FRENCH OPEN
Nadal destroys Ruud for 14th French Open title, 22nd Slam
Rafael Nadal regained his aura of invincibility on clay on Sunday by brutally crushing Casper Ruud to lift the French Open trophy for an incredible 14th time and widen the gap at the top of the men’s all-time list of Grand Slam winners.
Norwegian Ruud became the latest victim in a long line of challengers who have unsuccessfully tried to defeat the Spaniard in the Roland Garros final since Nadal won his maiden title on the red clay in 2005.
There was a sense of deja vu as the Spaniard, who turned 36 on Friday, completed a 6-3 6-3 6-0 thrashing on a balmy afternoon in Paris to maintain his 100% success rate in the championship round at the claycourt major.
In the past 12 months Nadal contemplated retirement due to his battle with a chronic foot problem, was forced to spend six weeks on the sidelines after suffering a stress fracture on a rib in March and was unsure if he would be able to compete in Paris after struggling with his foot in Rome.
Rumours that the ‘king of clay’ was making his final appearance at Roland Garros kept circulating during the past fortnight.
“I don’t know what can happen in the future but I am going to keep fighting to try and keep going,” Nadal said in his victory speech on Court Philipp Chatrier, getting the afternoon’s biggest round of applause from the stands.
Despite all the trials and tribulations he suffered in the build-up, no one could prevent Nadal from lifting the Musketeers’ Cup for a record-extending 14th time. The win means Nadal is now halfway through the calendar Grand Slam for the first time in his career after also winning the year’s opening major at the Australian Open.
OLDEST CHAMPION
Nadal passed fellow Spaniard Andres Gimeno as the oldest Roland Garros men’s singles champion. The result once again demonstrated that even when he is less than 100% fit, he is still a mountain too steep to conquer on the red clay of Roland Garros.
The win also 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.
He got a standing ovation as he walked onto the centre court under overcast skies as a raucous crowd livened up the atmosphere with drums and trumpets.
The Spaniard, who has a statue erected in his honour at the claycourt arena in western Paris, kickstarted the party early for his fans.
The duo had never played a competitive match before Sunday, but they have hit together plenty of times at the Spaniard’s academy in Mallorca and Ruudearlier said he has never won a practice set against his idol.
That record remained unchanged on Sunday.
BLISTERING START
Nadal, who is 13 years older than the Norwegian, made a blistering start as he raced to a 2-0 lead with a superb forehand passing shot securing him the first break of the match. But despite all his experience, there were still nerves for the Spaniard as he frittered away his early advantage with two unforced errors off his forehand and two double faults.
Nadal’s vicious top-spin forehand, however, soon found its range and he started applying pressure to Ruud’s backhand to secure a break and canter to a 4-1 lead before securing the opening set.
Ruud raised his level at the start of the second, saving three break points to hold serve in the opening game and earned praise from his opponent when he charged down the length of the court to reach a drop shot and turned it into a winner.
The Norwegian soon broke Nadal to love to take a lead for the first time in the match.
The break seemed to galvanise Nadal.
The Spanish fifth seed wiped out his advantage in the next game and from a 3-1 lead in the second set Ruud did not win another game.
Nadal was now fully in the mood to put on a show and he put Ruud out of his misery on his second championship point with a backhand winner down the line, ending the contest in two hours and 18 minutes.
“We all know what a champion you are and today I got to feel how it is to play against you in the final and it is not easy,” Ruud said.
“I am not the first victim, I know there have been many before.”
-Reuters
The first round of the French Open starts on Sunday, with Novak Djokovic beginning his hunt for a fourth crown and a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title when he takes on home hope Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, while world number three Alexander Zverev faces Benjamin Bonzi.
The claycourt Grand Slam starts under a shadow, with some players deciding to restrict their appearances at Friday’s and Saturday’s traditional pre-tournament media days amid growing tensions over prize money and player influence.
TOP MEN’S MATCH: DJOKOVIC V MPETSHI PERRICARD
Djokovic has played just one match since Indian Wells in March, and the 39-year-old will need to quickly shake off any rust when he meets Mpetshi Perricard for the first time in his career in his opening match.
The Serbian has spent the last two years trying to capture a 25th major crown that would move him past Margaret Court to take sole possession of the record, but that quest looks in danger of being prolonged.
“I wanted to play more , but my body was not allowing me. I was going through the rehabilitation process for my injury,” Djokovic told reporters.
“If I’m able to somehow maintain a level of freshness and progress… then I feel like I have always had a very good chance. I have proven that in Australia this year, where I was close to winning another Slam. I always have that belief in me when I’m on the court.”
TOP WOMEN’S MATCH: ANDREEVA V FERRO
Russian Mirra Andreeva has had a strong clay season, winning the Linz Open and reaching her first WTA 1000 final at the Madrid Open, while also making it to the semi-finals in Stuttgart and quarter-finals in Rome.
