French Open 2022: Rafael Nadal wins 14th title - Casper Ruud without a chance
Rafael Nadal has won his 14th singles title at the French Open. The Spaniard defeated the Norwegian Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3 and 6-0 in the final of Roland Garros 2022.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Jun 05, 2022, 05:36 pm
Here is the live ticker to read.
By Jens Huiber from Roland Garros
He is not a king, neither on sand nor anywhere else. Rafael Nadal put that on record in one of his early press conferences during the French Open 2022. That could be argued. However, there is no doubt about the status of other guests who attended the final of the second major of the year: And so Felipe VI, the Spanish king, and Haakon, the Norwegian crown prince, sat in the presidential box for a piece of tennis history to attend Either the first Grand Slam victory of a Norwegian. Or 22nd overall by Nadal, 14th at the Terre Battue in Paris.
#IMG2#
The fact that it was Rafael Nadal with a 6: 3, 6: 3 and 6: 0 who wrote this chapter did not come as a surprise. Especially not considering the strong performance against Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. As is well known, Nadal got into trouble against Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals, the German's accident had shortened the match. After three hours of play with not even two finished sets.
Nadal starts with a break
The match started exactly as Casper Ruud hadn't imagined in his premiere endgame. Namely with a break to 2-0 for Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard returned the advantage immediately, but took Ruud's serve to make it 3-1. After 48 minutes of play, Ruud put a return on the microphone of chair referee James Keothavong, which he acknowledged with the announcement that Rafael Nadal had won the set.
Nadal went into this final with a match record of 111:3 wins, Ruud has only won 149 games in his career, six of them in Roland Garros in the current tournament. Tactically, Nadal did as expected: Ruud was given many opportunities to use his backhand. However, with the individual shots there is little time for this. In any case, the 23-year-old remained harmless from the backhand corner. It was all the more important that Ruud parried two breakballs from Nadal at the start of set two.
Ruud cannot use the lead
Lo and behold: Nadal had a brief effect, gave up his service game to make it 1: 3. The prompt rebreak restored the old order. Nadal followed up to make it 4: 3, which also meant the decision in set two. 6: 3, 6: 3 after another break and 102 minutes played.
Nadal and Ruud had never met on the ATP tour before the final match in Paris, but after the Norwegian had also been training at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor on Mallorca for several years, there was some experience. Which Nadal, who celebrated his 36th birthday two days before the final, made better use of with all his routine.
Nadal took a bathroom break, came back in fresh clothes. And got the serve from Ruud again to make it 2-0. The third break in a row. The fourth followed immediately - and of course that was it in terms of excitement. But from the middle of the second act, it only consisted of how quickly Rafael Nadal would be able to raise his arms as champion for the 14th time in Roland Garros. After eleven games won in a row.
He did so after a playing time of 2:17 hours. As a king in the square that the king in the stands applauded.
Here the individual tableau in Roland Garros
rgmap