Uche
Rafael Nadal defeated Casper Ruud at Roland Garros on Sunday, June 5, to win his 14th French Open title and increase his Grand Slam record to 22.
On Court Philippe Chatrier, the 36-year-old Spanish sports icon demolished the Norwegian 6-3 6-3 6-0.
Since his debut in 2005, Nadal has only lost three matches at Roland Garros (hence his tag as the king of clay court). He’d been dealing with injuries, so speculation about his retirement was rampant before the game.
But in their first competitive meeting, he swept over Ruud, putting him two titles ahead of great rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.
After winning the tournament, Nadal said;
“For me personally, it is very difficult to describe the feelings that I have,” he said.
“It’s something that I never believed, that I would be here at 36, being competitive again, playing on the most important court of my career one more time in a final.
“It means everything to me. It means a lot of energy to try to keep going. I just want to say ‘merci, merci beaucoup’.”
“I don’t know what can happen in the future but I am going to keep fighting to try to keep going.”
Ruud said: “This is a first time for me so let’s see how I do. The first and most important thing is to congratulate Rafa.
“It’s your 14th time, 22nd all round in Grand Slams. We all know what a champion you are.
Merci, Rafa 🧡#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/kXcKfAuSoz
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 5, 2022
Davidd
