Rafael Nadal crushed Casper Ruud on Sunday to lift a record-extending 14th French Open trophy and increase his lead at the top of the list of men's Grand Slam champions.
The Spaniard, who turned 36 on Friday, swept aside Norwegian Ruud 6-3 6-3 6-0 in Paris to ensure he has won every time he has reached the final at the claycourt Grand Slam.
By lifting the Musketeers' Cup again, Nadal was halfway through the calendar Grand Slam for the first time in his career after he won the year's opening major at the Australian Open.
Victory gave Nadal a record-extending 22nd Grand Slam title and put him two clear of world number one Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Swiss Roger Federer in the men's race for the most major titles.
Similar to his leadup to the Melbourne Park major, Nadal arrived at Roland Garros with persistent fitness doubts after suffering a rib stress fracture and a chronic foot injury.
But Nadal, who passed fellow Spaniard Andres Gimeno as the oldest Roland Garros men's singles champion, again proved that even at less than 100% he is still a mountain too steep to conquer on the red clay of Roland Garros.
He got a standing ovation as he walked onto Court Philippe Chatrier under overcast skies as fans livened up the atmosphere with drums and trumpets.
During the trophy ceremony, Nadal thanked his family and support team, including a doctor who accompanied him to Paris, for helping him, because otherwise he would have needed to “retire much before.”
“I don’t know what can happen in the future,” Nadal told the crowd, “but I’m going to keep fighting to try to keep going.”
Later, in an interview with TV rights holder Eurosport, Nadal said he played the match with “no feeling in” his right foot after getting an “injection on the nerve.”
