Rafael Nadal of Spain wins the French Open title after beating Casper Ruud of Norway in the men's singles final in Paris, France, June 5, 2022. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)
Rafael Nadal cruised to a record-extending 14th French Open title in style, sweeping Casper Ruud of Norway 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 in a one-sided final here on Sunday.
"I don't know what can happen in the future, but I'm going to keep fighting to try to keep going," Nadal said at the awarding ceremony.
Eighth seed Ruud, who once practiced at Nadal's tennis school, tried to bounce back in the second set, breaking in game four to take a 3-1 lead. But the Spaniard proved why he is the King of Clay rapidly, winning 11 games in a row to wrap up the victory in only two hours and 18 minutes.
Nadal, who turned 36 on Friday, struck 37 winners in the match including 14 from the deciding set, with his opponent only at 16.
This victory also helped the Spaniard improve his stunning record at Roland Garros to 112 wins against just three defeats.
The 14th trophy at the clay-court major is Nadal's 22nd Grand Slam title, two ahead of archrivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.