Rafael Nadal defeated Casper Ruud in the final of men’s singles on Sunday to clinch a record-extending 14th French Open title. With it, the 36-year-old Spaniard raced to his 22nd Grand Slam title, two more than those of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. (More Tennis News)
Rafael Nadal's 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 win over Casper Ruud at Stade Roland Garros helped him maintain his unbeaten run in the final of French Open. Nadal now has played 14 finals at the clay-court event and won all of them. He had lost to Novak Djokovic in the semi-final last year.
Nadal won the last 11 games after trailing 3-1 in the second set. His victory on Sunday came two days after his 36th birthday and made him the oldest title winner in the history of the clay-court tournament.
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The Spaniard’s first triumph at the event came in 2005 at the age of 19. No man or woman ever has won the singles trophy at any major event more than his 14 in Paris.
In the quarter-final of French Open 2022, Nadal avenged last year’s defeat with 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4) win over Djokovic. In the semi-finals, the Spaniard got a walkover after Alexander Zverev had to retire mid-way during the match. Zverev twisted his ankle when he was trailing 7-6 (8), 6-6 against Rafael Nadal.
On the other hand, Casper Ruud defeated Holger Rune 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3 in the quarter-final of French Open this year before registering a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 comeback win over former US Open champion Marin Cilic in the semi-final. This had helped him become the first Norwegian player to enter a Grand Slam final.
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(With inputs from AP)
