Tumaini Carayol was there to see history happen once more. Here’s his report from Roland Garros.
Yash Gupta makes a great point: “Best part about this win is Rafa may not have won this title seven years ago with physical issues. Maybe he won it because of experience or last dance, sort of. But these last two titles truly are special.”
Rafa Nadal speaks, and breaking news, there’s no announcement of his retirement.
Merci, merci beaucoup. First of all, Casper, it’s a real pleasure to play with you a final here in Roland Garros. You are great. I want to congatulate you for an amazing career you are having.
Especially these two weeks, I think it is a very important step forward. I am very very happy for you and your family and your team. I wish you all the very best for the future.
I have to follow with my team, my family, everybody. It is completely amazing, the things that are happening this year.
I can thank you very very much for all the things you are doing with me and did over all of the years. Without you none of this would be possible. For me personally it is very tough to describe the feelings that I have, it’s something I never believed I would be here at 36 being competitive, one more final. it means everything to keep going.
I don’t know what can happen in the future but I am going to keep fighting to try to keep going, so thank you!
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Up comes Nadal, to chat to Billie-Jean, and lift the trophy for the 14th time. There’s a huge smile on his face, and then a meekness of sorts descends. The world’s greatest tennis player is a shy character. Then comes the Spanish national anthem.
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Billie-Jean King, recently awarded the legion d’honneur by Emmanuel Macron, and the winner of the women’s singles in 1972, carries out the awards. The runner-up, Casper Ruud, gets to speak to the crowd. Big chants of “Ruud” as he does so.
The first thing, the most important thing, is to congratulate Rafa. It’s the 14th time, your 22nd. We all know what a champion you are. Today I got to feel what it is to play you in a final. I’m not the first victim, there have been many before. We all hope you will continue for some time....Hopefully next year I can learn some French, and I will try. I can’t wait to come back. Thank you and merçi.
Nadal looks a bit creaky, as he sits down to sign the camera with a pen. That took a lot out of him. Today was easy enough but there’s been some epic tennis played on the way to his 14th title at Roland Garros.
Nadal makes his way to see his family and friends, and as some tasteful French dance music plays, poor Casper Ruud sits in quiet reflection. That was a punishing loss, though he will always have that brief moment in the second set when he was matching the great man punch for punch.
Nadal wins his 14th French Open, beating Ruud in three sets
Nadal 6-3 6-3 6-0 Ruud
A winner down the line takes it to 0-30, and Ruud has no answer to history, to the greatest player of all. Still, the great man shows his humanity by netting when a forehand winner was going begging. He gets a bit of luck, coming off the net cord, to land a championship point, two of them in fact. Nadal goes long for the first off a slow first serve. And then, off the backhand, chasing up the court, he makes it 14, a fine way to sign off. That’s 14, it’s also 22 grand slams.
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*Nadal 6-3 6-3 5-0 Ruud
Nadal crunches home from the net for 15-0, and a then his serve forces Ruud into an error. Tim Henman tells us that the five Nadal mistakes in this set are the only five points Ruud has won. That’s a cruel statistic. He gets a sixth, again from a Nadal error for 3-15. But then Nadal reads the service return and volleys home his latest winner. Then Ruud hits the ball out. A tenth game in succession and the 14th coronation of King Rafa is just a few points away.
Nadal 6-3 6-3 4-0 Ruud*
Peter van Balen gets in touch: “As Real Madrid won their 14th Champions League (and its predecessor) this year, it’s no surprise that Nadal, a Real fan, wins his 14th Roland Garros.”
They have a very similar will to win, or rather, belief they will win. Nadal meanwhile chases down the ball and gets to 0-30. Then 0-40, with a thrashing backhand. And, sadly once more, Ruud misses at the net, a sitter. This is getting painful. Nine in a row.
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*Nadal 6-3 6-3 3-0 Ruud
Some signs of life from Ruud, who wins a fine rally with a low, passing backhand. That takes it to 15-30, but just as Ruud seems to have upped the ante, Nadal wins a long rally bu surging forward, opening up the court and drilling home. And does the same to go 40-30 up, relentless when the ball sits up for him. And then, sadly, Ruud makes a horrible mess of a drop volley. Nadal holds, his eight game in a row. Too good, but Ruud is losing heart. His best is getting him nowhere near.
