Rafael Nadal defeated Caspar Rudd in straight sets to claim his 14th Roland-Garros Championship and 22nd Grand Slam title overall, he has already added two ownership records.
Nadal’s 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 victory came two days after his 36th birthday and made him the oldest title winner in the history of clay-court tournaments.
Ruud led 3-1 in the second set, a deficit that inspired Nadal to raise his level – he took the last 11 games.
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The Spaniard’s first win in Paris came in 2005 at the age of 19. No man or woman has ever won a single trophy at a major event in his 14 years in Paris. And no one has won more Grand Slam titles than Nadal.
He is now two ahead of rival Roger Federer, who has not played for nearly a year after knee surgery, and Novak Djokovic, who missed the Australian Open in January because he was not vaccinated against COVID-19 and lost to Nadal. Roland Garros.
Given his age, and more worryingly, the chronic pain in his left leg which has been an off-the-shelf problem for years, Nadal has repeatedly said in recent days that he can never be sure whether every match is on the court Philippe Chatterjee. Maybe its the end.
There doesn’t seem to be much reason to leave now, though, as he has overtaken four French Open opponents in the top ten to win.