The king of mud is well installed on his throne. Rafael Nadal clinched the 14th title of his career at the French Open when he defeated Casper Ruud of Norway on Sunday.
Despite an injured left foot, the Spaniard prevailed in three sets 6-3, 6-3 and 6-0 against his young opponent struggling to win his first grand slam title.
It was the 22nd grand slam trophy for Nadal since his professional debut in 2001. He also became the oldest winner in Roland-Garros history at the age of 36.
In the race for the major crown record, Nadal is now two steps ahead of his two historic rivals, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
The Mallorcan left-hander took advantage of the inexperience and tiredness of Ruud, 23, to not drag too much on the pitch. The match lasted 2 hours 18 minutes.
Ruud led 3-1 in the second set after Nadal made a double fault. The Spanish recovered, however, and won the next five games.
The match began with three consecutive breaks, pushing Nadal ahead 2-1. Rafa recorded another break to widen the gap to 4-1.
A physically demanding tournament
Nadal had a particularly difficult two weeks physically in Paris, especially in the five-set battle against Quebecer Félix Auger-Aliassime in the fourth round.
Nadal has suffered since he was 18 from osteonecrosis of the navicular bone, or tarsal scaphoid, also known as Müller-Weiss syndrome.
These chronic diseases have bothered him in recent years. Nadal had to sit out in the last half of 2021 due to foot issues, missing Wimbledon, the Tokyo Olympics and the US Open.
I don’t have the words to say what I feel. I never thought I would be competitive at 36, or even (a few months ago) be able to play here againsaid Nadal in reference to his sore left foot.
I don’t know what will happen in the future, but I will fight to continue as long as possible, he promised the crowd. Words triggered a standing ovation.
On Ruud’s side, this is for next time. The Norwegian is riding on a great streak: he has won 66 wins and 7 titles since the start of 2020.
In his first major final, Ruud is guaranteed to climb to the best ranking of his career next week, to 6th place in the world.
Source: Radio-Canada
