Roland Garros: Rafal picks up his 14th French Open title
Paris: Rafael Nadal picked up his 14th Roland Garros title and a record-extending 22nd Grand Slam trophy on Sunday, relinquishing Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 to drop a note of history into his remarkable legacy.
By winning his 22nd Grand Slam crown, the Spaniard has raced past Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer in the Grand Slam race, with both of them having won 20 major titles.
It is the first time Nadal has won the Australian Open and Roland Garros trophies in the same season and he is now level with countryman Carlos Alcaraz on a Tour-leading four titles in 2022 after improving to 112-3 at the clay-court major.
Nadal’s feat in Paris is exceptional considering that he coped with a chronic foot injury that he suffered while losing to Denis Shapovalov in Rome little more than three weeks ago.
However, he brandished his stamp of fighting qualities throughout the fortnight in Paris to ensure his grip over Roland Garros, bettering to a remarkable 14-0 at French Open finals.
Rafa out-manoeuvred the Norwegian with heavy topspin forehands and moved ahead by producing an intense and aggressive first-set performance with a sonorous spectators rooting for him.
The World No.5 returned to basics after he was down 1-3 in the second set. He garnered points, clinched the longer exchanges and shaped up an array of devastating passing shots to take control, before darting clear in the third set to snap up another memorable victory after two hours and 20 minutes.
Following this win, Rafa became the third player to earn four Top 10 wins at a Grand Slam since the Pepperstone ATP Rankings started in 1973. Mats Wilander at Roland Garros in 1982 and Roger Federer at the Australian Open in 2017 also achieved the feat.
In animated conditions, Rafa immediately forced the Norwegian deep behind the baseline with his shoulder-height heavy forehand.
After breaking for a 2-0 lead, Rafa slipped in his second service game by double faulting twice to give Ruud a chance to gain points, which he grabbed by both his hands. However, the Spaniard smashed 11 winners to one again to gain the lead by quickly breaking with his precision firebrand forehands.
Ruud forced Rafa into errors in the second set by raising his level of intensity by striking with his impervious groundstrokes through the court. However, from 1-3 behind, the Spaniard quickly found his touch. He reduced the unforced errors and displayed great footwork to start to dictate on his forehand once again.
The Norwegian upped the ante, but Rafa had all the answers in his kitty as he scurried around the baseline to force Ruud into hitting extra shots, before he pushed the World No. 8 deep into the backhand corner with his own power, plundering five games in a row to move to within one set of victory.
Rafa continued with his imperious display in the third set as he did not face a break point in the set to seal another fantastic win here.
The 36-year-old’s continued dominance in the city has seen him extend his lead in the Pepperstone ATP Race To Turin. He holds a 30-3 record on the season and has now captured a record 63 tour-level titles on clay in his career.
Ruud, who has trained at Nadal’s academy in Mallorca since September 2018, was competing in his maiden Grand Slam final after overcoming Croatian Marin Cilic in four sets to earn his 30th win of the year.
The 23-year-old had never been beyond the fourth round at a major prior to his run in Paris and was the first Norwegian man to reach the championship match at a Grand Slam in the Open Era.
The eight-time tour-level champion, who has earned a Tour-leading 66 match wins on clay since 2020, will rise to a career-high No. 6 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday.
By winning his 22nd Grand Slam crown, the Spaniard has raced past Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer in the Grand Slam race, with both of them having won 20 major titles.
It is the first time Nadal has won the Australian Open and Roland Garros trophies in the same season and he is now level with countryman Carlos Alcaraz on a Tour-leading four titles in 2022 after improving to 112-3 at the clay-court major.
Nadal’s feat in Paris is exceptional considering that he coped with a chronic foot injury that he suffered while losing to Denis Shapovalov in Rome little more than three weeks ago.
However, he brandished his stamp of fighting qualities throughout the fortnight in Paris to ensure his grip over Roland Garros, bettering to a remarkable 14-0 at French Open finals.
Rafa out-manoeuvred the Norwegian with heavy topspin forehands and moved ahead by producing an intense and aggressive first-set performance with a sonorous spectators rooting for him.
The World No.5 returned to basics after he was down 1-3 in the second set. He garnered points, clinched the longer exchanges and shaped up an array of devastating passing shots to take control, before darting clear in the third set to snap up another memorable victory after two hours and 20 minutes.
Following this win, Rafa became the third player to earn four Top 10 wins at a Grand Slam since the Pepperstone ATP Rankings started in 1973. Mats Wilander at Roland Garros in 1982 and Roger Federer at the Australian Open in 2017 also achieved the feat.
In animated conditions, Rafa immediately forced the Norwegian deep behind the baseline with his shoulder-height heavy forehand.
After breaking for a 2-0 lead, Rafa slipped in his second service game by double faulting twice to give Ruud a chance to gain points, which he grabbed by both his hands. However, the Spaniard smashed 11 winners to one again to gain the lead by quickly breaking with his precision firebrand forehands.
Ruud forced Rafa into errors in the second set by raising his level of intensity by striking with his impervious groundstrokes through the court. However, from 1-3 behind, the Spaniard quickly found his touch. He reduced the unforced errors and displayed great footwork to start to dictate on his forehand once again.
The Norwegian upped the ante, but Rafa had all the answers in his kitty as he scurried around the baseline to force Ruud into hitting extra shots, before he pushed the World No. 8 deep into the backhand corner with his own power, plundering five games in a row to move to within one set of victory.
Rafa continued with his imperious display in the third set as he did not face a break point in the set to seal another fantastic win here.
The 36-year-old’s continued dominance in the city has seen him extend his lead in the Pepperstone ATP Race To Turin. He holds a 30-3 record on the season and has now captured a record 63 tour-level titles on clay in his career.
Ruud, who has trained at Nadal’s academy in Mallorca since September 2018, was competing in his maiden Grand Slam final after overcoming Croatian Marin Cilic in four sets to earn his 30th win of the year.
The 23-year-old had never been beyond the fourth round at a major prior to his run in Paris and was the first Norwegian man to reach the championship match at a Grand Slam in the Open Era.
The eight-time tour-level champion, who has earned a Tour-leading 66 match wins on clay since 2020, will rise to a career-high No. 6 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday.
Comments are closed.