French Open 2022: 3 things that stood out in Rafael Nadal's win over Casper Ruud
Fifth seed Rafael Nadal beat eighth seed Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 to win his 14th French Open title in Paris on Sunday. The 36-year-old Nadal has now won 22 Grand Slam titles, two more than any other man in the history of the sport.
Make it 14 🧡
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Playing in his maiden Grand Slam final, Ruud fought hard but was no match for the King of Clay, who became the oldest man to win the French Open.
Here are three factors that stood out in the 2022 Roland Garros final:
#1 Nadal started putting pressure on Ruud’s backhand from the start
Nadal started off in great fashion, breaking Ruud in the second game of the first set. While the Norwegian broke back to reduce the deficit, the Spaniard managed to get another break and then held his serve to lead 4-1 in the first set. The Spaniard went on to clinch the set 6-3.
As expected, the World No. 5 kept playing crosscourt forehands, his bread-and-butter shot, to Ruud’s backhand and the Norwegian struggled to hold his own in the long rallies from the baseline. The 36-year-old also played deep to push Ruud behind the baseline frequently.
While Ruud ventured forward on a number of occasions and also hit quite a few forehand winners, the Norwegian could not hit a single winner off his backhand in the first set. Nadal and Ruud finished with 11 and eight winners in the first set, respectively.
#2 Nadal stopped Ruud's attempt at a comeback in the second set
Ruud got off to a good start in the second set by breaking Nadal to take a 3-1 lead. However, the Spaniard raised his level significantly to win five consecutive games and take the set 6-3.
The Norwegian kept moving forward in the second set as well, but Nadal came up with some brilliant passing shots. The veteran Spaniard also started utilizing his crosscourt backhand to good effect in the second set and managed to hit quite a few winners that way.
Ruud kept trying to attack with his forehand, but Nadal’s superb defense ensured that the Spaniard won the majority of the points. Moreover, Ruud could only win 25% of the points off his second serve in the second set. The Mallorcan also hit 12 winners against Ruud’s seven in the second set.
#3 A bagel in the third set sealed the title for Nadal
Nadal gave Ruud no chance in the third set and had the upper hand throughout. He started hitting winners from all kinds of positions as Ruud surrendered meekly. The Norwegian hardly put up any resistance in the third set and was broken thrice.
The 14-time Roland Garros champion won 11 consecutive games to clinch yet another title on the red dirt of Paris. He hit a down-the-line backhand winner to finish the match, which lasted around two-and-a-quarter hours.
The Spaniard finished the match with 37 winners against Ruud’s 16. He also committed only 18 unforced errors across three sets.