Roger Federer welcomed Rafael Nadal warmly into the 20 Grand Slam club, where only the two of them stand at the moment. Nadal equalled Federer‘s Grand Slam record with a scintillating 13th French Open title, which he grabbed on Sunday at the Philippe Chatrier with a straight sets win over Novak Djokovic. In what was arguably Nadal’s greatest claycourt performance, the Spaniard overplayed Djokovic 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 in just two hours and 41 minutes.
With the title in Paris, Nadal also won his 100th match in Paris against just two losses since 2005, when he won his first title as a 19-year-old. This was Nadal’s fourth straight Roland Garros title with Djokovic being the last non-Rafa winner in 2016. Since 2005, only three other men have been able to win the French Open apart from Nadal – Federer (2009), Stan Wawrinka (2015) and Djokovic (2016).
French Open 2020 Men’s Singles Final HIGHLIGHTS
As Nadal matched Federer, the Swiss took to Twitter to congratulate the King of Clay and his team and called it his “true honour” to congratulate him on the achievement. “I have always had the utmost respect for my friend Rafa as a person and as a champion. As my greatest rival over many years, I believe we have pushed each other to become better players. Therefore it is a true honor for me to congratulate him on his 20th Grand Slam victory,” he wrote.
Federer further hoped that this 20 was a step on a journey that they would continue. “It is especially amazing that he has now won Roland Garros an incredible 13 times, which is one of the greatest achievements in sport. I also congratulate his team, because nobody can do this alone. I hope 20 is just another step on the continuing journey for both of us. Well done, Rafa. You deserve it.”
pic.twitter.com/TzQhBeuwML— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) October 11, 2020
Nadal got exceptionally emotional as the national anthem was played after he was handed the trophy for the 13th time in his career. After winning the match, in the on-court interview, he said, “Today is not about equalling Roger but it is just a Roland Garros victory, it means everything to me. I have spent the most important moments of my career here and I can only thank everyone, the crowd. Just playing here is a true inspiration. The love story I have with this city and this court is special.”
He urged everyone to stay positive in these tough coronavirus times. He said Roland Garros was the “most important tennis court in his career”, before adding, “I have enjoyed so much here. In some ways, this is not so happy due to situation because we cannot celebrate in a normal way but thank you to the public for their support.”
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