Nadal equal with Fed for slams after another French Open victory

THE 2020 French Open featured new dates, new balls and a new roof, but still the same old men’s singles champion as Rafael Nadal claimed a remarkable 13th trophy at Roland Garros to draw level with his great rival Roger Federer on 20 grandslam titles.

Nadal had expressed concern two weeks ago about the unique challenges he faced in Paris this year, yet still he ended the tournament without dropping a single set in seven matches. The Spaniard saved the best for last yesterday ( Sunday), comfortably seeing off his arch- nemesis Novak Djokovic 6- 0, 6- 2, 7- 5.

Fittingly, Nadal’s victory against Djokovic marks a milestone 100th win overall in 102 matches at Roland Garros.

Federer referred to Nadal as his greatest rival, saying it was an honour to congratulate the Spaniard on pulling level with him for grandslam titles. He said that Nadal’s 13 French Open wins was one of the great achievements in sport.

Nadal now takes over the mantle of favourite to be considered the greatest male player of all time, whenever the last member of the “big three” turns off the lights.

“I would love to finish my career being the player with more grandslams,” Nadal said. “There is no doubt about that. In terms of these records, of course I care. I am a big fan of the history of sport in general. I respect that a lot. For me it means a lot to share this number with Roger. But let’s see what’s going on when we finish our careers. I don’t know what can happen in the future. I am just excited.”