And no man has won more grand slam titles than Nadal. No man or woman ever has won the singles trophy at any major event more than his 14 in Paris. When this one ended with a down-the-line backhand from Nadal, he chucked his racquet to the red clay he loves so much and covered his face with the taped-up fingers on both of his hands. Nadal is 14-0 in finals at Roland Garros, 112-3 overall. Ruud would later hear folks in the stands do drawn-out pronouncements of his last name, so it sounded as if they might be booing. When the players met at the net for the pre-match coin toss, the first chants of 'Ra-fa! Ra-fa!' rang out in the 15,000-seat stadium.

One of the most indelible memories Ruud will take away from this day was hearing the announcer recite the long list of years Nadal had previously won the French Open: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 20. Norwegian Casper Ruud was a break up in the second set before losing the last 11 games to Rafael Nadal.

The white capri pants that ran below his knees back in the day were long since traded in for more standard shorts the ones he wore on Sunday were turquoise. The chartreuse T-shirt he wore on Sunday had sleeves, unlike his biceps-baring look of nearly two decades ago.

He is the oldest champion in the history of a tournament that began in 1925.

F: Def Casper Ruud (NOR, 8) 6-3, 6-3, 6-0Īt any other tournament, Nadal said, he would not have persisted through what he called such 'extreme conditions'.īut five simple words uttered after he strung together the last 11 games of a 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 victory over an overwhelmed Casper Ruud in Sunday's final at Court Philippe Chatrier explained Nadal's mindset: 'Roland Garros is Roland Garros.'Īnd so even if Nadal, a French Open champion for the 14th time now at age 36, is in obvious ways different from Nadal, a French Open champion for the first time all the way back in 2005 at age 19, that desire to give his all, no matter what, to 'find solutions' - one of his oft-used phrases - remains the same.

Rd 3: Def Botic van de Zandschulp (NED) 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

The pain in Rafael Nadal's left foot has been numbed by multiple injections to two nerves throughout the French Open, the only way he has found to deal with a chronic condition he acknowledges puts his tennis future in doubt.

Rafa french open