"I don't have the words to say how I feel. I never thought I would be competitive at 36, or even (a few months ago) be able to play here again," said Nadal in reference to his sore left foot after beating Norway's Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0.

"I don't know what will happen in the future, but I will fight to keep going as long as possible," he promised the crowd.

Words that triggered a standing ovation.

Forget the defeat in the semi-finals last year!

Honor where credit is due, it was under the eyes of King Felipe VI of Spain that the clay-court master received his 14th Mousquetaires Cup in his kingdom from the Philippe-Chatrier court.

The 22 Grand Slam titles of Rafael Nadal Cléa PÉCULIER AFP

Unreliable body

Despite a body that is now unreliable (his chronic pain in his left foot can wake up at any time and cost him the match), the world No.5 has gone through a particularly tough and exhausting table this year, including a five-set knockout round. and 4:21 against Félix Auger-Aliassime, then a quarter of four sets and 4:12 against Novak Djokovic and a half of 3:13 for... not even two sets against Alexander Zverev who gave up on a terrible right ankle injury.

Sunday, from the warm-up, the public announced the color with "Rafa! Rafa!".

Then from the first exchanges, it was the players who revealed their cards: as expected, it would be a lumberjack match between two clay court specialists.

Rafael Nadal too strong for the young Norwegian Casper Ruud at Roland-Garros, June 5, 2022 Thomas SAMSON AFP

But in this area, the world of tennis has never seen anything better than the Nadal phenomenon: 473 wins for 46 defeats or 91% success and even 112 wins for 3 defeats at Roland-Garros or 97.5% success .

Ruud, who was playing his very first Grand Slam final, moreover against his idol, failed to push Nadal to his physical limits glimpsed during the aborted half against Zverev.

Will he come back?

From time to time, he managed exploits (16 winning shots against 37 for Nadal) which, combined with a few unforced errors from Nadal (18 against 26 for Ruud), allowed him not to sink.

But the Spaniard had come for the trophy: he put a hand on the Cup in the first set, grabbed it in the second and lifted it in the third.

There was nothing for the Norwegian to do.

As proof, this 11 games to 0 inflicted by the Spaniard who was led 3-1 in the second set and did not leave any game to Ruud until the end.

After the unimaginable title in Australia where he had won in January after six months off to treat his foot then a covid, Nadal achieved the improbable at Roland-Garros by winning despite a preparation all the more reduced to the bare minimum that foot pain prevented him from going beyond the round of 16 in Rome, the only tournament on earth played before coming to Paris.

Rafa Nadal against Casper Ruud in the final of the Roland-Garros tournament, June 5, 2022 Christophe ARCHAMBAULT AFP

"It's crazy what's happening to me this year. Without my family and loved ones, I would have already retired," he admitted.

The joy that lit up his face as he lifted the Coupe des Mousquetaires badly hid an increasingly nagging question: now openly in a fight with his body, will Rafa return to Roland-Garros?

Will we even see him again in a tournament?

© 2022 AFP