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29 March 2024

Rafa Nadal wins record ninth French Open title

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By Correspondent and Agencies

Claycourt machine Rafa Nadal held off another challenge from great rival Novak Djokovic to claim a record extending ninth French Open title with a 3-6 7-5 6-2 6-4 victory on Sunday.

The world number one from Spain became the first man to win five successive titles at Roland Garros to take his overall Grand Slam tally to 14 - three short of Roger Federer's record.

Djokovic, who was looking to become the eighth man to complete a career Grand Slam, made a great start but appeared to suffer from the heat and humidity after losing the second set.

The 28-year-old Nadal, who has only lost one of his 67 matches on the Paris clay, fell on his knees when Djokovic double-faulted on the first match point.

"In matches like this every moment is crucial. Playing against Novak is always a big challenge, I had lost against him the last four times," Nadal said on court.

"Sorry for him today, he deserves to win this tournament."

It was Djokovic's sixth attempt against Nadal in his spiritual home, and his sixth failure - the second in a final after the 2012 showdown.

Djokovic, one of three men to beat Nadal on clay this year, had also won four of the last eight matches he had played against the Spaniard on the slow surface.

None of them had occurred in a best-of-five match, though.

RANGE TROUBLE

The 27-year-old Serb, who became the first person to win the opening set of a Roland Garros final against Nadal since 2006, went 40-15 up on Nadal's serve in the eighth game as the Spaniard had trouble finding his range.

Nadal saved the two break points with a forehand winner down the line and a big first serve but misfired on the third.

He had two break points in the ninth but fluffed a forehand on the first and sent another long on the second as Djokovic held to take the first set when Nadal failed to return a booming forehand.

Nadal set up a break point in the sixth game of the second set and thought he had won it with a backhand, only for umpire Pascal Maria to overrule the linesperson and award the point to Djokovic.

The Spaniard had another chance and there was no contest this time as Djokovic returned Nadal's forehand into the net, but the Serb broke straight back when his opponent's forehand sailed long.

Djokovic saved another break point in the eighth game but the momentum had shifted Nadal's way and the man from Mallorca took the set on the world number two's serve with a forehand winner.

He broke in the second game of the third set when Djokovic, who looked exhausted, netted a regulation volley.

At the following change of ends, the Serb almost fell off his chair.

Djokovic continued to fight but Nadal was always on top, wrapping up the set on Djokovic's serve when the Serb sent a forehand long.

It was a long backhand that gave Nadal a seemingly decisive break for 4-2 in the fourth set, but a rejuvenated Djokovic broke straight back before a final lapse in concentration handed Nadal the title.

"Congratulations to Rafa and his team, it is incredible to win this tournament nine times," Djokovic said.

"It was an emotional day. I have tried with all my power, my strength, my capacities but Rafa was the strongest on court.

"To my team: this trophy is not for us this year but we will try again and again."

FOURTH SET: NADAL 6 DJOKOVIC 4

BREAK! Novak slices a forehand wide and then double faults to hand Rafa victory. Nadal 6 Djokovic 4

Rafa turns the tide with a brilliant crosscourt winner followed by another forehand sealing the game wth a service winner to stay in front. Nadal 5 Djokovic 4

Novak seems to have got his second win, getting his serves in and cracking forehand winners. Nadal 4 Djokovic 4

BREAK! Novak breaks back immediately with Rafa committing a double fault. Nadal 4 Djokovic 3

BREAK! Novak is broken missing backhand returns despite firing in two aces. Nadal 4 Djokovic 2

Rafa serves well to seal the game quickly. Nadal 3 Djokovic 2

Novak is let off the hook by Rafa who mishits forehands just as the Serb seemed to be running out of steam. Nadal 2 Djokovic 2

Novak fails to take advantage after being ahead as Rafa manages to hold. Nadal 2 Djokovic 1

Rafa unleashes a fierce backhand crosscourt winner but Novak replies in similar fashion before holding service with an ace. Nadal 1 Djokovic 1

Rafa breezes past Novak without dropping a point to win his opening service game. Nadal 1 Djokovic 0

THIRD SET: NADAL 6 DJOKOVIC 2

BREAK! Novak fires in two aces but Rafa's is solid in defence as well to seize the advantage. Nadal 6 Djokovic 2

Novak misses a backhand crosscourt at the net after battling on to take the game to five deuces despite earning a warning for racket abuse while Rafa saves a break point to hold serve and take a crucial lead. Nadal 5 Djokovic 2

Novak holds serve by firing in two aces and a blistering forehand return while errors keep into Rafa's game. Nadal 4 Djokovic 2

Novak fails to convert a break point and Rafa cracks a forehand winner to surge ahead.  Nadal 4 Djokovic 1

Novak bounces back to hold serve smashing a forehand winner down the line and sealing it with an ace. Nadal 3 Djokovic 1

Rafa is turning it on now powering past Novak. Nadal 3 Djokovic 0

BREAK! Novak wins a great point at the net but Rafa is irresistible winning the longest rally of 22 shots so far to go 2-0 up. Nadal 2 Djokovic 0

A pumped up Rafa hold serves after Novak rips a forehand wide at 30-all. Nadal 1 Djokovic 0

SECOND SET: NADAL 7 DJOKOVIC 5

BREAK! Rafa breaks with a couple of fierce forehand winners down the line to win the set and draw level as Novak serves a double fault. Nadal 7 Djokovic 5

Rafa holds serve comfortably firing in an ace and a forehand winner. Nadal 6 Djokovic 5

