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PARIS: Spain’s Rafael Nadal won his 13th French Open title today (Sunday), crushing world number one Novak Djokovic of Serbia in straight sets (6-0, 6-2, 7-5) in the 2020 men’s final.
The championship adds to Nadal’s record for most French Open titles, and the 34-year-old is now boasts a 100-2 career record at Roland Garros. With another clay-court trophy, Nadal has matched Roger Federer, his longtime rival, with 20 Grand Slam titles.
Nadal was the early aggressor as he choked Djokovic to win the opening set in brutal fashion having made only two unforced errors. He then kept a firm grip on a subdued Djokovic in the second set under the roof of Court Philippe Chatrier.
Djokovic, rebelled in the third set, breaking back for 3-3, only to drop serve on a double fault in the 11th game. For world number one Djokovic, the defeat ended his hopes of an 18th Slam and of becoming the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win all four majors twice.
“Congrats to Novak for another great tournament. Sorry for today. We’ve played plenty of times together – one day one wins, another the other,” said Nadal.
The champion further said, “After all the things I have been through in my career with injuries, I could not have done it without my family,” adding that he wasn’t even thinking about matching Federer’s record.
“It’s been a very tough year. Winning here means everything to me so it’s not about equalling Roger on 20, for me today it’s just a Roland Garros victory,” he concluded.
