When David Ferrer, that perennial underdog, stumbled off the court after a semi-final loss to Rafael Nadal at the French Open in 2012, he offered a statement that could only be described as a masterclass in understatement. "Winning a match against Rafa at Roland Garros is almost impossible," he proclaimed, clearly reveling in the realisation that he had just endured a tennis lesson of epic proportions. After all, he managed a mere five games against Nadal—a feat that, frankly, would have put him in the ‘barely-there’ category of competition. It would have brought little solace to Ferrer that he had outperformed Roger Federer, who famously collected only four games in the 2008 final against the same clay-court maestro. 

On the crushed red brick of Roland Garros, Nadal's dominance is a tale worthy of mythological proportions. Since bursting onto the scene in 2005 with his dazzling debut, he has amassed a staggering 14 titles, securing 112 match victories while tasting defeat just four times. It is a record so remarkable that it could almost inspire a new genre of literature—perhaps ‘fantasy sports’, where players grapple not just with their opponents, but with the very concept of defeat itself.