clay in Paris for only three losses — two against Novak Djokovic in 2015 and 2021 and one against Robin Soderling in 2009.