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PARIS – Rafael Nadal tied Roger Federer with 20 Grand Slam titles by producing a near-perfect performance against Novak Djokovic in the final of the French Open.
Nadal equaled rival Federer in the most individual tennis championships won by a man and added to his own record at Roland Garros with No. 13 on red clay, courtesy of a surprisingly dominant 6-0, 6- 2, 7. -5 win over ranking No. 1 Djokovic on Sunday.
When Nadal finished it off with an ace, he dropped to his knees, grinned widely and waved his arms.
He did not give up a set in his favorite tournament this year.
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Nadal, No. 2 in the rankings, improved to 100-2 at the French Open, including a combined 26-0 in the semifinals and finals, and picked up his fourth consecutive title in Paris.
The 34-year-old southpaw from Spain previously put together streaks of four French Open championships from 2005-08, then five in a row from 2010-14, to accompany his four trophies at the US Open, two at Wimbledon and one at the Open. from Australia.
Nadal is now on par with Federer for the first time since every man had zero Slams to his name in 2003. Federer first came to Wimbledon that year; Nadal naturally earned his first win in France in 2005, at which point he was trailing 4-0.
Djokovic’s loss left him at 17 majors; had he won, the trio’s standings would have been 20-19-18.
Nadal is the oldest French Open champion since 1972, and the 15+ years between his first and most recent Grand Slam title is the longest span for a man.
This was the 56th installment of Nadal vs. Djokovic, the most encounters between any pair of men in the professional era, and the ninth in a Grand Slam final, tying Nadal vs.
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Djokovic had won 14 of the last 18 meetings against Nadal and led 29-26 overall, including a 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 victory in the 2019 Australian Open final.
Nadal allowed Djokovic one game less this time.
