PARIS – Cleaning out the notebook and voice memo app after a cracking two weeks on the clay. Herewith 50 parting thoughts from the 2022 French Open.
• Rafael Nadal remains the King of Clay, winning the French Open men’s singles title for a 14th time. Same as it ever was. The stats are comical. We have exhausted the superlatives to describe his performances at this event. Speculation about his future can wait. Before the event, there were concerns about his foot. In this event, it was emotional durability—not his physical durability—that was so impressive. In the fourth round he beat a player (in five sets) coached by his uncle. In the quarters, he avenged last year’s defeat and out-dueled Novak Djokovic, in a match freighted with all kinds of history that spanned past 1:00 a.m. In the semis, he was not at his best and his opponent retired after a gruesome ankle injury. In the final, he was the overwhelming favorite. That’s a lot of emotional spadework. And yet, he persisted.
Christophe Ena/AP
