Nadal and Ruud had never played a competitive match before Sunday,but the duo have hit together plenty of times at the Spaniard’s academy in Mallorca and the Norwegian said he has never won a practice set against his idol.
The record will stay the same after Sunday in favour of Nadal who is 13 years older than the Norwegian.
Ruud has led the men’s tour since the start of the 2020 season in claycourt wins,finals and titles,and was the first man from his country to make a grand slam singles final – but he was no match for Nadal.
Blistering start
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Nadal made a blistering start,racing to a 2-0 lead with a superb forehand passing shot securing his first break of Ruud’s serve.
But despite all his experience at the claycourt grand slam,there were still nerves for the Spaniard as he frittered away his early advantage with two unforced errors off his forehand and two double faults.
Nadal’s vicious top-spin forehand,however,soon found its range and he started applying pressure to Ruud’s backhand to secure a break and canter to a 4-1 lead.
The Norwegian showed off his much-acclaimed forehand,but it was not enough to stop Nadal from winning the opening set.
Ruud raised his level at the start of the second,saving three break points to hold serve in the opening game. He earned praise from his opponent when he charged down the length of the court to turn a drop shot into a winner.
The Norwegian soon broke Nadal to love to take a lead for the first time in the match,but it proved short-lived as Nadal wiped out the advantage in the next game.
From 3-1 down,Nadal won the next five games to put himself a set away from victory.
Ruud’s hopes of stretching the contest disappeared quickly and it was one-way traffic as Nadal reeled off 11 games in a row over the second and third sets.
He put Ruud out of his misery on his second championship point with a backhand winner down the line,ending the contest in two hours and 18 minutes
Double the misery for Gauff
Earlier,French pair Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic won their second women’s doubles title with a 2-6,6-3,6-2 victory over Americans Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula.
Sunday’s final came a day after the 18-year-oldGauff lost to Iga Swiatek in the singles final.
Garcia and Mladenovic also won the French together in 2016. Mladenovic now owns six grand slam women’s doubles trophies,including four that she won with Timea Babos.
Gauff and Pegula were appearing in a major doubles event together for the first time.