Nadal 6-3 6-3 2-0 Ruud*
For some reason, a Parisian brass band is playing the Addams Family tune. “They do what they want to do, say what they want to say. live how they want to live, play how they want to play. Dance how they want to dance, kick and they slap a friend. The Addams family.” As MC Hammer once had it. Can those actually be the lyrics? Insert “horror show” metaphor for Ruud. Once again, he is tempted to hit the ball out of play and he is serving at 30-30. A net cord spins upwards and into the path of Nadal, who crashes the ball home for a break point chance. That’s snaffled up, a lofted baseline hit from Ruud playing into Nadal’s hands. That’s seven games in a row. The end is already in sight.
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*Nadal 6-3 6-3 1-0 Ruud
After a brief comfort break, we get underway, as Ruud attempts to climb the northern summit of K2 in coming back to beat Nadal 3-2. Good luck, Casper. He may have to do better with his habit of hitting the ball out of play. It results in an easy hold for Nadal. And now the pressure is on Ruud’s service.
Jota Jony gets in touch: “It always comes down to believe. Ruud has the quality. Nobody surely envisaged Nadal overturning a double deficit versus world no 1, Medvedev?. It isn’t impossible Casper could cause Nadal a few things to think about.”
Nadal takes the second set 6-3
Nadal races to the net and angles back a volley for 15-15. Then Ruud, having failed to put away Nadal, goes far too long. He’s being strangled here by Nadal’s energy and experience. Nadal, coming in from the back of the court, sets up two set points and bullies home a forehand. A good serve saves the first of them. And another takes it to deuce, well done, Ruud...but then comes a missed forehand and a further set point. The next one is saved by some clubbing forehands, and Nadal misses what would have been an impossible winner. And then comes one that goes in, Ruud seeming to have it all wrapped up, only for Nadal to read it, and use the ball’s speed to take another break point chance. A double fault hands over the set. Ruud coming back from this would be the greatest story ever told.
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*Nadal 6-3 5-3 Ruud
Nadal is ruthless, going to 40-0 by sending Ruud all over the place. And then an ace gets the job done to love.
Nadal 6-3 4-3 Ruud*
A crucial game, this. Nadal applauds a fine shot that takes Ruud to 15-0. And then tempts Ruud into a backhand miss for 15-15. Then comes a Ruud error for 30-30, though he rights himself by doggedly staying at the net to smash away a series of Nadal attempts to stay in the point. He’s a little unlucky when a backhand spins off the net cord. Nadal grabs a break point by blamming the ball cross-court. Then Ruud misses a lob when chasing down the ball, and James Keothavong, the ump, Hackney’s finest tennis ref, rules it out. A big break for Nadal.
*Nadal 6-3 3-3 Ruud
That’s the thing about Nadal, he recovers so quickly from bad moments. A sliced, nudged backhand takes him to 40-0. Then a serve skids beyond Ruud’s ken, and the pressure is back on the Norwegian.
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Nadal 6-3 2-3 Ruud*
Ruud’s determination is winning the day now, and he chases harder to level at 15-15. But then the high ball catches out the Norwegian, and a break point to Nadal soon comes. He takes it, too, after keeping Ruud pinned on the baseline. Nadal punches the air in delight.
*Nadal 6-3 1-3 Ruud
Ruud suddenly gets to 0-30, with Nadal looking a bit spooked. Even more so as Ruud wins a rally on his backhand, three break points. Hello hello. And then comes a double. Broken to love, and seven successive points to Ruud, to whom the crowd is warming.
Nadal 6-3 1-2 Ruud*
Ruud’s way back in is his forehand, and it takes him to 30-15, then Nadal overhits from the baseline. The “Ruud” chant is going up a bit now, especially as the Norwegian climbs up to volley home to hold again.
Diana gets in touch: “I am knitting blanket squares.This is a good way to manage stress while I follow your updates- being unwilling to pay to watch.”
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*Nadal 6-3 1-1 Ruud
Nadal chases down a drop volley to go 30-0, then thrashes a backhand home for 40-0. But Ruud skates in to retrieve a drop, only for Nadal to skip up and punish the ball to take the game, and hold his serve.
