Mine Kasapoglu / Anadolu Agency through Getty Images
The king of clay has done it again.
Rafael Nadal won his 14th French Open title of his career on Sunday with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 victory over Casper Ruud in the men’s singles final.
Roland-Garros @rolandgarros
King of Clay x 14 👑 pic.twitter.com/GctcC17Ah8
Nadal has won the last 11 games to win in sets in a row.
No other player in the history of men’s tennis has more than nine major titles anywhere. The 36-year-old now has 22 Grand Slam titles in his career, two ahead of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, the highest number of all time after winning major consecutive tournaments.
Ruud was the first Norwegian to reach a Grand Slam final, but was unable to keep up with Christmas during the Roland Garros championship on Sunday.
Nadal made it seem easy in the first set, securing two breaks on the way to victory by 6-3. Although there were many early errors, he continued to beat the winners to close the long rallies:
Roland-Garros @rolandgarros
Rafa rocket ™ ️ pic.twitter.com/qSnYtiBkYk
Roland-Garros @rolandgarros
Chatrier + pic.twitter.com/fmfvb0zXM2
Neither player was immune to sloppy play throughout the game, as each made nine unforced errors in the first set alone.
Christopher Clarey 🇺🇸 🇫🇷 🇪🇸 @christophclarey
At the beginning of this final there have been some ugly blows
Ben Rothenberg @BenRothenberg
The level here … is not the best.
Nadal fell in love during the second set, with his third double foul that put him behind 3-1. Ruud has yet to take advantage of the mistakes, and Nadal has won five games in a row and won the set 6-3.
The return game was especially impressive, as Nadal almost missed nothing:
ATP Tour @atptour
It’s everywhere 🏃♂️🏃♂️🏃♂️ pic.twitter.com/7MtNP3p5eQ
Nadal won three breaks in a row on the way to victory in the second set.
The No. 5 seed continued the momentum with a bagel from the third set to close out the victory in just two hours and 18 minutes. He scored 55 percent of return points in the game, allowing zero aces while making 8 of 16 on break opportunities.
It was the first time Nadal had faced Ruud, who considers the Spanish star his childhood idol. The number 8 seed has trained at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca and was looking forward to this match.
“I think this is the perfect time and it has been worth the wait,” he told reporters before the match. “Finally playing with him in a Grand Slam final will be a special moment for me.”
The 23-year-old was unable to get over the discomfort, but it will certainly be a memorable springboard for the promotion that completed the best tournament of his career. It should make the world number 8 a major threat in the sport.
Nadal remains almost impossible to beat on that surface, and is now halfway through a Grand Slam in 2022 after his victory at the Australian Open. It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post.