Rafael Nadal has defeated Novak Djokovic to claim his record-setting 7th Grand Slam win at Roland Garros. Nadal claimed the French Open championship on Monday after the two men were forced to call it a day on Sunday when rain led to a crumbling clay court.
Nadal ended the tournament in four sets with a final score of 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5.
Monday’s continuation of play was met by a brief rain delay in the fourth set and the match ended on a double-fault by Djokovic.
By winning at Roland Garros Rafael Nadal has beaten Bjorn Borg’s record for French Open wins while racking up an astonishing 52-1 record. The win also breaks Novak’s three straight Grand Slam wins against Nadal.
Speaking after the match Rafael told reporters:
”This tournament is, for me, the most special tournament of the world.”
While adding:
”It was a very difficult match against the best player in the world. I lost three Grand Slam finals – Wimbledon, the U.S. Open last year, and the Australian Open this year. I’m very happy, very emotional.”
Djokovic definitely was not at the top of his game, serving four double-faults throughout the match.
The win also gave Nadal his 11th overall Grand Slam title, tying Borg and Rod Laver on the all-time list.
After the match Djokovic added:
”I’m not going back, saying it’s your fault and your fault because I lost. It’s unfortunate because I was playing better, feeling better on the court in the third set yesterday. Today, he started strong. I started slower. I was a little bit unfortunate in that first game and things turned around.”
