New Delhi: Rafael Nadal defeated Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 Sunday to win his record-extending 14th French Open title. With this win, the 36-year-old became the oldest French Open men's singles champion and extended his own record for a 22nd men's singles grand slam title. Nadal was 19-years-old when he won his first French Open title on this day in 2005, 17 years earlier. He also became the only male player in tennis history to win 22 Grand Slams. Nadal is ahead of legends Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer in terms of winning the most Grand Slams. Switzerland's Roger Federer and Serbia's Novak Djokovic are joint second in terms of winning most Grand Slams as both have won 20 Grand Slam titles each.
During his French Open 2022 campaign, Nadal defeated four top 10 ranked players (number nine Felix Auger-Aliassime in the fourth round, number one Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals, number three Alexander Zverev in the semifinals and number eight Rudd in the final). Federer has been away from Tennis for a long time due to leg injury, while 'unvaccinated' Djokovic could not play in the Australian Open due to Covid-19 vaccination controversy.
Rafael Nadal had a walkover against Germany's Alexander Zverev in the French Open semi-finals at a time when the match was at a very exciting juncture. Nadal won the first set. But the second set was tied at 6-6. On the other hand, Kasper Rudd had defeated Croatia's Marin Cilic 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 in the semi-finals.