Lifting 14th in Paris: Nadal's French Open crown week after Real Madrid's UCL glory is poetic
Spanish ace Rafael Nadal clinched his 14th French Open crown on Sunday, a week after his favourite football club Real Madrid bagged its 14th Champions League title in Paris.
FollowIn a span of one week, Paris has witnessed two historic sporting moments. What started with Real Madrid's record-extending 14th Champions League victory at the Stade de France has ended with Los Blancos fan Rafael Nadal clinching his 14th French Open crown at the Roland Garros. And the experience has perhaps been nothing but poetic for the two Spanish giants.
On May 28, Nadal watched his favourite team, Real Madrid, beat Liverpool 1-0 to become champions of Europe for the 14th time. The Spaniard's presence at the Champions League grand finale was a day before his blockbuster clash against World No.1 Novak Djokovic in the French Open quarter-finals.
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At that point, the odds were stacked against the then 21-time Grand Slam champion, who required five sets and more than four hours to defeat Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime in the last 16. Nadal, who came into Paris after a chronic foot injury flared up in Rome last month, had also admitted the brutal reality that every match he plays at Roland Garros may be his last.
However, a day after Carlo Ancelotti's men repeated their 2018 Champions League final heroics in Kyiv against Jurgen Klopp's side; it was time for Nadal to perform. And the Spanish ace did not disappoint.
Nadal endured another four-hour battle to see off Djokovic and book a berth in the semi-finals against Alexander Zverev.
Also read: French Open 2022: Nadal deserved to win, admits Djokovic after quarter-final loss
Though the challenge against the German came to a tragic end, which saw the Zverev withdrawing from the clash after suffering a heartbreaking ankle injury, Nadal showcased brilliance on the court in their battle that lasted for three hours.
On Sunday, the Spaniard did what was expected out of the King of Clay, who was only 19 when he won his first French Open in 2005. Nadal crushed Norway's Casper Ruud 6-3 6-3 6-0 to lift a record-extending 14th French Open title at the Roland Garros.
The 36-year-old won 11 games in a row to cruise through the second and third sets to take his tally to an all-time best 22 men's Grand Slam titles, two more than rivals Swiss Roger Federer and world number one Novak Djokovic of Serbia.
"I don't know what can happen in the future. I will keep fighting to try to keep going," Nadal told the crowd at Court Philipp Chatrier.
"For me it is incredible to play here with amazing support from you to me," the King of Clay lauded.
"For me personally, it is very difficult to describe the feelings that I have. It's something that I for sure never believed, to be here at 36, being competitive again, playing in the most important court of my career one more final," Nadal remarked.
The 22-time Grand Slam winner is now the oldest champion at Roland Garros, eclipsing 34-year-old compatriot Andres Gimeno who took the crown 50 years ago. And Real Madrid took to social media to congratulate Nadal for lifting his 14th crown at the Parisian clay.
"Congratulations on this historic feat, @RafaelNadal. It's an honour being able to enjoy a great madridista and honorary club member as the best tennis player of all-time. Congratulations on your 22nd Grand Slam, your 14th @rolandgarros title, without doubt a magic number in 2022," the 35-time La Liga champions wrote on Twitter.
In his autobiography, Nadal revealed that he would wake up at any hour, wherever he was, to watch Real Madrid games — regardless of his tennis schedule. "And I'll build my day's training program, if need be, around the timing of the games," he added. "I'm a fanatic."
Sunday was Real Madrid's turn, and they were awake!
The Los Blancos also shared a photograph of Nadal lifting his 14th French Open title and Marcelo lifting the 14th Champions League trophy on Instagram, sparking massive jubilation among fans of the two Spanish giants.
Not just Real Madrid, but several fans of both the club and French Open 2022 champion Nadal took to Twitter to applaud the two legends of Spain. While Los Blancos and the 22-time Grand Slam champion may take a while to get over this overwhelming feeling, fans would perhaps take longer to digest the iconic 'Spanish things in Paris' they've witnessed this week. We'll leave you with some of the reactions:
