Rafael Nadal beat Norwegian Casper Roode 6-3 6-3 6-0 to win a record 14th French Open and 22nd Grand Slam title in men’s singles, the best ever.
The 36-year-old Spaniard, who has only lost at Roland Garros three times since his debut in 2005, now has two bigger players to his name than Swiss Roger Federer and Serbia’s world number one Novak Djokovic.
Fifth-seeded Nadal won the opening set and went on to win 11 games in a row after breaking early in the second.
He converted his second championship point with a backhand winner to stay on track for the calendar Grand Slam after winning this year’s Australian Open.
Nadal’s journey to men’s record 22 Grand Slam titles
The following is a timeline showing how Nadal, considered to be of the greatest era in men’s tennis, surpassed the race of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
2003
Federer became the newest entrant to the Grand Slam club after defeating Mark Philippoussis in the final of the first of his eight Wimbledon titles.
Tally: Federer 1
2004
The Swiss player strengthened his muscles by winning three majors – the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.
Tally: Federer 4
2005
While Federer defended his Wimbledon and US Open titles, Nadal defeated Mariano Puerta in the final to win his first French Open title.
Tally: Federer 6; Nadal 1
2006
Federer continued to dominate as he defeated Nadal in the Wimbledon final to win three majors, but Nadal laid the foundation for his claycourt reign with his second French Open title.
Tally: Federer 9; Nadal 2
2007
Federer, who seemed unstoppable, repeated his feat from the previous year but the French Open title failed him as Nadal in the final for the second year in a row.
Tally: Federer 12; Nadal 3
2008
Djokovic hit big time with his first major by defeating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final of the Australian Open. Following his French Open victory, Nadal surprised Federer in the Wimbledon final but the Swiss responded by winning the US Open.
Tally: Federer 13; Nadal 5; Djokovic 1
2009
Nadal defeated Federer in five sets to win his first hardcourt Grand Slam title in the Australian Open final. However, Nadal’s 31-match winning streak at Roland Garros ended in the fourth round, allowing Federer to claim his only French crown.
Nadal was unable to defend his Wimbledon title as he was ruled out due to knee problems.
The Swiss claimed his record 15th Major at Wimbledon, surpassing Pete Sampras’ record tally.
Tally: Federer 15; Nadal 6; Djokovic 1
2010:
Federer started the year by winning the Australian Open for the fourth time.
But it turned out to be Nadal’s best campaign as he went on to win the next three majors. He completed the career Grand Slam by defeating Djokovic in the final of the US Open.
Tally: Federer 16; Nadal 9; Djokovic 1
2011
The Big Two became the Big Three as Djokovic won 10 titles in 2011, including three majors at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.
Meanwhile, Nadal took the French Open crown for his 10th major title overall.
Tally: Federer 16; Nadal 10; Djokovic 4
2012
Djokovic won his third Australian Open title by defeating Nadal in the longest Grand Slam final in the Open Era.
Nadal continued his dominance at Roland Garros and added another major title to his tally, while Federer won a record-expanding 17th major at Wimbledon.
Tally: Federer 17; Nadal 11; Djokovic 5
2013
Djokovic defeated Andy Murray in the final to win his third consecutive Australian Open. While Federer struggled with a back injury, Nadal finished the year as number one after defending his French Open crown and adding another US Open title to his tally.
Tally: Federer 17; Nadal 13; Djokovic 6
2014
Federer again failed to add to his Grand Slam tally as Nadal won his ninth French Open title, equaling Sampras’ total of 14 Slams. Djokovic defeated Federer in the final of Wimbledon.
Tally: Federer 17; Nadal 14; Djokovic 7
2015
Djokovic accelerated, winning the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open and becoming only the second man to beat Nadal at the French Open when he defeated the Spaniard in the quarterfinals, only to lose to Stan Wawrinka in the final.
Tally: Federer 17; Nadal 14; Djokovic 10
2016
Djokovic defended his Australian Open crown before winning his first French Open title, making him the holder of all four Majors – a feat the media dubbed a “Knoll Slam”.
Nadal and Federer both struggled with injuries during the season and failed to make it to their Grand Slam races.
Tally: Federer 17; Nadal 14; Djokovic 12
2017
Federer won his 18th Slam – and his first since Wimbledon 2012 – with a thrilling five-set victory over Nadal in the Australian Open final.
Nadal cemented his place as the greatest clay courter in history when he secured a record 10th title at Roland Garros.
Federer became the first man to win Wimbledon eight times with a victory over Marin Cilic in the final, before Nadal won his third US Open title.
Djokovic missed the second half of the year due to an elbow problem.
Tally: Federer 19; Nadal 16; Djokovic 12
2018
Federer won his sixth Australian Open and became the fourth player after Margaret Court, Serena Williams and Steffi Graf to win 20 or more major singles titles. Before Djokovic earned his first major in more than two years at Wimbledon, Nadal extended his winning run at Roland Garros.
A third win in New York ensured that Djokovic equaled Sampras of the 14 majors and was now behind Federer and Nadal on the all-time list.
Tally: Federer 20; Nadal 17; Djokovic 14
2019
Nadal closed within one of Federer’s totals as he continued to dominate the French Open and beat rising Russian Daniil Medvedev to win the US Open.
Djokovic won his third major and seventh consecutive Australian Open with a straight-sets win over Nadal and saved two match points against Federer to clinch a fifth Wimbledon title in the five-set classic.
Tally: Federer 20; Nadal 19; Djokovic 16
2020
Djokovic won another Australian Open title, but was defeated 6–0 6–2 7–5 in the Roland Garros final by Nadal, who tied for the 20th men’s major title with Federer for the first time.
With Nadal and Federer absent from the US Open, Djokovic missed a chance to close the gap on his rivals after being disqualified from his fourth-round match for accidentally hitting a line judge.
Tally: Federer 20; Nadal 20; Djokovic 17
2021
Djokovic is set to eclipse Nadal and Federer as he captured a ninth Australian Open title, defeating Nadal in the French Open semi-finals to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in the final, and Italian Matteo Berrettini in the Wimbledon final.
A win over Medvedev in the US Open final would have sealed the lead in the first men’s calendar year Grand Slam and GOAT (Greatest of All Time) races since Rod Laver in 1969, but the Serbian was defeated by surprise.
Nadal missed the second half of the year with a leg injury while Federer was also ruled out with a knee injury.
Tally: Federer 20, Nadal 20, Djokovic 20
2022
Nadal admitted he was happy to play in Melbourne because he feared a leg injury could end his career.
But after Djokovic was relegated after his visa was canceled and Federer was absent due to injury, the Spaniard retreated years, defeating Medvedev to claim the Australian Open for the first time since 2009, winning 21 Grand Slam titles. became the first person to
The 36-year-old Nadal defeated Norwegian Rood to claim his 14th French Open title and a men’s record 22nd Grand Slam title.
Tally: Nadal 22, Federer 20, Djokovic 20
Published on
June 05, 2022