Paris: It happened as expected. Rafael Nadal suddenly took his game to an all new level as he pulled away to beat Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 in the French Open final here Sunday. It was his 14th championship at Roland Garros and 22nd Grand Slam titles overall, adding to two records he already owned.
Nadal’s victory came two days after his 36th birthday and made him the oldest title winner in the history of the clay-court tournament.
Ruud led 3-1 in the second set, a deficit that spurred Nadal to raise his level. Such was the momentum that Ruud failed to win a single game as Nadal sped to victory winning 11 games on the trot.
Nadal played crisply and cleanly, accumulating more than twice as many winners as Ruud, 37 to 16. He also committed fewer unforced errors, making just 16 to Ruud’s 26.
When it ended with a down-the-line backhand from Nadal, he chucked his racket to the red clay he loves so much and covered his face with the taped-up fingers on both of his hands.
The Spaniard’s first triumph in Paris came in 2005 at age 19. No man or woman ever has won the singles trophy at any major event more than his 14 in Paris. And no man has won more Grand Slam titles than Nadal.
He is two ahead of rivals Roger Federer, who hasn’t played in almost a year after a series of knee operations, and Novak Djokovic, who missed the Australian Open in January because he is not vaccinated against Covid-19 and lost to Nadal in the quarterfinals.
Given his age, and, of more concern, the chronic pain in his left foot that has been an off-and-on problem for years, Nadal has said repeatedly in recent days that he can never be sure whether each match at Court Philippe Chatrier might be his last.
Nadal kept the suspense going after the final also. “Don’t know whether I will be able to play here again next year,” he said after his win. “But I don’t give up without a fight… so I will continue fighting,” Nadal stated.
Nadal improved to 14-0 in finals at Roland Garros and 112-3 overall at his favourite tournament.
Ruud is a 23-year-old from Norway who was participating in a Grand Slam final for the first time. He’d never even played in a major quarterfinal until now. He considers Nadal his idol and trains at the latter’s tennis academy in Mallorca.
The two had never met in a real match until Sunday, when a championship, money, ranking points, prestige and a piece of history were on the line. And Nadal demonstrated, as he has so often, why he’s known as the King of Clay — and among the game’s greatest ever.
No doubt about that.