French Open 2022, Final, Sunday, 05.06.2022
Dramas, surprises and records – the French Open 2022 will come to an end on Sunday with a final that will mark the end of a long, emotional journey. In the process, the audience will be presented with its favourite finalist.
The King of Paris has reached a final there for the 14th time and now faces an opponent for whom such a match at a Grand Slam is still completely new territory.
Read my Nadal Ruud tip to find out why I can only imagine the best clay court player of all time as the winner!
Imagine reaching the final of Roland Garros for the 14th time, having the chance to win title number 22 at a Grand Slam, but you can’t really be happy about it. Rafael Nadal experienced a curious semi-final.
Three hours and 13 minutes had passed before Alexander Zverev had even finished the second set. The two were heading for an absolutely epic match until the bitter misfortune happened.
The Olympic champion sprinted after a ball, twisted his ankle badly, screamed in pain and had to be driven off the court in a wheelchair. It is completely uncertain how long Zverev will be out of action. This is definitely not how Rafael Nadal wanted to win the
How had the Spaniard done at all? Physically, he was actually inferior to Zverev, but won the first set 7-6 in the tiebreak with irrepressible mental strength. In the process, he fended off four set points against him.
The second set was also a back-and-forth affair, a sheer break festival. The bottom line is that Nadal has now reached the final, and no one knows whether it would have happened that way even without his opponent’s serious injury.
Nadal has already shown throughout the tournament that although he is not always in top form, he can make up for a lot with his experience. In the quarter-finals he beat Novak Djokovic in four sets, before that he had needed five against Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Knowing that he always has the crowd in the French capital on his side, this support pushes him even further. Now he faces a player he has never competed against on tour.
As he is the absolute superstar in Paris and has won all of his 13 finals, he is of course the clear favourite on Sunday as well.
1,15 to 4,80 average, that Casper Ruud goes into the match as a blatant underdog should be clear to the Norwegian. Everything is new for him these days. Although he has been in the Top 10 for a long time, his nerves never played along with him to reach the very top at a Grand Slam.
Now he has not only achieved a good result, but has stormed straight through to the final. Smooth victories? You look for them in vain for the most part. If we look back at the first round, it is actually a miracle that he is now in the final.
He had a lot of trouble against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-7, 7-6, 6-2, 7-6. Ruud took his break in every match except the 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 against Emil Ruusuvuori, winning in four or five sets in the end.
However, with Lorenzo Sonego, Hubert Hurkacz and Holger Rune he did not beat any walk-ins. The 4:1 win against the Dane made particularly big waves, Ruud was accused of unsportsmanlike conduct afterwards.
He himself denies all the youngster’s accusations and showed in the semi-finals that such discussions leave him completely cold on the court. He lost the first set 3-6 against Marin Cilic, but then he turned up the heat and gave the Croat no chance.
6-4, 6-2, 6-2, Ruud became stronger with every rally. He used five of 15 break chances, here he still has to improve against Rafael Nadal. A dream could come true for the world number eight on Sunday, but how will he beat Nadal in Paris?
Rafael Nadal in the final of the French Open, some things never change. He has never lost one of his 13 finals here. In this year’s tournament, he certainly showed physical weaknesses, but fought back all the stronger mentally.
Of course, I can’t say with absolute certainty how fit he will be on Sunday. Would he have been eliminated against Alexander Zverev if he hadn’t been injured?
Nadal is Nadal, he can hardly be beaten on clay. Casper Ruud can always surprise against a top man, I wouldn’t put it past him to win a set. But since the incredible experience, the crowd and the mentality speak for Nadal, I send the following tip into the race:
Nadal wins at over 27.5 games!
