Nadal seeks strength he no longer thought he had and reigns at Roland Garros for the 14th time

When Gustavo Kuerten took Roland Garros by storm in 1997, at the age of 20, defeating tournament champions like Thomas Muster, Ievguêni Kafelnikov and Sergi Bruguera, there were those who questioned: would the Santa Catarina be capable of reaching the six titles of Björn Borg in the open era – or even Max Decugis’ eight in the amateur phase? It was difficult.

Guga could even have stayed closer if he hadn’t faced the hip problems that shortened his career. Still, his third championship places him in a very prominent place in the history of the Paris Grand Slam. Which makes Rafael Nadal’s obscene 14 cups all the more impressive.

The Spaniard reached the 14th of them this Sunday (5), in a 3-0 win over Norwegian Casper Ruud, with partials of 6/3, 6/3 and 6/0. At 36, he has again lifted the trophy he first lifted at 19, demonstrating a strength he once doubted.

Upon entering the court, the cries of “Nadal! Nadal!” left no doubt about the preference of the majority of the public, as well as the flags of Spain, some with the phrase “Vamos, Rafael!”.

He won a match where he controlled from start to finish. Halfway through the third set, Casper Ruud’s body language was that of giving up. Perhaps because of physical problems, the Spaniard entered the court to decide soon. That is what happened.

“I looked for a level I thought I didn’t have,” said Nadal after his quarter-final triumph over rival Novak Djokovic. A triumph that, even with his almost unbelievable record at the French Open, was considered by many to be unlikely.

Then world ranking leader and title defender, fellow veteran Djokovic, 35, had reached the quarterfinals without having lost a set. And Nadal, with a chronic problem with his left foot, arrived in Paris at the end of a troubled preparation, giving signs that the competition could be his last.

“I would accept losing the final in exchange for a new foot,” he said, half joking, half serious, before the title match.

The game’s night time, in theory, favored the Serbian, since the humidity at night makes the court slower. The Spaniard, a clay genius, likes the court slow, but not so slow as to offer opponents an extended recovery time in the face of his hits. He fought for the match during the day and lost the battle but not the war.

In the first game, he went up and broke Djokovic’s serve. The opening set was decided quickly. The rival showed strength in the second, but it was the injured Rafael, who was coming from a triumph in five sets, who showed himself more whole, excelled even in the physical part and made 3 sets at 1, 6/2, 4/6, 6/ 2 and 7/6 (7/4).

Then, the Mallorcan ace beat German Alexander Zverev – who was injured in the second set after a defeat in the first and saw his attempt to take the lead in the rankings, now from Russian Daniil Medvedev, frustrated – and placed himself again in the decision. Against Ruud, 23, he proved again that, night or day, Roland Garros is his place.

“It’s very exciting. Everyone knows how important it is for me to play here. It’s the most important tournament of my career. The crowd has been wonderful every night since the beginning of the competition”, declared Nadal, who has not built his reign. only on Parisian clay.

With at least a pair of titles in each of the other three championships in the Grand Slam series – two at the Australian Open, four at the US Open and two at the traditional Wimbledon Tournament – ​​he has reached 22 Major circuit cups. No one has won as much, having left behind Djokovic and Swiss Roger Federer, 20 victories each.

Number 22 seemed unreachable for Nadal himself, who was absent from the circuit in August 2021 in an attempt to make the mobility of his left foot acceptable. After a period of crutches, he contracted Covid-19 and, even properly vaccinated, reported difficult days because of the disease in December.

In January, he won the Australian Open, in an unlikely comeback over young Medvedev, 25, taking the isolated lead in Grand Slam triumphs. But there was the asterisk that Djokovic had been prevented from playing in Melbourne, in the competition he had won nine times, for refusing to be vaccinated against the coronavirus – the Serbian made a point of pointing out that.

Then, in Paris, Rafael knocked out the favorite (according to all bookmakers) Novak. And, on his way to the trophy, he achieved a bizarre – hyperbolic adjectives fit – a 97.4% record at Roland Garros. There were 112 victories and only three defeats (two against Djokovic, in 2015 and 2021, and a historic upset against Robin Soderling, in 2009).

Nadal is undoubtedly one of the greats in tennis history. And Roland Garros is undoubtedly his temple.