Rafael Nadal destroyed Roger Federer's historic Grand Slam dream for another year by capturing his third successive French Open on Sunday.
The Spaniard's 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory emulated the great Bjorn Borg's record of three Roland Garros titles in a row.
It also shattered Federer's hopes of capturing a first French Open and becoming only the third man to hold all four Grand Slam crowns at the same time.
PHOTO: AFP
The win also preserved the 21-year-old Nadal's perfect record of never losing in the tournament in his three visits. He has now won all 21 of his matches including beating the world number one in the final last year.
Despite being the first player to take a set off the champion at the tournament this year, Federer squandered 10 break points in the crucial first set which he lost and 60 unforced errors in the match.
"I feel sorry for Roger," Nadal said. "He is such a good person and a great champion. I'm happy to win here again but I need to keep working to get even better."
PHOTO: AFP
Federer, who has now lost to Nadal three years in a row at Roland Garros, said it had been another tough afternoon.
"It's a shame, but I think I came closer to winning last year. This year I was always behind and it was never easy," Federer said.
"It's not the last time I will play here and I will try all I can to win next year," he said.
Federer sniffed an early chance in the first set but Nadal snuffed out two break points in the fourth game.
Nadal saved five more break points in a marathon sixth game which featured a 21-stroke rally.
The crushing failure to hammer home the advantage weighed heavily on the Swiss as he was immediately broken to love in the next game as Nadal nipped 4-3 in front, a sloppy backhand into the net sealing the top seed's fate.
Federer wasted another golden opportunity in the eighth game.
This time three more break points went begging as Nadal came back from 0-40 to lead 5-3.
The Spaniard went to set point in the ninth game which he converted in style with a screaming winner which left Federer scrambling after 51 minutes on court.
The Swiss wasted another break point, his 11th, in the seventh game of the second set, but he finally broke through to lead when Nadal could only bury a backhand return into the net.
Federer valiantly fought off three break points to establish a 5-3 lead before he then failed to convert four set points on the Nadal serve in the ninth game.
But he levelled the tie by taking the second set 6-4 after a further 55 minutes when Nadal went long with a forehand.
It was the first set the world number two had dropped at this year's tournament.
Nadal broke to lead 2-0 in the third set and defended splendidly from the baseline in the fifth game to go to 4-1.
Federer saved a set point in the eighth game but his opponent claimed the the set 6-3 with another power-packed forehand after nearly two and a half hours of action.
Federer hit a lazy forehand approach into the net in the third game of the fourth set to allow Nadal to go 2-1 up.
A love game allowed Nadal to go 4-2 up which soon became 5-3 as the fight deserted Federer.
Nadal sealed his third title after three hours 10 minutes when Federer hit a weary forehand long.
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
Omar Marmoush’s stunning long-range strike on Tuesday upstaged Kevin de Bruyne on the Manchester City great’s Etihad farewell. Marmoush let fly from about 30m to put City ahead in their 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to third in the standings and left qualification for the UEFA Champions League in their own hands heading into the last round of the season. “It’s really important. To be in the Champions League after what happened [this season] will be really nice,” the City manager said. De Bruyne was making his final home appearance for City before
Brighton & Hove Albion’s Jack Hinshelwood on Monday sealed a dramatic 3-2 victory against Liverpool to leave the English Premier League champions without a win since clinching the title. Arne Slot’s side took the lead through Harvey Elliott’s early opener before Yasin Ayari equalized at the American Express Stadium. Dominik Szoboszlai restored Liverpool’s advantage just before halftime, but Brighton staged a late fightback as Kaoru Mitoma leveled before Hinshelwood came off the bench to net with his first touch. Liverpool have taken just one point from their three matches following the title-clinching rout of Tottenham Hotspur on April 27. The Reds have lost at
Logan O’Hoppe, Taylor Ward and Matthew Lugo homered, and the Los Angeles Angels spoiled Clayton Kershaw’s season debut, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 11-9 on Saturday night to take the first two games of the three-game series. Kershaw allowed three runs and threw 38 pitches in the first inning. The three-time National League Cy Young Award winner lasted four innings, giving up five runs on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts. Shoulder, toe and knee injuries limited Kershaw to seven games last season, and his 2025 debut was delayed as he recovered from multiple offseason surgeries. O’Hoppe had two hits with
RSS