Paris: Spaniard Rafael Nadal caught up with his illustrious Swiss rival Roger Federer by winning his 20th career Grand Slam title on Sunday.
Nadal did it in style, demolishing world No. 1 Novak Djokovic 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 in the French Open final in Paris. It was Nadal’s 13th title at Roland Garros – the most number of triumphs by any tennis player at one Grand Slam venue.
The French Open, normally held in May-June, was pushed back to September-October this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The conditions were different and tough for players, but the script remained unchanged for the ‘King of Clay’ Nadal.
Djokovic, who won the Australian Open in February, had been in invincible form and hadn’t lost a single final this year. His only blip was the US Open, where he was disqualified for hitting a line woman.
But against Nadal, he was left clueless in the first two sets. He did put up a fight in the third set, but it was too little too late as Nadal won in 2 hours and 41 minutes.
TOP 5 GRAND SLAM WINNERS
Roger Federer & Rafael Nadal — 20 each
Novak Djokovic – 17
Pete Sampras – 14
Bjorn Borg — 11