After his 14th French Open triumph, Rafael Nadal dropped his racket in complete disbelief and looked at his team in the stands.

Two days after his 36th birthday, the Spanish clay court king defeated the Norwegian Casper Ruud 6: 3, 6: 3, 6: 0 in the final in Paris on Sunday and thus won the 22nd Grand Slam title of his impressive tennis career .

It remains to be seen how many more will come in view of his chronic foot problems.

"I don't know what the future will bring, but I will keep fighting," said the 36-year-old Spaniard on Sunday in Paris at the end of his acceptance speech.

In mid-May, after falling out of the round of 16 at the tournament in Rome, he himself questioned participation in Paris.

The pain was too strong.

"Personally, it's very difficult for me to describe my feelings," said Nadal.

He never thought he would still be competitive at the age of 36.

Match point after 2:18 hours

Immediately after the next triumph in his tennis living room at Stade Roland Garros, he was overwhelmed by pure joy.

After he converted his second match point after 2:18 hours, the spectators celebrated him with long ovations.

As soon as Nadal entered the Court Philippe Chatrier shortly after 3 p.m., the spectators rose from their seats and received their darling with deafening applause.

Before the game, rumors had circulated that it could be the Spaniard's last match of his glorious career.

It seemed like everyone in Paris wanted to try and stop Nadal from the unconfirmed plans with their affection.

The obligatory presentation of Nadal by the cult stadium announcer Marc Maury lasted even longer than usual this time, repeatedly interrupted by the applause of the audience.

Nadal started well in front of the Spanish King Felipe and the Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon and immediately took the serve from the Norwegian.

Ruud, who has been training at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca for four years, also managed a break afterwards, but Nadal countered with another break that he didn't give up afterwards.

After 48 minutes he got the first set.

Ruud too nervous

The mood in the stadium before the game was sizzling, but the final was unspectacular.

Ruud was nervous and made a lot of slight mistakes, Nadal was also far from his best form, but still dominated the action on his favorite pitch with ease.

In the second set, Ruud initially improved, but the overall level was now a little better.

But it was still far removed from other Nadal finals in Paris.

The Mallorquin initially fell behind by a break, but Ruud was unable to use the momentum.

On the contrary: Nadal played five games in a row and took a 2-0 lead after 1:42 hours.

Ruud's belief in the sensation was finally gone in his first final at a Grand Slam tournament.

Nadal got the third set in quick succession - the rest was pure joy.