Rafael Nadal scripted history on Sunday by winning a record-extending 13th French Open title as he lifted his 20th Grand Slam trophy and equalled Roger Federer’s record for most Major titles.
The Spaniard defeated Novak Djokovic 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 in 2 hours and 41 minutes at Court Philippe-Chatrier in Paris.
In 2018, Federer became the first men’s player to win 20 Grand Slams in singles when he defeated Marin Cilic in the final of the Australian Open. The Swiss Maestro has won six Australian Open, one French Open, eight Wimbledon and five US Open titles.
The 34-year-old Nadal, who first won the title in 2005, bagged his fourth consecutive title on the Parisian terre battue. Nadal has won the Australian Open once, Wimbledon twice and the US Open four times.
No singles player, male or female, has won a Grand Slam more than Nadal has won the French Open. Nadal leads the list with 13 French Open titles and is followed Margaret Court’s 11 Australian Open victories. Third in the standings is Martina Navratilova, with nine Wimbledon trophies. Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic stand fourth with eight titles apiece at Wimbledon and the Australian Open, respectively.
With this win, world No. 2 Nadal also became the first player to win 100 matches at Roland-Garros. He has only lost two matches at this tournament. Overall, this was Nadal’s 86th singles career title on the ATP Tour, placing him fourth on the Open Era list behind Jimmy Connors with 109, Federer (103) and Ivan Lendl (94).
Both Federer and Nadal are four majors behind the overall record holder, 24-time Grand Slam singles champion Margaret Court. Serena Williams, who withdrew from this edition of the French Open due to an injury after winning her first-round match, is on 23 singles Grand Slam titles, but her last title came at the 2017 Australian Open.
Dominant champions in both draws
Nadal and women’s singles champion Iga Swiatek did not drop a single set on their way to victory – the first time in the history of the sport that both the male and female winners did so at the same Slam.
Nadal added another feather to his cap by becoming the first man to win four Grand Slams without dropping a set. He broke his tie with six-time French Open champion Bjorn Borg, who won three, for the record. Djokovic had reached the quarterfinals without losing a set before being stretched to four by Pablo Carreno Busta and needed five sets against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semis.
