World No 5 Rafael Nadal clinched his 14th French Open title and a record-extending 22nd Grand Slam trophy after beating Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 in the final of the tournament, here on Sunday.
By earning a 22nd Grand Slam crown, the Spaniard has moved further clear of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer in the Grand Slam race, with the Serbian and Swiss tied on 20 major titles.
It is the first time Nadal has won the Australian Open and Roland Garros trophies in the same season and he is now level with countryman Carlos Alcaraz on a Tour-leading four titles in 2022 after improving to 112-3 at the clay-court major.
In front of a raucous crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier, the 36-year-old produced an intense and aggressive first-set performance, hitting his forehand with heavy topspin to outmanoeuvre the Norwegian and move ahead.
After making a slow start to the second set, the Spaniard rallied from 1-3 by returning to basics. He hung in points, won the longer exchanges and produced an array of stunning passing shots off both wings to take further control, before racing clear in the third set to secure another memorable victory after two hours and 20 minutes.
Nadal, who will rise to No 4 in the ATP Rankings on Monday, moved past Top 10 stars Felix Auger-Aliassime, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev to set a first ATP Head to Head meeting with World No 8 Ruud.
Following his triumph over the Norwegian, the Spaniard has become the third player to earn four Top 10 wins at a Grand Slam since the ATP Rankings started in 1973. Mats Wilander at Roland Garros in 1982 and Roger Federer at the Australian Open in 2017 also achieved the feat.
More Paris heartbreak for Gauff as Mladenovic, Garcia win doubles
French pair Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic recovered from a set down to beat Americans Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula 2-6 6-3 6-2 on Sunday and lift the French Open women’s doubles title for the second time. For Gauff, it was a second final defeat in less than 24 hours, after the 18-year-old lost in straight sets by top seed Iga Swiatek in Saturday’s singles final.
Garcia and Mladenovic won the title in 2016 and for the latter it was a fourth women’s doubles crown at Roland Garros after also triumphing in 2019 and 2020 with Timea Babos.
She now has six major doubles titles including the Australian Open in 2018 and 2020. The Americans, who had lost only one set en route to the final, were broken at the start but quickly recovered to race into a 3-1 lead. Mladenovic sunk a volley into the net to give them a 4-2 advantage and another break put Gauff and Pegula in control, sealing the set when Garcia sailed a forehand long on the second set point.
The French duo, playing their second tournament together this season after reuniting and losing in the second round at the Australian Open, fought back to go 4-0 up in the second and they secured it with a Mladenovic smash.
Gauff, the youngest doubles finalist in Paris in 21 years, could do nothing to stop their opponents’ run as the French earned two early breaks to storm to a 4-0 lead. They clinched victory with a Garcia smash on their third match point.