Nadal 6-3 0-1 Ruud*
That first set took 51 minutes, and the longer it goes on the more Ruud may fancy it, though he soon enough coughs up two break points, and with another error. But then Nadal misses a backhand overhead with the court begging. He also misses a winner to go to deuce, but Nadal is getting plenty of chances now. It doesn’t help when Ruud shovels a backhand wide, though he saves the latest break point by charging forward to finish. Then a drop shot catches Nadal unawares. And Ruud makes sure he hold. That’s a big, big hold.
Nadal takes the first set 6-3
Ruud’s error hands over the first point. Then Nadal miscues himself. Ruud opens up the court and blams a forehand home. 15-30, and pressure on Nadal. The next serve is not returnable. Nadal fidgets away before the next serve, and Ruud’s failure to return it sets up set point. When Ruud can only hit the umpire’s chair with his service return the deal is sealed.
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Nadal 5-3 Ruud*
New balls, and a fine first point for Ruud, then a brutal point from mid-court to go to 30-0 up. Then Nadal stuns the ball dead with a backhand volley. Ruud does similar to go 40-15 up, chasing up to the net. Nadal tries for a winner, and misses, and must now serve for the first set.
*Nadal 5-2 Ruud
To go to 40-0 up on his serve, the Nadal forehand thrashes a winner down the line. But then misses the next. And the next, with Ruud starting to get some joy on his supposedly weaker backhand. Ruud takes Nadal to the wire at game point, making his chase down the ball but he makes it, and takes the game, and a commanding lead in the first set.
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Nadal 4-2 Ruud*
Nadal’s forehand is in working order, and wins the first point. Hugh Grant and Michael Douglas are caught in the crowd. A drop shot from Ruud catches Nadal out for 30-15 but then Nadal whips a passing shot back from whence it came. But when he chases a winner, he misses down the line and Ruud holds his serve for the first time.
*Nadal 4-1 Ruud
Nadal’s turn to try and hold, and he gets himself to 40-0 in typical style, out-running Ruud on the third point. The Norwegian comes to the net to strike back for 40-15, but the Nadal serve gets the job done. Neither player at their best but Nadal better equipped to ride out the setbacks.
Nadal 3-1 Ruud*
Ruud needs to hold his own serve, but fails to do so. He loses out on the first rally, then wins the second by disguising his winner. The third point sees him wildly miss the court, and 15-30 is a glimmer for Nadal. But then he nets when the ball seems to have sat up for him to thrash home. Then Ruud shows Nadal how’s it’s done, 40-30, only for him to make a mess of a backhand. Another error presents a break point to Nadal, and he takes it when forcing Ruud to hit from deep, and he can’t get over the net.
*Nadal 2-1 Ruud
Break back! Nerves for the great man Nadal misjudges a forehand to level up at 15-15. Then comes a double fault, only his 13th of the entire tournament. Then comes another, a 14th, and two break point. Then Ruud overhits the first. The serve is still wobbly for Nadal, and on the second serve he can only net his return of Ruud’s return. Hello there.
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Nadal 2-0 Ruud*
An early break. Nadal takes the first point by skidding a drop shot home. A decent serve catches him out for 15-15, Then, after Ruud seems to have the upper hand, he is played into a position from which he can only net. Then two overheads grab two break points for Nadal. Rudd saves the first with a top-spun forehand. And then, an incredible winner from Nadal takes the break, from the baseline his passing shot, at speed, thunders home.
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*Nadal 1-0 Ruud
And away we go, with Nadal throwing first and winning the first point off a short rally. Then comes a drop shot that Ruud cannot return. The Norwegian gets his first point when Nadal goes long after a lengthy baseline rally. A backhand crasher wins the first game for Nadal.
The knock-up begins, and so does talk that this could Nadal’s last ever match.
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Nadal comes out, jigging up and down in his neon trackie top, and that sends out Ruud to meet the crowd, who give him warm if not exactly effusive applause. Nadal does one last check of his crown jewels and then heads out to pretty loud applause. It’s hardly the New Den, though, as this is Roland Garros on finals Sunday. Perhaps the audience will rattle their jewellery later as it gets more exciting.
The players are in the tunnel, Ruud pacing up and down, full of nervous energy, and Nadal is making him wait.
John McEnerney: “Casper has the toughest test in not just tennis but sport beating Rafa in RG! If the duct tape holds up Rafa in 4. Hopefully the occasion won’t get to Ruud & he’ll give Terminator 21 a run for his money.”
