Rafael Nadal, 36, gave Rafael Nadal Tennis Academy alumnus Casper Ruud, 23, several tennis lessons before he won the French Open title for an incredible 14th time at Roland-Garros in Paris on Sunday, June 5, 2022.
Nadal is the oldest title winner in the history of the clay court tournament.
A day earlier, World No 1 Iga Swiatek, 21, crushed Coco Gauff, 18, in straight sets to claim her second French Open title in three years.
The Pole has now won 35 consecutive matches — matching the longest unbeaten streak since Venus Williams in 2000.
Please click on the images for 10 interesting glimpses from this year’s French Open:
IMAGE: Rafa was trailing 1-3 in the second set, but any chances of a Ruud upset in the final were quickly extinguished when the Grand Conquistador of the Clay Courts won the next 11 games in a blitzkrieg that stunned the 10,000 spectators at the Philippe Chatrier court and the millions around the world watching the final on television.
6-3, 6-3, 6-0 gave Rafa his 14th championship at Roland-Garros and his 22nd Grand Slam title overall.
Photograph: Yves Herman/Reuters
IMAGE: Iga leaps on the Pont Bir-Hakeim, the bridge which crosses over the river Seine and provides panoramic views in front of the Eiffel Tower, the French Open trophy beside her.
When she won her first French Open title in 2020, Iga had to wear a mask when accepting the trophy. Not this year.
After telling Coco, who was in tears after her defeat in the final, not to cry, Iga got tearful herself when the Polish national anthem was played.
Photograph: Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters
IMAGE: Coco couldn’t keep the tears from flowing after losing her first Grand Slam final.
A day later, on Sunday, Coco and Jessica Pegula lost the French Open doubles final 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 to the French pair Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic.
Clearly the most exciting American tennis player since the Williams sisters, we can’t wait to see Coco at Wimbledon.
Photograph: Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters
IMAGE: A protestor interrupted the French Open men’s semi-final between Marin Cilic and Casper Ruud for 15 minutes when she jumped onto the Court Philippe Chatrier and tied herself to the net.
The woman, a French citizen, wearing a t-shirt that read ‘We have 1028 days left’ tied herself to the edge of the net with a string around her neck.
The message, written on both sides of her white t-shirt, was a reference to a UN report on climate change.
Photograph: Benoit Tessier/Reuters
IMAGE: Japan’s Shingo Kunieda celebrates with the trophy after winning the men’s wheelchair final against Argentina’s Gustavo Fernandez.
Kunieda won his eighth French Open men’s wheelchair singles title and his first since 2018 on Saturday, to add to his long list of career accomplishments including three Paralympic gold medals.
Photograph: Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters
IMAGE: Alexander Zverev receives medical attention after sustaining an injury as Rafa looks on during the men’s semi-final on Friday.
Zverev’s French Open campaign ended in agony after he was forced to retire during the semi-final with an ankle injury.
He kept screaming in pain before leaving the court in a wheelchair as spectators in the packed stands and his opponent looked on in shock.
The lanky German returned on crutches minutes later to confirm his retirement.
Photograph: Yves Herman/Reuters
IMAGE: Cilic serves during his quarter final match against Andrey Rublev. Cilic completed his set of Grand Slam semi-finals by knocking out the No 7 seed 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (10/2) in a marathon showdown.
A US Open champion in 2014 and a former runner-up at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, Cilic had never made it past the quarters in Paris before this year. He eventually lost to Ruud in the semi-finals.
Photograph: Yves Herman/Reuters
IMAGE: Carlos Alcaraz in action during his quarter-final match against Zverev.
Zverev capitalised on an error-filled performance from Alcaraz to tame the high-flying teenage Spaniard 6-4, 6-4 4-6, 7-6 (7) and reach a second straight semi-final at the French Open.
This was the first time the 25-year-old Zverev had defeated a top 10 opponent at a Grand Slam in 12 attempts and his victory came against a player who came into the contest having won 14 consecutive matches.
Photograph: Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters
IMAGE: Novak Djokovic does his best to get to the ball during his quarter-final match against Rafa.
In an epic battle, Nadal beat the World Number 1 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 to enter the semi-final.
Photograph: Pascal Rossignol/Reuters
IMAGE: Veronika Kudermetova in action during her fourth round match against Madison Keys.
Kudermetova bounced back in fine style after losing the first set to beat Keys 1-6, 6-3, 6-1.
Photograph: Yves Herman/Reuters
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