Rafael Nadal embraced a stellar run at Roland Garros, losing only four matches and winning 14 finals! Rafa is 14-0 in the title match on Court Phillipe-Chatrier, and he recently picked his greatest performance.
The King of clay picked his the opening two sets of his 2020 title match against Novak Djokovic. The Roland Garros took place in October due to COVID-19, and Rafa did not enjoy cold conditions.
However, he gave his best to reagin the trophy, feeling motivated despite facing Novak under the roof. Before the match, Nadal as determined to defeat his great rival, regardless the conditions and provided a 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 triumph in two hours and 41 minutes.
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Thus, Rafa claimed his 13th trophy in Paris and joined Roger Federer on 20 Major crowns. He became the third-oldest champion in Paris after Andres Gimeno and Ken Rosewall.
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The Spaniard hit 31 winners and 14 unforced errors, taming his strokes nicely and stealing 51% of the return points to control the scoreboard. Djokovic struggled to find his A-game for over two hours.
He stood powerless in the opening two sets before raising his level in the third, not giving up on the title easily. The Spaniard got broken once and kept the pressure on the other side after a brilliant start.
Crucially, he outplayed Novak in the shortest exchanges up to four strokes, dictating the pace and attacking first. The King of clay was off to a flying start, providing three breaks in the opener and wrapping it up with an ace in game five after 45 minutes.
Thus, after bageling Roger Federer in the 2008 final, he mirrored that against another great rival 12 years later. Nadal faced no break points in the second set and mounted the pressure on the other side.
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He stole Djokovic's serve two times and forged a massive 6-0, 6-2 advantage after an hour and 34 minutes. The Serb denied a break point in the third game of the third set and fought harder.
Rafa grabbed a break at love in the fifth game before suffering his only break a few minutes later, bringing Novak back to 3-3. The Spaniard served well in the rest of the duel.
He provided a break in the 11th game after Novak's double fault and held at love at 6-5 to emerge at the top and celebrated his 20th Major title.
