Rafael Nadal wins 14th French Open title, 22nd Grand Slam, becomes the oldest champ in tourney history
Nadal won two days after his 36th birthday, making him the title winner in the history of the clay-court tournament.
Rafael Nadal withdrew, defeating Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 in the French Open on Sunday in his 14th tournament at Roland Garros and the 22nd Grand Slam title overall, adding two of his existing records.
Nadal’s victory came two days after his 36th birthday and made him the oldest winner in the history of clay pottery competition.
Ruud led 3-1 in the second set, a deficit that motivated Nadal to improve – taking the last 11 games.
Nadal played with ease and cleanliness, scoring twice as many winners as Ruud, 37 to 16. Nadal also made a few unforgettable mistakes, making 16 for Ruud 26.
Concluding with a low backhand from Nadal, he loaded his favorite red clay racket and covered his face with fingers attached to both of his hands.
Rafael Nadal lifted the trophy on Sunday
After defeating Casper Ruud of Norway in the French Open final at Roland Garros Stadium in Paris.
The first Spanish victory in Paris came in 2005 at the age of 19. No man or woman has ever won a single trophy at any of the 14 major events in Paris.No one has won more Grand Slam titles than Nadal.
Leading his rivals Roger Federer, who has not played for nearly a year after undergoing knee surgery, and Novak Djokovic, who missed the Australian Open in January because he was not vaccinated against COVID-19 and lost to Nadal in. Roland Garros.
Given his age, as well as the extra anxiety, and chronic pain in his left foot that has been a problem for years, Nadal has repeatedly said these days that he would never be sure every game on the Court Philippe Chatrier could be his last.
There doesn’t seem to be much reason to give up now, however, if you look at his way past four French Open rivals ranked in the top 10 (No. 9 Felix Auger-Aliassime in the fourth round, number 1 Djokovic in the quarterfinals, No. 3 Alexander Zverev – who stopped due to a foot injury – in the semifinals, then No. 8 Ruud).
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In all that he has achieved, Nadal has now done something he has never done before: He is in the middle of the Grand Slam calendar year due to titles at the Australian Open and French Open in the same season.
Ruud is a 23-year-old Norwegian who competed in the Grand Slam finals for the first time. Nadal has not even played in the major quarterfinals until now.
He takes Nadal to his idol. He remembers watching all of Nadal’s finals in Paris on television.
They played a lot of sets of exercises together with nothing to risk but pride. Nadal used to win those, and Ruud joked one day that it was because he was trying to be a decent guest.
The two had never met in a real match until Sunday when they were in line for the tournament, money, rankings, fame, and history. And Nadal has shown, as he always does, why he is known as the King of clay – even among the biggest games.
Now you can still place the latest Coupe des Mousquetaires next to the trophies he collected at Roland Garros from 2005-08, 2010-14, and 2017-20. He also won the U.S. Open four times and the Australian Open with Wimbledon twice each