PARIS: The Spaniard Rafael Nadal has ended his Norwegian opponent Casper Ruud’s dream run as he defeated the latter in the final to lift his 14th French Open title, here on Sunday.
In a one-sided final, 36-year-old Nadal won 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 to end Ruud’s hopes of becoming the first Norwegian to win the major title.
Nadal started off the proceedings in a rush as he quickly pulled ahead 2-0. Ruud, on the other hand, also responded and sealed the third game to cut the lead only for Nadal to claim the fourth and restored his lead to 3-1.
The Spaniard then dominated Ruud, who trained at the former’s academy in Manacor since 2018, and claimed the first set 6-3.
There was a glimmer of hope for the Norwegian as he pulled ahead in the second set after breaking 3-1. Nadal, however, roared back with a double break for 4-3. Ruud, then saved three points in the ninth game but his double faulty resulted in Nadal claiming the second straight set.
Nadal, fuelled with momentum, did not look back in the third set as he completely stole the show by claiming the set 6-0, which concluded in just 30 minutes.
With his French Open triumph, Nadal has now claimed the title 14th time and extended his Grand Slam record to 22 victories, leaving his rivals Novak Djokovic (20) and Roger Federer (20) behind.
It is pertinent to mention here that Nadal, 36, has also become the oldest French Open winner as he surpassed Andre Gimeno, who achieved the feat at an age of 34.
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