PARIS (AP) – Rafael Nadal, the French Open champion for the 14th time at the age of 36, is obviously different from Rafael Nadal, the French Open champion for the first time in 2005 at the 19th years old.
His hair thins on top. The Chartreuse T-shirt he wore while beating Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 in Sunday’s intriguing finale in a handful of minutes had sleeves, unlike his biceps-free look from nearly two decades ago. The white capri pants that used to fit below his knees had long since been exchanged for more standard shorts; Sundays were turquoise.
Here’s what hasn’t changed on the way to his 22 Grand Slam titles, another record, in addition to his point-to-point manners and the careful attention paid to placing bottles of water and towels, which should be as follows: left uppercut on a topspin with a topspin and a high bouncer he still finds the sign much more often than he misses, confusing enemies. This ability to read serves and brings them back for God’s sake. This behavior is never inferior to something that moves Nadal from side to side, back and forth, accelerating to and redirecting, the balls repel the opponent’s missile, which seems destined to be unreachable.
Nadal is nothing, if not indefatigable, just as he was in consecutive victories over four hours earlier in the tournament – including against Novak Djokovic, the defending champions and ranked No. 1 – and again this afternoon, even as he competed on the left foot , which he described as “asleep” due to injections to deal with chronic pain.
Clouds overhead initially gave way to sunlight and the blue sky that Nadal prefers, just as Ruud’s 3-1 lead in the second set suddenly began to evaporate into what will become a series of 11 games to complete the game. match for the champion.
Nadal’s victory came two days after his 36th birthday and made him the oldest title holder in the history of the clay court tournament. Given his age and, more worryingly, his foot, which has been a common problem for years, and especially in recent weeks, Nadal has repeatedly said he can never be sure if every match at Court Philippe Chatrier can be his last.
During the trophy ceremony, Nadal thanked his family and his support team, including a doctor who accompanied him to Paris, for their help, because otherwise he would have had to “retire long before”.
“I don’t know what might happen in the future,” Nadal told the audience, “but I will continue to fight to try to move forward.”
Later, in an interview with Eurosport TV rights holder, Nadal said he played the match without “feeling” in his left leg after receiving a “nerve injection”.
And yet he played so clearly and cleanly, amassing more than twice as many winners as Ruud, 37 to 16. Nadal also made fewer nonviolent mistakes, making only 16 to 26 against Ruud.
When he finished with a backhand down the line from Nadal, he threw his rocket at the red clay he loves so much and covered his face with the glued fingers of both hands.
No man or woman has ever won the singles trophy at a major event more than his 14 in Paris. And no man has won more Grand Slam titles than Nadal.
He is ahead of two rivals, Roger Federer, who has not played in almost a year after a series of knee surgeries, and Djokovic, who missed the Australian Open in January because he was not vaccinated against COVID-19.
Despite all he has already achieved, Nadal has now done something he has never achieved before: He is halfway to a calendar Grand Slam tournament thanks to the Australian Open and French Open titles that season.
There doesn’t seem to be much reason for Nadal to give up now, given that he went through four French Open opponents ranked in the top 10 (№ 9 Felix Auger-Aliasim in the fourth round, Djokovic in the quarterfinals, № 3 Alexander Zverev – who stopped due to a leg injury – in the semifinals, then No. 8 Ruud).
Nadal improved to 14-0 in the finals of Roland Garros and 112-3 overall in his favorite tournament.
“You are a real inspiration to me, to anyone who watches tennis around the world,” said Ruud, a 23-year-old Norwegian who competed in his first Grand Slam final. time. “
When the players met on the net to toss a coin before the match, the first chants were “Ra-fa! Ra-fa!” Ra-fa! ” exploded at the 15,000-seat stadium. There would be more such choruses. Ruud heard his own support, especially when he rose briefly in the second set, with some in the stands scoring points he won by pronouncing his last name “Ruuuuuuud” at length, so it sounded like they could be whistling.
Ruud considers Nadal his idol. He remembers watching all of Nadal’s past finals in Paris on television. He trained at Nadal’s tennis academy in Mallorca.
They played countless workouts together there, with nothing more at stake than boasting. Nadal usually wins them, and Ruud jokes the other day that he’s trying to be a kind guest.
The two had never met in a real match until Sunday, when the championship, money, ranking points, prestige and part of the story were at stake. And Nadal demonstrates, as he has so often done, why he is known as the King of Clay – and among the greatest in the game so far.
“We all know what kind of champion you are and today I have to feel what it’s like to play against you in the final. And it’s not easy, “Ruud said. “I am not the first victim. I know it was a long time ago. “
Nadal can now place this last Coupe des Mousquetaires next to the trophies he collected at Roland Garros from 2005-08, 2010-14 and 2017-20. He also won the US Open four times and the Australian Open and Wimbledon twice.
“It’s very difficult for me personally to describe the feelings I feel,” Nadal said. “It’s something I’ve certainly never believed in – to be here at 36, to be competitive again, to play on the favorite court of my career, once again in the final. It means a lot to me. It means everything.”
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