Novak wins a couple of crucial net points and a service winner before smashing a forehand crosscourt to stay in the set. Nadal 5 Djokovic 5

Rafa holds serve comfortably as Novak looks on in frustration. Nadal 5 Djokovic 4

Rafa misses a backhand to convert a break point as Novak smashes a volley at the net to hold serve. Nadal 4 Djokovic 4

BREAK! Novak breaks immediately with Rafa after committing a double fault and forehand error. Nadal 4 Djokovic 3

BREAK! Rafa breaks for the first time in the final. Novak saves a break point with an unplayable crosscourt forehand but Rafa is on top of his unleashing forehand winners. Nadal 4 Djokovic 2

Rafa wins the games with forehand winners across court and down the line. Nadal 3 Djokovic 2

Novak wins the game comfortably having a better percentage of first service to keep Rafa at bay. Nadal 2 Djokovic 2

Nadal fires an ace, backhand winner down the line and a service winner to subdue Novak who also hit some backhand winners. Nadal 2 Djokovic 1

Novak hits a drop shot and then unleashes yet another forehand winner down the line to hold serve comfortably. Nadal 1 Djokovic 1

Novak missed a forehand to get an early break at 30-all allowing Rafa to steady himself and hold serve. Nadal 1 Djokovic 0

FIRST SET: NADAL 3 DJOKOVIC 6

Novak rallies to save two break points as Rafa is wild with a couple of returns and stumbles under a sizzling forehand before the Serb seals the game with his first set point. Nadal 3 Djokovic 6

BREAK! Novak breaks for the first time in the final as Rafa commits two successive unforced errors, saves two break points but has no reply to forehand winner down the line before pushing a return wide to concede the game. Nadal 3 Djokovic 5

Novak rallies to hold serve after the toughest game which goes to deuce forcing Rafa to commit errors on his return. Nadal 3 Djokovic 4

Novak charges ominously to the net to whip in a backhand drop shot but Rafa manages to hold serve after the Serb finds the net with a forehand. Nadal 3 Djokovic 3

Novak plays an exquisite backhand drop shot at the net and then fires another ace to hold serve. Nadal 2 Djokovic 3

Rafa finally begins to stretch Novak as they begin to slug it out. Nadal 2 Djokovic 2

Novak fires the first ace of the final and follows up with a thundering crosscourt winner to assert his authority. Nadal 1 Djokovic 2

Nadal holds serve without dropping a point. Nadal 1 Djokovic 1

Rafa hits the first winner a forehand down the line but Djokovic replies in the same vein to hold serve easily. Nadal 0 Djokovic 1

Djokovic to serve. Game on.

Six-times Roland Garros champion Bjorn Borg will present the award to the winner.

Djokovic and Nadal have walked out to the middle and are warming up.

The head-to-head is 22-19 in favour of Nadal while in Grand Slam finals it is three each.

PREVIEW

This is their 42nd clash, so there will be few surprises for the world's top two players Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic when they face each other over the net in the French Open final on Sunday.

Both are looking to cement their positions among the greats. Nadal is gunning to be the first man to win five straight Paris titles to take his total to nine. Djokovic wants to complete his career Grand Slam by bagging the only major to elude him.

They each have the strokes and the stamina. It will come down to who can control their on-court aggression and handle the pressure better in front of the 15,000 crowd on Philippe Chatrier.

"He has the pressure to win for the first time. I have the pressure that I want to win and the motivation that I want to win the ninth," Spaniard Nadal told reporters after demolishing Wimbledon champion Andy Murray in the semi-finals.

"I'm going to go on court with the same motivation than him. I don't know if the same pressure than him. Probably we are in different situations."

The Serbian second seed said he was trying not to get carried away by the stress of the occasion, after a wobble in the semis allowed Latvia's Ernests Gulbis to take a set off him before he regained his near metronomic consistency.

"Of course pressure is there. Expectations are there. They are always present when you are playing on this level," he said.

"It is the finals of a Grand Slam that I never won, of course I'm going to give my best to lift the trophy."

On paper, Djokovic, 27, may appear to have the upper hand, having won their last four tussles, including on the red dirt in Rome last month, when he dismantled Nadal 4-6 6-3 6-3 to hand the number one his third claycourt loss this year.

But they are not playing on paper. They are playing on the Roland Garros clay, Nadal's spiritual home, where he has an eye-watering 65-1 win-loss record.

Only four of Djokovic's 19 wins over Nadal have come on claycourts, and he lost to him in the Paris final in 2012.

"I think there is no doubt that he is the favourite to win," Djokovic said of Nadal, who he will swap places with in the world rankings on Monday if the 28-year-old Spaniard loses.

"But, okay, I have been playing some good tennis. The win in Rome a few weeks ago against him in the final definitely gives me confidence and hopefully self-belief."

Nadal seems to have plenty of self-belief too, declaring himself very happy with his "very fast, very powerful" forehand and acknowledging an improved backhand, ever seeking perfection.

"Is true that I lost a few matches, but playing the way that I played (against Murray) probably I will not," he said.

While Djokovic has former world number one Boris Becker in his corner, Nadal will have the history of Roland Garros, named after a French aviator, on his side when they vie for the Musketeers' Cup and the 1,650,000 euro ($2.25 million) cheque.

"For me the only motivation is Roland Garros," he said. "Doesn't matter five in a row, four, or one. For me, always when I have a chance to win Roland Garros is a special thing. The rest of the things are less important."