Rafael Nadal, the Spanish tennis legend, overcame Casper Ruud in straight sets to win the 2022 French Open Grand Slam title at Roland Garros on Sunday afternoon.
Nadal, the renowned clay court king, triumphed over the Norwegian 6-3 6-3 6-0 to win his 14th French Open Grand Slam title, extending his own record.
The 36-year-old, who won his first French Open tournament in 2005, has now won 22 Grand Slam titles, two more than Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, his fierce rivals.
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The match that lasted just over two hours saw Nadal twice break his opponent early in the first set to set the tone for a first set lead he never relinquished and closed out in 48 minutes.
The Real Madrid supporter and honorary member was however made to fight for the second set, needing to win the last five games to take a 2-0 set lead before blistering through the final set in 35 minutes without dropping a game.
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Speaking after his anticipated victory, Nadal thanked the rapturous crowd while stating his intention to “keep fighting” despite rumours of retirement.
“Merci, merci beaucoup. It is completely amazing, the things that are happening this year,” he said.
“For me personally, it is very tough to describe the feelings that I have. I never believed I would be here at 36 being competitive… one more final. I don’t know what can happen in the future but I am going to keep fighting to try to keep going, so thank you.”
Raphael Nadal, injury-ravaged in recent years, has never lost a French Open final.
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