Nadal resumes his love affair with the Coupe des Mousquetaires |
Roland Garros 2013 Day 15: Nadal victorious
Rafael Nadal clinched a historic 8th French Open title with a 6-3 6-2 6-3 defeat of compatriot and first-time major finalist David Ferrer at Roland Garros.
It was the first all-Spanish final since 2002 |
No.3 seed Nadal broke in game three when Ferrer put a forehand well wide.
However fourth seed Ferrer struck straight back by coming out on top of a 20 stroke rally on his second break point.
Ferrer held in the next game but from 2-3 Nadal raced through seven consecutive games to take a strong grip on the contest.
Serving at 3-1 in the second Nadal saved four break points and then broke Ferrer again with a trademark forehand winner riffled into the corner.
A protester came onto court with a flare at that juncture which may have understandably shaken the seven-time champion as he was then broken to 15.
However serving at 2-5 Ferrer lost serve to love and Nadal was a set away from history.
Ferrer broke in each set but could not convert enough chances |
When play resumed both players held serve games before Ferrer had a break point in the seventh game. Crucially the older Spaniard overhit a forehand and his chance was gone.
Nadal held for 4-3 and broke in the following game when Ferrer struck a fifth double fault.
An ecstatic Nadal tastes victory in Paris again |
Serving at 5-3 Nadal setup two championship points and unleashed a wrong-footing forehand winner on the first.
A 12th major title takes Nadal past legends Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg and brings him level with Roy Emerson trailing only Pete Sampras (14) and Roger Federer (17).
The greatest clay court player of all time will go in search of a third title at the All England Club in two weeks time but will likely be seeded 5th as Ferrer will pass him in the rankings tomorrow.
The Wimbledon draw will be a nail biting affair as Djokovic, Murray and Federer all hope to avoid a quarter final clash with Nadal.
And so two weeks of magnificent tennis ends at Roland Garros but there is much to look forward to in the coming weeks.
No comments:
Post a Comment