Blockbuster final: Djokovic vs Nadal
PARIS (AFP) – Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal meet for the 56th time today in a Roland Garros final blockbuster with history on the line for both men.
World number one Djokovic is chasing an 18th Grand Slam title and a second French Open which would make him the first man in half a century to win all four
Slams twice.
Defending champion Nadal, the world number two, can win a 13th Roland Garros and 20th major which would tie the alltime men's record held by Roger Federer.
Victory would also give the 34year-old Spaniard a 100th match win in Paris against just two defeats in 15 years.
One of those losses came against Djokovic in the 2015 quarter-finals, the last time the pair clashed on the crushed red brick surface of Court Philippe Chatrier.
Djokovic, 33, has a 29-26 edge over Nadal in their long-running rivalry.
He has won 14 of their last 18 meetings and the last three at the Slams.
However, the pair's most recent three matches on clay have all gone Nadal's way with Djokovic's last victory on the dirt coming in the Rome quarter-finals four years ago.
At the French Open, Nadal has a 6-1 advantage, including wins in the 2012 and 2014 finals.
''This is the house of Rafa,'' said
Djokovic, describing facing the Spaniard on clay as the sport's ''biggest challenge.”
Nadal is cautious of reading too much into his smooth progress in Paris or his overall 17-7 clay court record over Djokovic.
''Different circumstances, different kind of tournament and different situation,'' said Nadal ahead of their ninth clash in a Grand Slam final.
Meanwhile, Polish teenager Iga Swiatek won her country's first Grand Slam singles title as she defeated American fourth seed Sofia Kenin 6-4, 6-1 to become the youngest women's French Open champion since 1992.
The 19-year-old Swiatek, at 54 the lowest-ranked woman to capture the Roland Garros title in the modern era, is the ninth first-time major champion in the past 14 Grand Slams.
"It had to be that another underdog won a Grand Slam in women's tennis. It is so often right now that it is crazy," said Swiatek, who captured her first tour title in the process.