Rafael Nadal Wins 14th French Open, 22nd Major Championship To Extend Lead Over Rivals Federer, Djokovic

Seventeen years to the day after he won his first French Open title in 2005, Rafael Nadal is still dominating his favorite tennis tournament at the ripe old age of 36.

The Spaniard captured his 14th Roland Garros title and record-extending 22nd major championship with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 victory over 23-year-old Casper Ruud of Norway, trying the record for fewest games allowed in a major final. He became the oldest man ever to win the French Open.

King Felipe VI of Spain and His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon of Norway sat next to each other watching the match, while Larry David, Hugh Grant and Stefan Edberg were also in attendance.

Nadal, who won the Australian Open in January, has pushed his lead over rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer to two Slam titles as both remain at 20.

“I didn’t think he would last until 36,” John McEnroe said on NBC, reminding viewers that both Federer and Serena Williams won their final majors at 36.

Despite a chronic foot problem that caused him to limp off the court after losing to Denis Shapovalov in Rome, and has triggered rumblings of retirement, Nadal looked his dominant self at this fortnight. He improved to 112-3 at the French Open, and 28-1 in semis and finals in Paris. Nadal is now 14-0 in French Open finals and 22-8 in Grand Slam finals.

To put that in perspective, Pete Sampras won 14 total majors during his Hall of Famer career and he is considered one of the greatest to ever play the game. Still, his 14 have long been eclipsed by Nadal, Federer and Djokovic, who have now won 61 of the last 73 majors.

Nadal has a chance to win the calendar Grand Slam but it appears he won’t compete at Wimbledon and will give himself a chance to rest his chronic foot injury instead. Wimbledon will be missing a number of top names, including Alexander Zverev, who tore ligaments in his semifinal with Nadal while chasing down a forehand by the Spaniard; Russian stars Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, who are banned following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; and Federer, who hopes to still play the tournament at least one more time in 2023.

Nadal’s latest win came one day after Iga Świątek of Poland, a huge fan of Nadal’s, won her 35th straight match and second French Open with a straight-sets win over 18-year-old American Coco Gauff. Nadal wished Świątek luck before the match. Gauff and her doubles partner Jessica Pegula then lost in three sets in the doubles final earlier Sunday to Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic of France.

Nadal navigated the much tougher top half of the draw en route to his 14th final. He beat four seeded players, including a five-set win over No. 9 Felix Auger-Aliassime, a four-set victory over world No. 1 and defending champ Djokovic and an emotional win over No. 3 Zverev in which the German tore ligaments in his right ankle trying to run down a Nadal forehand.

Ruud had won 10 matches in a row and 13 of 14, and had led the tour with seven clay court titles since the start of 2020.

But Nadal is Ruud’s idol and he got in trouble early.

Nadal sent an early message by breaking Ruud on his first service game with a buggy whip forehand winner to go ahead 2-0. After a shaky game in which Nadal himself was broken, he earned a second break of Ruud for 4-1. Serving at 5-3, he closed the set out with a service winner.

In the second set, Ruud raced out to a 3-1 lead with an early break and appeared to be gaining a foothold. But Nadal rattled off five straight games, ultimately winning the second set on his fourth set point when Ruud double-faulted to go down two sets to love.

Nadal won 11 straight games spanning the second and third sets. With Ruud serving at 0-5 in the third, Nadal closed it out with another break, winning it with a backhand up the line before shaking hands with Ruud at the net.

“It’s your 14th time here, 22nd all-around in Grand Slams and we all know what a champion you are,” Ruud said. “And today I got to feel how it is to play against you in a final and it’s not easy.

“I’m not the first victim, I know there have been many before.”

He added: “You are a true inspiration for me, for everyone who follows tennis around the world, so we all hope that you will continue for some more time.”