Rafael Nadal is the toast of the tennis world and the sports fraternity after overcoming severe physical obstacles to win the French Open 2022 men's singles title. Nadal brushed aside the challenge of Casper Ruud in straight sets on Sunday to capture his 14th title at Roland Garros and this extended his record to 22 grand slam titles, two ahead of his primary rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. What must have been satisfying for the Spaniard is the fact that he defeated Djokovic in the quarters to win this title. Nadal had lost to Djokovic in the semi-final last year, which allowed the Serbian to win his 2nd French Open title in 2021.
This is also the first time when Nadal has won both the Australian Open and the French Open in the same year. While both Nadal and Federer have had a long standing rivalry, the mutual respect between the two generational tennis legends is well known.
On Sunday, Federer's current coach and former professional tennis player Ivan Ljubicic wrote on Twitter that the Philippe Chatrier Court at Roland Garros should now be renamed after Nadal.
"Not many PLAYED 14 @rolandgarros tournaments. He won it 14 times. There is no word to describe this feat. Don't think good old Phillippe would mind if his court changes the name to Rafael Nadal - statue is not enough," Ljubicic tweeted.
Nadal is now two Grand Slams ahead of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
The Spaniard had defeated Djokovic in the quarterfinals of the French Open and then he progressed to the final after Alexander Zverev was forced to retire midway during the semi-final.
The 36-year-old has now become the oldest winner at French Open since the 34-year-old Andre Gimeno in 1972.
Nadal had wrapped up the final against Ruud in two hours and 18 minutes, taking his record at the French Open to 112 wins against just three losses.
Nadal has never lost a French Open final, and he made sure that his record remains intact by defeating Casper Ruud on Sunday.
The Spaniard had sealed the final against Ruud with a backhand, his 37th winner of the final.