Rafael Nadal made his case for being the GOAT -- greatest of all time -- with a stunning victory over Novak Djokovic at the French Open. The Spaniard routed ATP's world No. 1 with a score of 6-0, 6-2, 7-5. This marks the 13th time Nadal has won the French Open, and it's his 20th Grand Slam title overall. He's now tied with another GOAT contender, Roger Federer, for total Grand Slams won. The long-time rivals now hold more championship titles than any other men in the sport.
Nadal's Path to Victory
From the second Nadal stepped onto the clay court in Paris, he dominated this year's Roland-Garros. Beginning with his opening match against Egor Gerasimov and going all the way to the final with Djokovic, Nadal didn't drop a single set. This was despite reportedly being thrown off his game by the changes in this year's Grand Slam. Instead of taking place in sunny, dry May, this year's event took place in a wet, chilly September due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. This change in weather altered the feel of the clay courts.
Nadal also had to contend with new, heavier tennis balls from Wilson rather than the typical light Babolat balls from previous years. Because of the way Nadal uses topspin, the newer balls favoured players like Djokovic.
Nadal Defeats Djokovic
Like Nadal, Novak Djokovic had a fantastic tournament. In fact, he's had a fantastic season. He defended his Australian Open title. He also won the Italian Open, the Cincinnati Masters, and the Dubai Open. Aside from being defaulted from the US Open, the Serbian didn't lose a match until coming up against Nadal.
It took Nadal just 45 minutes to bagel Djokovic in the first set. Nadal managed this dominant performance by winning more than 60 per cent of points on his first serve compared to Djokovic's 27 per cent. He hit only two unforced errors while Djokovic hit 13. Djokovic managed to get on the board in the second set but continued to hit too many unforced errors -- 17 to Nadal's four. He did manage to put more heart into the third set, but it wasn't enough. He double-faulted to give Nadal the break and the win.
