20 June 5, 2022The Sunday Times
Tennis French Open
surprise split of his parents, Sebastian
and Ana Maria, which broke up this
close Mallorcan family unit. “The
news left me stunned,” he later wrote
in his autobiography. “My parents
were the pillar of my life and that pil-
lar had crumbled.”
Revenge over Soderling in the 2010
final helped him to reassert his
French Open dominance. This was
important as Novak Djokovic was
beginning to show signs that he could
become a threat in Paris. After once
again beating Federer to win in 2011,
he got the better of Djokovic en route
to the title in the next three years. In
2014 he broke down in tears when the
Spanish national anthem was played.
“When you’re on the podium, then
there is the national anthem and the
public is there to support you, to
cheer your name on this huge court
with so many people, of course you
are overwhelmed with emotion,”
Nadal said.2017-2020: GOLDEN OLDIE
With nine French Open titles, it
seemed inevitable that Nadal
would complete an achieve-
ment billed by the
2019
bt Thiem
6–3, 5–7,
6–1, 6–12018
bt Dominic
Thiem
(Austria)
6–4, 6–3,
6–22017
bt Stan
Wawrinka
(Switz)
6–2, 6–3, 6–12013
bt David
Ferrer (Sp)
6–3, 6–2, 6–32012
bt Novak
Djokovic
(Serbia)
6–4, 6–3,
2–6, 7–52010
bt Robin
Soderling
(Swe)
6–4, 6–2,
6–42006
bt Roger
Federer
(Switz) 1–6,
6–1, 6–4, 7–6
(7-4)2011
bt
Federer
7–5, 7–6
(7-3),
5–7, 6–12007
bt Federer
6–3, 4–6,
6–3, 6–42008
bt Federer
6–1, 6–3, 6–02005
bt Mariano
Puerta (Arg)
6–7 (6-8), 6–3,
6–1, 7–52014
bt Djokovic
3–6, 7–5,
6–2, 6–413 FRENCH
OPEN FINALS,
13 VICTORIES6 1, 612020
bt Djokovic
6–0, 6–2,
7–5THE NADAL SUPREMACY
Spanish press as “La Decima”. Then
in 2016, concerns emerged about his
future when he suddenly withdrew
from the tournament before his third-
round match because of a worrying
wrist injury. At the age of 30, it
seemed that he was fast running out of
time to win again at the sport’s most
gruelling grand-slam tournament.
But as has been the case through-
out his career, Nadal’s fighting spirit
knows no bounds. The tenth triumph
in 2017 kickstarted a run of four
straight French Open titles in his thir-
ties, including a dominant straight-
sets win over Djokovic in the 2020
final. Now, two days after his 36th
birthday, he is on the cusp of becom-
ing the oldest men’s singles champion
in French Open history despite his dif-
ficulties with a chronic foot problem
in recent weeks.
“This period is a different perspec-
tive for him to the beginning of his
career,” Moya said. “Fifteen-to-16
years ago, he was a different player,
with fresh legs helping him run every-
where. We don’t have that any more.
But he has evolved and become wiser
on the court, he knows the game bet-
ter now. To me, beating these records
with longevity like this is something
you rarely see in any sport, and he has
been able to do that.”‘At 36, he is on the
cusp of becoming
the oldest men’s
champion in French
Open history’Nadal shows no
signs of losing
his edge at
Roland Garros
and beat
Djokovic again
en route to
today’s finalSpaniard can add to Paris
legend with 14th French
Open title by defeating
Casper Ruud
Australian Open 2021
Previous best French
Open performance
Third round, 2019,
2020 and 2021
Strength Heavy top
spin is perfect for clay
Weakness His serve
is underwhelming at
this level2005: BOY WONDER
When an 18-year-old Rafael Nadal
arrived in Paris, he was by no means
some unknown entity, already ranked
No 5 in the world after winning three
straight tournaments in Monte Carlo,
Barcelona and Rome. Unlike most of
his fellow teenage competitors, how-
ever, he had unusually never before
played at Roland Garros as a junior
because of his team’s decision to focus
on professional tournaments from an
early age.
Quickly, it became clear that he had
no issue adjusting to the surround-
ings. He dropped only one set en
route to the semi-finals before claim-
ing an emotional four-set win over the
world No 1, Roger Federer. In the final,
he battled back from a set down
against Argentina’s Mariano Puerta to
become the first man to win the
French Open on his debut since Mats
Wilander in 1982.
“Even though he hadn’t won a
French Open before, he was still the
favourite,” Carlos Moya, Nadal’s
present coach and the former world
No 1, told the Sunday Times yesterday.
“Nobody expected then that he
would go on and win 12 more and now
have the chance to win No 14, but the
first one was really important. It gave
him the mentality to know that he was
capable of winning more.”
2006-2008: FED BASHING
This is the period in which Nadal bru-
tally stamped his authority over Fed-
Stuart Fraser
Tennis Correspondent, Paris
erer on clay. Another four-set win in
2006 was the first of three straight vic-
tories over his Swiss rival in the final.
In 2007, Federer had claimed his first
success on clay over Nadal in Ham-
burg, but his hopes of doing the same
a month later at Roland Garros were
again dashed in four sets.
The 2008 final was arguably the
most mentally crushing defeat Fed-
erer has ever experienced at the
hands of Nadal, losing 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 in
one hour and 48 minutes.
Years later, Nadal’s former coach
and uncle, Toni, revealed that this was
key in planting the seeds of doubt in
Federer’s mind before their famous
rematch at Wimbledon four weeks
later. “When you beat Roger so easily,
you think it is more possible to do it at
Wimbledon,” Toni said.
Moya, who lost to Nadal in straight
sets in the 2007 quarter-finals, agrees
that this run of wins over Federer was
indeed pivotal.
“It seems such a long time ago now,
but every single victory he has had is a
part of history and part of building
him to develop as a player,” he said. “It
makes him who he is right now. But
beating Roger three times in a row, of
course, is something else.”2010-2014: REBOUND RUN
Reverberations had swept around the
sporting world in 2009 when Nadal
lost to Sweden’s Robin Soderling in
the fourth round, his first-ever defeat
in 32 matches at Roland Garros. This
turned out to be a very challenging
year. Tendinitis in both of his knees
forced him to pull out of Wimbledon
and he was left heartbroken by theNationality Norwegian
Age 23
World ranking 8
Previous best grand-
slam performance
Fourth round,WHO IS
CASPER RUUD?Nadal said.20 17- 2020 : GO
With nine Frenc
seemed inevit
would com
mentON TV
(5) Nadal v
(8) Ruud
Not before
2pm,
Eurosport 1CLIVE BRUNSKILL