Rafael Nadal has for the fourteenth time in his career Roland Garros won† The 36-year-old Spaniard defeated 23-year-old Norwegian Casper Ruud on Sunday in three sets (6-3, 6-3, 6-0) in Paris. It is Nadal’s 22nd Grand Slam title, a record in men’s tennis. His great rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer follow with twenty titles.
Gravel king Nadal gave Ruud, who played his first grand slam final, few chances.
Only at the beginning of the second set did Ruud seem to fight back by breaking Nadal, but he quickly managed to win the service from the Norwegian and won the set 6-3.
Earlier this tournament, Nadal defeated Djokovic in the quarterfinals against a high-quality four-setter. In the semifinals, he struggled during two nerve-racking sets against German Alexander Zverev. He only had to give up after sustaining a serious injury.
With his win, Nadal is the oldest ever winner of Roland Garros. During the semi-final on Friday, Nadal celebrated his 36th birthday. The previous record is held by compatriot Andrés Gimeno, who won the French tournament in 1972 at the age of 34.