Rafael Nadal wins the 14th edition of the French Open 2022, against C Ruud. He showed why he is King of Clay. It was an amazing game to remember.
Rafael Nadal wins another grand slam, he defeated 23-year-old Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 on Sunday, and won the 14th singles title at the French Open and the 22nd singles title at the Grand Slam, a 36-year-old Spaniard in each category.
After a tough tournament at Roland Garros, Rafael Nadal once again showed that he was the King of Clay, though not 100%. His victory over Norwegian Casper Ruud now puts him in the middle of the calendar slam.
Just watching Rafael Nadal play in the French Open Men’s Singles Final on Sunday at Court Philippe Chartier in Paris does not show that he is suffering from chronic foot pain while he was playing.
The victory on Sunday was a lap moment for Nadal. When he won his first title at the age of 19 in 2005, he was not only the oldest champion of the French Open in the open era but also a specialist in clay court. Defeating a 23 old, who grew up idolizing his Spanish idol.
This victory was also his 22nd Grand Slam title, improving his record in men’s tennis and being in the middle of a calendar slam following the victory at the Australian Open in January.
“Very difficult to describe the feelings that I have,” Nadal said after the match. “It’s something that I for sure never [would have] believed — to be here at 36, being competitive again, playing in the most important court of my career. It means a lot.”
In a sense, Nadal faced a young right-handed version of him in, Ruud. This is the first Norwegian player to advance to the Grand Slam final in men’s singles.
The two have never played each other on the ATP circuit, but Ruud has been training at the Nadal Tennis Academy in Manacor since 2018 and has trained several times with the Spaniards.
The Ruud should be a formidable opponent. Seven of his eight ATP titles appeared in Clay. But that moment seemed too big for a young Norwegian. Nadal won in the first set after some errors from Ruud, and Protegé took 3-1 leads in the second set, but Nadal took 11 consecutive to secure the championship.
“Today I got to feel how to play against you in a final,” Ruud told Nadal after the match. “It’s not easy.”
Some of the Records broken by yesterday’s win:
After overtaking Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic’s 20 slams at the Australian Open earlier this year, Nadal is now expanding his lead to 22. Nadal now has a cushion against his old rivals, so it would be interesting to see who will be the most in the end.
He is known as the King of Clay for a reason. Nadal won 14 titles at the French Open. This is the most title win in a single slam.
With a win at the age of 36, Nadal is the oldest to win at Roland Garros. Nadal passed his compatriot Andres Gimeno, who won the title in 1972 at 34 years and 10 months.
After turning 30, Nadal won eight titles for his achievements. With his victory at the French Open, he joined Novak Djokovic in most slums since the age of thirty.
Nadal, who defeated Casper Ruud, became part of an elite club with 92 tour-level titles during the open era. This is the fourth greatest of any man in the open era, with only Ivan Lendl (94), Roger Federer (103) and Jimmy Connors (109) winning more titles than King Clay.
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