PARIS (AP) – Rafael Nadal, French Open champion for the 14th time at the age of 36, is obviously different from Rafael Nadal, French Open champion for the first time in 2005 at the age of 19 .
Her hair is thinning at the top. The Chartreuse T-shirt he wore while crushing Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 in the intriguing final of a handful of Sunday minutes had sleeves, unlike his biceps look of almost two decades ago. . The white capri pants that went below the knees in the daytime had long since been replaced by more standard shorts; The ones on Sunday were turquoise.
This is what has not changed in the way of his 22 Grand Slam titles in total, another record, in addition to his gestures between points and his meticulous attention to the mandatory placement of water bottles and Towels: The left uppercut of a high direct bounce still finds the mark much more often than not, confusing enemies. This ability to read serves and returns them for a still sharp purpose. That attitude of never giving anything that pushes Christmas from side to side, forward and backward, accelerating and reorienting the balls of an opponent’s racket seemingly destined to be unattainable.
Nadal is nothing but indefatigable, as he has been in consecutive victories of more than four hours before the tournament, including against Novak Djokovic, the number one defending defender and No. 1 seed, and again this afternoon, even while competing on the left. foot that described how to feel “asleep” due to injections to deal with chronic pain.
The clouds at first gave way to the sunlight and blue sky that Nadal prefers, just as Ruud’s 3-1 lead in the second set suddenly began to evaporate into what would become a series of 11 closing matches for the champion.
The Christmas victory came two days after his 36th birthday and made him the winner of the oldest title in the history of the clay tournament. Given his age and, even more worryingly, the foot that has been a constant problem for years, and especially in recent weeks, Nadal has repeatedly said he could never be sure if every game on the Philippe Chatrier track could be his last.
During the presentation of the trophy, Nadal thanked his family and the support team, including a doctor who accompanied him to Paris, for the help they had helped him, because otherwise he would have had to “retire a lot before”.
“I don’t know what might happen in the future,” Nadal told the crowd, “but I’ll keep fighting to keep going.”
Later, in an interview with Eurosport TV rights holder, Nadal said he played the match without “feeling” in his left foot after receiving a “nerve injection”.
However, he played so clean and tidy, accumulating more than twice as many winners as Ruud, 37 to 16. Nadal also made fewer unforced errors, making only 16 to 26 of Ruud.
When he finished with a Christmas backhand, he tossed his racket into the red clay he loves so much and covered his face with his fingers stuck in both hands.
No man or woman has ever won the individual trophy in any major event other than their 14th in Paris. And no man has won more Grand Slam titles than Christmas.
He is two ahead of rivals Roger Federer, who has been out of action for almost a year after a series of knee surgeries, and Djokovic, who missed the Australian Open in January because he is not vaccinated against VOCID. 19.
For all that he has already achieved, Nadal has now done something he had never achieved before: he is halfway through a one-year Grand Slam thanks to the titles at the Australian Open and the French Open. the same season.
It doesn’t seem like much of a reason for Nadal to leave now, given that he beat four French Open opponents in the top 10 (No. 9 Felix Auger-Aliassime in the fourth round, Djokovic in the quarterfinals, No. 3). Alexander Zverev – who stopped due to a foot injury – in the semifinals, followed by No. 8 Ruud).
Nadal improved to 14-0 in the Roland Garros finals and 112-3 overall in his favorite tournament.
“You are a real inspiration to me, to everyone who follows tennis around the world,” said Ruud, a 23-year-old Norwegian who is taking part in his first Grand Slam final. keep going. ”
When the players met on the net for the coin draw before the game, the first songs of “Ra-fa! Ra-fa! “Sounded in the 15,000-seat stadium. There would be more hearts like that. long of his last name, “Ruuuuuuud,” so it looked like they might be booing.
Ruud considers Christmas his idol. He remembers watching all the finals last Christmas in Paris on TV. He trained at the Christmas tennis academy in Mallorca.
They’ve played countless training sets together there with nothing more at stake than the right to brag. Nadal usually won them over, and Ruud joked the other day about trying to be a polite guest.
The two had never met in a real match until Sunday, when a championship, money, ranking points, prestige and a piece of history were at stake. And Nadal showed, as he has done so many times, why he is known as the King of Clay, and among the best in the game.
“We all know who the champion is, and today I heard what it’s like to play a final against you. And it’s not easy, “said Ruud. “I’m not the first victim. I know there have been many before.”
Nadal can now place this last Musketeer Cup next to the trophies he gathered at Roland Garros in 2005-08, 2010-14 and 2017-20. He has also won the U.S. Open four times and the Australian and Wimbledon Open twice each.
“For me personally, it’s very difficult to describe the feelings I have,” Nadal said. “It’s something I probably never believed in: being here at 36, being competitive again, playing the most favorite track of my career, once again in the final. It means a lot to me. It means everything. “
___
More AP Tennis: i