Rafael Nadal recovers the tradition of playing on both Sundays of the tournament. He rotates last year because Novak Djokovic dropped him in the semifinal, in 2022 he returns to Philippe Chatrier the day the title is lifted.
It will be the fourteenth Roland Garros final for the Spaniard, who began his idyll with Paris in 2005. He has won the previous thirteen, a frightening plenary, although not surprising, given the good connection that the world 5 has with the track, with the public and with the tennis that can unfold here.
His coach, Carlos Moyà, used to say it before facing Alexander Zverev in the semifinal: «He arrives here and makes a click, forgetting everything that came before».
This year he has had to forget about many things, especially a rib injury that left him out of the game for more than five weeks, and the foot that continues to be his nightmare since 2005.
In 2005, precisely, he won his first Musketeers Cup. He against Mariano Puerta in the final, in which he won 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-1 and 7-5.
In 2006, his rival was Roger Federer, whom he beat 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 and 7-6 (4).
In 2007, the Swiss was again his rival for the title, and he beat him again 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 and 6-4.
In 2008, his victory against Federer was much more convincing: 6-1, 6-3 and 6-0.
In the 2010 final he faced his executioner in the quarterfinals the previous year, Robin Soderling, and won 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.
In 2011 he crossed paths with Federer again, who demanded a little more of him, but ended up giving up (7-5, 7-6 (3), 5-7 and 6-1).
In the 2012 edition a Novak Djokovic who had won eleven titles the previous year was already threatening, but Paris is Paris, and the Spaniard raised his seventh trophy (6-4, 6-3, 2-6 and 7-5).
In 2013, the final was completely Spanish, as it faced Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer. Although the man from Alicante could do little against Nadal’s gale: 6-3, 6-2 and 6-3.
In 2014 came the ninth bite at the Philippe Chatrier, and it was the Serb who once again felt Nadal’s power on that court (3-6, 7-5, 6-2 and 6-4).
After losing in the quarterfinals to Djokovic in 2015 and retiring in the second round due to a wrist injury in 2016, Nadal played his tenth final at Roland Garros in 2017. And he resoundingly beat Stan Wawrinka (6-2, 6-3, 6). -1).
The 2018 edition had a new rival, Dominic Thiem, who was predicted to be able to unseat Nadal from the throne in Paris, but the final and the challenge came too soon for the Austrian, who lost 6-4, 6-3 and 6-2.
Thiem was the rival again in 2019, and although he struggled a little more, he couldn’t beat Nadal 6-3, 5-7, 6-1 and 6-1 either.
Nadal also defended the title at a very atypical Roland Garros 2020, marked by the coronavirus and postponed until the fall, when the conditions were very complicated and not favorable to the Spanish. However, he overcame it all and crushed Djokovic in the final 6-0, 6-2, 7-5.
The Spaniard, who lost in the semifinals last year against the Serbian, has earned a new opportunity to lift his fourteenth Roland Garros in 2022. He overcame the semifinal round against Alexander Zverev, marked by the German’s injury, and will play again the last Sunday of the tournament, June 5, starting at 3:00 p.m.