Gary Naylor’s been living the Good Life: “Ah yes. Jerry and Margo would be in immaculate kit, Jerry a little embarrassed by Margo’s dubious calling. Tom would use an old Maxply Fort to throw in the odd kick serve to show he could play once. And Barbara? ‘Miss Joan Hunter Dunn, Miss Joan Hunter Dunn...’”
El Rey gets in touch, and makes some good points, saying: “Ruud has sounded very relaxed and zen about this match.”
- He’s played sets against Nadal in Mallorca
- He’s won the most on clay the last year or so
- He’s young and uninjured
- Nadal was not looking like a sure thing against Zverev
- Nadal’s foot or ribs could come into play
“If Ruud plays fearlessly, he could shock the world. Then the papers can come out with headlines like ‘A Ruud Awakening!’.”
All sound logic, and not beyond the realms of possibility.
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After her defeat to Iga Swiatek yesterday, Coco Gauff lost again in a French Open final, this time in three sets in the women’s doubles. Her partnership with Jessica Pegula was defeated by Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic.
2016 🏆
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 5, 2022
2022 🏆@CaroGarcia and @KikiMladenovic are champions in Paris once again, overcoming Gauff/Pegula 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/VbBHVEyFjn
Casper Ruud actually trained at Nadal’s tennis academy - like watching David Beckham play competitively against Bobby Charlton - and now he faces his idol. Some quotes from the official Roland Garros site, including mention of his expertise on clay, on which surface he’s won seven titles, which makes him the most on-form player on that surface.
He’s the last player of the ‘Big Three’ and the very, very top players in the world I have never faced. I guess this is perfect timing and it was worth the wait. To finally play him in a Grand Slam final will be a special moment for me. Hopefully a little bit for him as well. He has played so many finals, but at least he’s playing a student from his academy this time. It’s going to be a fun one, hopefully.
“For me, I don’t know what to say, I just feel a little bit more comfortable on it, moving around and, in a way, it just kind of suits my game better. I like the fight, the hustle, and just everything about the clay. Of course it’s physically tough. You will usually play some long rallies, but I like it.
Tumaini Carayol, our man in Paris, previewed the men’s final.
This could not be a more difficult task for Casper Ruud, the first Norwegian man to reach a grand slam final. Nadal is Ruud’s idol, which has led to Ruud spending his last few years based at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor. While they have trained together many times there, Ruud has never faced Nadal in a match. He will not only have to emotionally adapt to playing in a grand slam final for the first time but to also staring down the legend across the net.
An even bigger obstacle for Ruud, though, is that he plays a lesser style inspired by Nadal, centred around heavy topspin forehands and steadfast consistency. Ruud had a pleasant draw in the bottom half, his highest-ranked opponent being the No 12 seed, Hubert Hurkacz, and this will be the most difficult challenge of his career.
Plucky Brit corner, the pluckiest of Brits in fact, Sir Andrew himself, who lost in the semis at Surburbiton, home of Tom, Barbara, Jerry and Margo.
Preamble
History awaits on Philippe Chatrier. Whatever happens. In Rafa Nadal’s case, it’s the extension of his dominance of this tournament, a command that no man - or woman - has matched. Nadal and Roland Garros go together like gin and tonic, light and bitter, cheese and onion, and he has made some fine players look ordinary on that court. Novak Djokovic, one of the three modern greats, was robotic, jerky, restricted in the epic quarter-final they played this week. Had Sasha Zverev’s ankle not exploded on Friday, then maybe Nadal might not be here though he had already denied the German set points and was pushing towards a second when the end came.
Against him comes Casper Ruud, a first ever Norwegian men’s grand slam finalist, though one who put away Marin Cilic in the semi in some style. Ruud is a clay specialist, and at 23, has reached a major final where some of his more vaunted contemporaries have struggled in these days of late-stage tennis superheroes. Nadal, 36 just on Friday, is hobbling on one foot, has the knees of a retired coal miner, and can occasionally wobble. And yet, he’s Rafael Nadal, going for his 22nd grand slam, which would take him beyond his great rivals, meaning Djokovic, 35 himself, will have to win three more to surpass the Spaniard. Semi-retired Roger Federer is on 20, too.
So then, history. They will serve the first point around 2pm UK time.
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