The 19-year-old begins against world number 200 Fiona Ferro of France, and should face little trouble if she can prevent the home fans from affecting her as they did in her quarter-final defeat to Lois Boisson at last year’s tournament.
“Obviously, the crowd is going to support her (Ferro) as much as they can, and that’s totally okay,” Andreeva said.
“I have some experience even from last year when I played quarters, so I pretty much know what to expect… We will see how it’s going to go, but I hope they’re not going to be too hard on me.”
CAN ZVEREV JOIN GRAND SLAM CLUB?
Zverev has been on the verge of a maiden Grand Slam title at many points over his career, reaching three finals and falling just short, and if the German is to finally accomplish the feat, the French Open looks to be his best bet.
The 29-year-old reached the final in Paris in 2024 and has made it to at least the quarter-final stage in seven of the past eight editions, putting him among the favourites this year, especially in the absence of injured world number two Carlos Alcaraz.
Zverev begins his campaign against Bonzi, who could prove a tricky customer; however, with the Frenchman being one of only three players to have taken a set off world number one Jannik Sinner during the Italian’s incredible 29-match winning streak.
FRENCH OPEN ORDER OF PLAY ON SUNDAY (prefix number denotes seeding):
COURT PHILIPPE CHATRIER (play begins at 1000 GMT)
- Sinja Kraus (Austria) v 11-Belinda Bencic (Switzerland)
- Benjamin Bonzi (France) v 2-Alexander Zverev (Germany)
- 8-Mirra Andreeva (Russia) v Fiona Ferro (France)
- Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (France) v 3-Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
- COURT SUZANNE LENGLEN (play begins at 0900 GMT)
- 13-Karen Khachanov (Russia) v Arthur Gea (France)
- 26-Hailey Baptiste (United States) v Barbora Krejcikova (Czech Republic)
- 7-Taylor Fritz (U.S.) v Nishesh Basavareddy (U.S.)
- Ksenia Efremova (France) v 18-Sorana Cirstea (Romania)
- COURT SIMONNE MATHIEU (play begins at 0900 GMT)
- 15-Marta Kostyuk (Ukraine) v Oksana Selekhmeteva (Russia)
- Katie Volynets (U.S.) v Clara Burel (France)
- Titouan Droguet (France) v 26-Jakub Mensik (Czech Republic)
- 28-Joao Fonseca (Brazil) v Luka Pavlovic (France)
-Reuters
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Venus Williams will compete in doubles at the French Open later this month, organisers confirmed on Wednesday.
Williams, 45, will partner with Hailey Baptiste, 24, for the clay-court tournament at Roland Garros, which begins on May 24 in Paris.
Williams, however, will not compete in the singles tournament.
She was a wild-card entry at the Australian Open, where she lost in three sets during the first round to Serbia’s Olga Danilovic.
Williams is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles. She has won seven Grand Slam titles in singles and 14 in doubles, including the French Open in doubles in 1999 and 2010.
-Reuters
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Newly-crowned French Open champion Coco Gauff, the first Black American to win the title in a decade, said on Saturday her victory in Paris was for people back home who looked like her and struggled amid ongoing political turmoil.
Gauff battled from a set down to beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-7(5) 6-2 6-4 and lift her first French Open crown and her second Grand Slam title after the 2023 U.S. Open.
She is the first Black American to win the French Open since Serena Williams in 2015.
“It means a lot (to win the title), and obviously there’s a lot going on in our country right now with things — like, everything, yeah. I’m sure you guys know,” she said, smiling but without elaborating further.
“But just to be able to be a representation of that and a representation of, I guess, people that look like me in America who maybe don’t feel as supported during this time period, and so just being that reflection of hope and light for those people.”
There has been ongoing political turmoil in the United States following the election of President Donald Trump last year.
Trump’s first few months in office have featured an unapologetic assault on diversity and inclusion efforts, unravelling decades-old policies to remedy historical injustices for marginalised groups in a matter of weeks.
In his second term, Trump revoked a landmark 1965 executive order mandating equal employment opportunities for all, slashed environmental actions to protect communities of colour and ordered the gutting of an agency that helped fund minority and women-owned businesses.
The actions have alarmed advocates, who say they effectively erase decades of hard-fought progress on levelling the playing field for marginalised communities.
“I remember after the election and everything, it kind of felt a down period a little bit and my mom told me during Riyadh (in November 2024) ‘just try to win the tournament, just to give something for people to smile for’.
“So that’s what I was thinking about today when holding that (trophy).
“Then seeing the flags in the crowd means a lot. You know, some people may feel some type of way about being patriotic and things like that, but I’m definitely patriotic and proud to be American, and I’m proud to represent the Americans that look like me and people who kind of support the things that I support.”
Trump has previously denied claims he has employed racist attacks and an agenda throughout his political career.
-Reuters
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