Rafael Nadal brutally 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.
There was a sense of déjà vu as the Spaniard, who turned 36 on Friday, swept aside Norwegian Ruud 6-3 6-3 6-0 on a balmy afternoon in Paris to ensure he has won every time he has reached the final at the clay court Grand Slam.
Similar to his lead-up 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.
Nadal and Ruud had never played a competitive match before Sunday, but the duo have hit together plenty of times at the Spaniard's academy in Mallorca and the Norwegian said he has never won a practice set against his idol. The record will stay the same after Sunday in favour of Nadal who is 13 years older than the Norwegian.
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