By Rafael Nadal went down on his knees, pumped his fists and lit the Philippe Chatrier court with a smile that sang, ‘I’m home’.
The 34-year-old, who outplayed top seeded Novak Djokovic 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 in two hours and 41 minutes, reeled during a racket filled with records — a century of wins at Roland Garros, 13 French Open crowns and therefore the epic, equalling Roger Federer’s haul of 20 slam titles.
The 34-year-old, who outplayed top seeded Novak Djokovic 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 in two hours and 41 minutes, reeled during a racket filled with records — a century of wins at Roland Garros, 13 French Open crowns and therefore the epic, equalling Roger Federer’s haul of 20 slam titles.
Nadal pointed at the court, the foremost significant rostrum of his career. He called it a romance . A man, a city, a court.
Nadal, a champion on and off the court, sent out words of encouragement to people round the world. “We face one among the worst moments,” he said of the pandemic, “just keep going, stay positive. Together we’ll get through this, we’ll beat the virus.”
The World No. 1, said: “Today you a showed why you’re king of the clay… i used to be definitely overplayed by a far better player.” Nadal didn’t bolt off the blocks, the legendary left-hander took ownership of the court.
He used its dimensions like only he can. He played deep and tossed high balls to the Serbian’s backhand. The Spaniard, who had just two unforced errors, delivered a bagel during a set, where the Serb won only 10 points on serve.
Djokovic got on the scoreboard after almost an hour on court, fighting off three breakpoints within the first game of the second set.
The Serb, who came into the ultimate , heading the list for many Tour-level match-wins in 2020 at 37 victories – his only defeat coming at the US Open, when he was defaulted in his match against Pablo Carreno Busta. No player had won a point against the planet No. 1 until Sunday.
In the title round, Djokovic, whose play revolves around a cutting sharpness, appeared a tad dull and out of step. It might’ve just been Nadal in his den.
In the controlled conditions of the Philippe Chatrier court, with the roof rolled over, Nadal was an architect at work, constructing points, opening the court before shutting his opponent out.
In the third set, Nadal had to dig deep to carry serve in his first two games. Djokovic He staved off an opportunity point within the third game to carry serve. Nadal broke at love within the fifth game, but the Serb returned together with his first break of the match to level at 3-3.
Nadal, walking the tightrope, broke within the 11th game when the Serb double-faulted on breakpoint and served out the championship at love, finishing with an ace.
