Nadal's 14th French Open crown: Tendulkar, Sania and other Indian sporting icons laud King of Clay
Spanish ace Rafael Nadal defeated Casper Ruud in straight sets to win a 14th French Open and overall 22nd Grand Slam crown.
FollowSpanish ace Rafael Nadal created history on Sunday after crushing Norway's Casper Ruud 6-3 6-3 6-0 to lift a record-extending 14th French Open title at the Roland Garros.Â
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.Â
"For me it is incredible to play here with amazing support from you to me," the King of Clay lauded.Â
"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.
Also read:Â Nadal wins 14th French Open crown; fans applaud King of Clay's historic feat
At the final in January's Australian Open, Nadal, who turned 36 on Friday, came from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev and bag a second title there.Â
A couple of months earlier, he was even considering retiring after a foot problem that has troubled him throughout his career resurfaced, forcing him to miss much of the 2021 season, including Wimbledon, the Olympics and the US Open.
Nadal arrived in Paris with his own doctor to get through the tournament despite the injury. "Especially in the very tough moments we went through in terms of injuries, if you don't have great support from the team nothing of this would happen because I would have retired much before," the French Open 2022 champion added.
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.
Congratulatory messages flooded Twitter following Nadal's historic win at the Parisian clay. Several Indian sporting legends, including Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar and tennis ace Sania Mirza, wished the Spaniard on clinching his 14th French Open title. Here's a look at the reactions:
Not just Indian sporting stars, but other tennis icons too congratulated Nadal. The likes of Rod Laver, Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King Stefanos Tsitsipas, Carlos Alcaraz and others applauded the Spaniard on his achievement.
