Usually, Henri Leconte is prolific.
But, this time, the former French number one and 1988 Roland-Garros runner-up struggled to put his emotion into words after Rafael Nadal's performance at the Australian Open, where he beat Daniil Medvedev in the final this Sunday, January 30.
It took him a few moments to describe how he felt about such a feat.
How do you react to the 21st Grand Slam won by Rafael Nadal?
HENRI LECONTE.
Everything is unimaginable in this story.
Already that this guy wins thirteen Roland-Garros, it was impossible to find.
But, I can't even find the words to describe it.
It's all almost unreal.
He manages to come back from a gap of two sets in the final after being stopped for six months.
The only one who had already achieved such a performance was Federer.
This means that what happened this Sunday is reserved for the absolute elite of tennis.
In fact, the more I think about it, the more the exact term is “inhuman”.
Because what he is doing is not human.
Can we say that it is the greatest in history?
At some point, it's the numbers that speak and you have to listen to them.
Yes, Nadal is the greatest in history.
I wouldn't say he made history, but he is making it.
Because all is not over.
Who tells us that at Roland-Garros, he will not win for the 14th time and go on to 22 Grand Slams?
He will prepare perfectly for Paris and it will still be exceptional.
But who could imagine how strong he was in his head?
He went beyond the real in the fifth inning.
It's not even a question of the mind anymore, it's beyond.
Rafael Nadal congratulated by Rod Laver, the only one to have achieved the Grand Slam twice, in 1962 and 1969. AFP / Fiona Hamilton
How would you define his tournament?
It was straightforward, strong and above all moving.
Don't forget what happened in the semi-finals, where we saw him cry.
Which never happens to him.
And what one might have thought, with these tears, to be a weakness, was not one.
How can you not love this guy when you see him like this?
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At the start of the match, did you think he would win?
Honestly, not at all.
I thought that his personal victory was already to reach the final but that Medvedev would be too strong.
Because he was going, in my opinion, to pay for all the emotion poured out during the fortnight and to suffer from it.
At first, that's what happened.
But, afterwards, Medvedev in turn went over to the side of emotion.
And everything changed.
He had chances, even in the fifth set, to win.
But he didn't know.
Because, there, the match was played on maturity.
And, on this ground, Rafa could not be beaten by Medvedev.
Why ?
Because Rafa is not just a champion with exceptional physical demands, it is also a story.
His life looks like a novel.
She cannot exist.
His, like those of the other two gladiators, Djokovic and Federer.
How, at 35, can this guy achieve this kind of performance?
I can't understand it.
Even in a film or a novel, we wouldn't dare to write such a thing because we would say to ourselves “It's impossible, nobody will believe it”.
Huge respect Mr Nadal.