Rafael Nadal pushed the limits once more by winning a fourteenth title at Roland-Garros and a record 22nd Grand Slam trophy at the expense of the Norwegian Casper Ruud (N.8), swept 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 on Sunday.
The Spaniard (N.5), 36 years old since Friday, yet hampered by pain in his left foot, has become the oldest winner in history on Parisian clay. In the race for the record of major crowns, he is now two steps ahead of his two historic rivals, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic (twenty each).
His stranglehold on the Parisian Grand Slam is unparalleled. On their favorite playground, Djokovic at the Australian Open and Federer at Wimbledon won “only” nine and eight times respectively.
Porte d’Auteuil, in the history of men’s tennis, no one other than Nadal has won more than six times (Björn Borg).
Once once more — the last? – the Mallorcan left-hander proved to be stronger than pain, stronger than doubts, he who had arrived in Paris with uncertainties, following leaving Rome in mid-May limping and grimacing in pain because of his left foot, gnawed for more than fifteen years by Müller-Weiss syndrome, a necrosis of the scaphoid bone.
After a quiet first game of the tournament, Nadal emerged victorious from a grueling second week. Before the final once morest Ruud, he fought more than four hours once morest Félix-Auger Aliassime (N.9) in the round of 16 and Djokovic in the quarterfinals, then sweated profusely for more than three hours in the heat of the Central once morest Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals, before the abandonment of the world No.3, twisted right ankle.
Uncertain future
Sunday followingnoon once morest Ruud, under a heavy sky, but with the roof open, the master of the place made the best start by braking on entry and pocketing the first race in regarding forty minutes, even without deploying his best Game.
His domination only increased as the weather cleared, and the sun warmed the Parisian ocher and thus favored his devastating forehand lift.
In the second set, the 23-year-old Norwegian took a good lead 3 games to 1, but his lead was gone in a few minutes. Nadal inflicted on him from there a scathing 10-0, until winning in 2:18, seventeen years to the day following his first coronation in 2005.
And now ? Nadal has sown, during his press conferences in the Paris fortnight, doubt regarding his future.
“I have what I have at my foot. If we are not able to find a solution or an improvement, it will become super difficult for me,” he said following his stunning victory once morest Djokovic.
“Every match I play here, I am aware that it may be my last in this tournament,” he said two days earlier.
While waiting for him to reveal more, his record in the final on clay in Paris is still impeccable: fourteen won, none lost. And he has still only lost three matches at Roland-Garros, for 112 won in 115 played.
