Nadal Extends Lead Over Ruud In Roland Garros Final

Rafael Nadal has moved to within one set of capturing a historic 14th title at Roland Garros and a record-extending 22nd Grand Slam trophy Sunday, winning the second set to lead Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3 in the final in Paris.

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 after one hour and 42 minutes.

Nadal is trying to become the oldest Roland Garros men’s singles champion in history, surpassing countryman Andres Gimeno, who set the record 50 years ago. If Nadal can improve to 112-3 at the clay-court major and capture his 22nd Grand Slam crown, the Spaniard will move further clear of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer in the Grand Slam race, with the Serbian and Swiss tied on 20 major titles.

Nadal, who will rise to No. 4 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday regardless of the result, has showcased his fighting qualities en route to the final, spending 11 hours and 46 minutes on court in his three previous matches. The fifth seed moved past Top 10 stars Felix Auger-Aliassime, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev to set a first ATP Head2Head meeting with World No. 8 Ruud.

If the Spaniard defeats the Norwegian, he will become just the third player to earn four Top 10 wins at a Grand Slam event since the inception of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in 1973. Mats Wilander at Roland Garros in 1982 and Federer at the Australian Open in 2017 also achieved the feat.

Nadal will draw level with the Carlos Alcaraz on a Tour-leading four titles in 2022 if he improves to 14-0 in Roland Garros finals, having lifted the Australian Open, the Melbourne Summer Set and the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC this year. The Spaniard has never won the Australian Open and Roland Garros titles in the same season.

Ruud, who has trained at Nadal’s academy in Mallorca since September 2018, is playing in his maiden Grand Slam championship match after he overcame Croatian Marin Cilic to improve to 30-9 on the season.

The 23-year-old had never been beyond the fourth round at a major prior to his run in Paris and is the first Norwegian man to reach the championship match at a Grand Slam. Before Ruud, the last Scandinavian male to advance to the final at a major was Swede Robin Soderling at Roland Garros in 2010.

The eight-time tour-level champion, who has earned a Tour-leading 66 match wins on clay since 2020, will rise to a career-high No. 6 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday even with defeat.

Set One

In lively conditions, Nadal immediately flew out of the blocks, forcing Ruud deep behind the baseline with his heavy forehand, which consistently rose above the Norwegian’s shoulders. After breaking for a 2-0 lead, the Spaniard suffered a slight dip in his second service game, double faulting twice, to give Ruud the opportunity to move onto the scoreboard, which he took. However, Nadal responded quickly by breaking again and continuing to fire his forehand with precision and power, hitting 11 winners to once again take the lead in a Roland Garros final.

Set Two

Ruud turned the tables at the start of the second set, though, raising his level and intensity to force Nadal into errors, with the Norwegian striking his watertight groundstrokes through the court. However, from 1-3 behind, Nadal quickly rediscovered his best level. He cut down on errors and demonstrated great footwork to start to dictate on his forehand once again.

The Norwegian tried to take the match to Nadal, but the fifth seed started to have all the answers. The 36-year-old scrambled around the baseline to force Ruud into hitting another shot, before he pushed the World No. 8 deep into the backhand corner with his own power, rolling off five games in a row to move to within one set of victory.