Nadal ties Federer with 20th Slam title
PARIS — All the years of work, all the many wins, led to this moment, with RafaelNadal preparing to serve against Novak Djokovic, one point from a 13th French Open championship, one point from a 20th Grand Slam trophy to tie Roger Federer’s record for men.
Nadal swept his right foot along the baseline, clearing away the red dust as he has so many times before. He rapped his shoes’ soles with his racket — right, then left, then right again. He discarded one tennis ball behind him, another in the pocket of his blue shorts.
And then, finally ready to proceed, Nadal delivered an ace to cap a flawless performance and a surprisingly lopsided 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 victory over the No. 1-ranked Djokovic. Nadal dropped to his knees, smiling broadly, and pumped his arms.
Neither Djokovic, on this day, nor Federer, over the course of time, ever truly stood a chance of resisting the relentlessNadal.
“He keeps going. No holding him back, it seems like. It’s amazing. I mean, I admire all his achievements, especially the one here,” said Djokovic, who had won his last five Grand Slam finals.
“There’s not much you can say,” Djokovic said. “All the superlatives that you can use, he deserves them.”
It’s the fourth time the No. 2ranked Nadal won his favorite tournament without ceding a set and made his career mark at the French Open 100-2.
No, that is not a typo.
The 34-year-old left-hander from Spain haswon his favorite event four straight times, following previous streaks of four from 2005-08, then five from 2010-14. Those go alongside four triumphs at the U.S. Open, two at Wimbledon and one at the Australian Open.
Federer, 39, sat out the U.S. Open and French Open after two knee operations. He posted a congratulatory message on Instagram on Sunday.
“As my greatest rival over many years, I believewe have pushed each other to become better players,” Federer wrote, and ended with: “I hope 20 is just another step on the continuing journey for both of us. Well done, Rafa. You deserve it.”