In mid-May, after his knockout round at the tournament in Rome, Nadal himself questioned participation in Paris. The chronic pain in his foot was too severe. However, thanks to the daily care of a personal doctor in Paris, Nadal got himself back into very good shape. How long he wants to and can do this is uncertain. First of all, he wants to keep trying.
At the moment of his 22nd Grand Slam tournament winner, pure joy prevailed for Nadal. In a low-level and relatively one-sided final, the Mallorcan outclassed the 23-year-old Norwegian Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 on Sunday. After 2:18 hours he converted his second match point and then dropped his racquet on the floor in disbelief.
“Today I got to know what it’s like to play against you in a final. It’s not easy. I’m not the first victim,” said Ruud after his first Grand Slam final, appreciatively in the direction of his great idol, the received the Coupe des Mousquetaires a little later from tennis legend Billie Jean King.
As soon as Nadal entered the Court Philippe Chatrier shortly after 3 p.m., the spectators rose from their seats and received their darling with deafening applause. Before the game, rumors had circulated that it could be the Spaniard’s last match of his glorious career. It seemed like everyone in Paris wanted to try and stop Nadal from the unconfirmed plans with their affection. The obligatory presentation of Nadal by the cult stadium announcer Marc Maury lasted even longer than usual this time, repeatedly interrupted by the applause of the audience.
The first sentence after 48 minutes
Nadal started well in front of the Spanish King Felipe and the Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon and immediately took the serve from the Norwegian. Although Ruud, who has been training at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca for four years, also managed a break afterwards, but Nadal countered with another break that he did not give up afterwards. After 48 minutes he got the first set.
The mood in the stadium before the game was sizzling, but the final was unspectacular. Ruud was nervous and made a lot of slight mistakes, Nadal was also far from his best form, but still dominated the action on his favorite pitch with ease.
In the semifinals against Alexander Zverev, Nadal was challenged much more until the German Olympic champion had to give up injured. With multiple ligament tears, Zverev will be out for a long time. How long is to be determined by further investigations this Monday in Germany.
Five games in a row
In the second set, Ruud initially improved, but the overall level was now a little better. But it was still far removed from other Nadal finals in Paris. The Mallorquin initially fell behind by a break, but Ruud was unable to use the momentum. On the contrary: Nadal played five games in a row and took a 2-0 lead after 1:42 hours.
Ruud’s belief in the sensation was finally gone in his first final at a Grand Slam tournament. Nadal got the third set in quick succession – the rest was pure joy.