Rafael Nadal has won the French Open for a record-extending 14th time after defeating Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 in the final.
It was a meeting between the master and the student, with 23-year-old Ruud having trained at Nadal's academy since 2018. The victory also saw Nadal cement his position as one of tennis' greats with his 22nd Grand Slam men's singles title, after claiming his 21st at this year's Australian Open.
Speaking ahead of the match, Ruud described facing Nadal in a Grand Slam final as a moment he had "dreamed of". "Nadal is the last of the very top players in the world I have never played against," Ruud said.
"I guess this is perfect timing and worth the wait. To finally play him in a Grand Slam final will be a special moment for me. It's obviously going to be tough.
"We all know what a champion he is. I will try to enjoy, I will be an underdog and I will dream about great winners and unbelievable rallies and it will take my best tennis."
However, Ruud was unable to beat Nadal and win his first ever Grand Slam title, with the Spaniard instead claiming his 22nd. Nadal made a strong start to the match, quickly taking a 2-0 lead in the first set, which he ultimately won 6-3.
Before this final, Nadal had played a total of 101 matches at Roland Garros where he won the first set and had only lost one of them, last year's semi-final defeat to Novak Djokovic. And the 36-year-old was keen not to make the same mistake twice.
Ruud did stage something of a fightback in the second set, taking a 3-1 lead. However, Nadal's class and experience shone through as he again won the set 6-3 to take a two set lead in the match.
"Some of the tennis Nadal has played these two weeks has been as good as it gets - his serve has improved dramatically over the years - he is a better player now than he was when he won his first title," former British number one Greg Rusedski said on BBC Radio 5 Live.
And Nadal wrapped up an excellent straight sets victory with a comprehensive 6-0 win in the final set, continuing his brilliant record at Roland Garros. Since winning his first title there in 2005, Nadal has utterly dominated, winning the tournament 14 times in 18 years.
Speaking after his win, Nadal insisted he has no plans to retire, saying: "I want to continue saying thank you to everybody who make possible this event. For me and I think for a lot of people who love the history of this sport it is the best tournament of the world so thank you everybody who make possible this great event.
"You make me feel like home. For me personally, it is very difficult to describe the feelings that I have.
It's something that I never believed; I would be here at 36, being competitive again, playing in the most important court of my career one more time in a final. I don't know what can happen in the future but I am going to keep fighting to try to keep going, so thank you!"
