Rafael Nadal owns Roger Federer at Roland Garros

A long series of tennis cashed another, and Roger Federer finally shuddered when Rafael Nadal successfully defended his French Open title with a 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory. ).

It was more than a battle of right-handed shots and catchy defensive skills. It was a statistics battle. Nadal recorded a record 59-game winning streak on clay and Federer attempted to become the third man to win all four Grand Slam tournaments in a row and the first to win his first eight major finals.

"It's a shame after doing all this, going the long way I did, not to finish all four Grand Slam tournaments," said Federer.

Federer won in his first final at Roland Garros, and Nadal came out nervously, struggling to control his shots on the ground. He even let out one or two yelps of frustration.

But the now classic soundtrack and order of the clay are quickly restored: Nadal, the young Spanish, keeps Federer in the center of the battle and locks himself into a sort of bitter duels where Nadal has the Match and perfect legs to win. .

The most awaited men's final in years did not fall as low as Nadal after securing the title, but it was not a classic encounter.

With terracotta covered with terracotta on his clothes, Rafael Nadal climbed into the stands of Roland Garros to celebrate his third consecutive victory at the French Open.

High above the court, he joined his family and friends, who then choked him. But below the court, his opponent, Roger Federer, was sitting alone.

Federer was frozen and inexpressive while the reality of the moment was at the rendezvous. Once again, he had not managed to win the French Open. And again, Nadal had been the man who had arrested him.

In a match expected since the start of this tournament, a duel between No. 1 and No. 2, Nadal won 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

So what did Roger Federer have to do with the elusive French Open Trophy once more in sight and where Rafael Nadal was looming bigger than ever through the net?

Stay behind and gather? Definitely not. Nadal was too fast, too powerful and too stable, with non-forced errors that crept as seldom as the sun during this tournament.

Why not attack the net? It is more reasonable, however, that Nadal's assists were so precise, so powerful that they still forced Federer to remove the balls from the dust or to twist his neck, gently, of course, to watch the winner land. on the sideline.

No, the answer to the millions of fans of Federer in the world who would like nothing better than to win the only Grand Slam singles title he lacks is that there was no solution available of Federer in his current state and the current state of Nadal. Grace.

In a final that rarely resembled one-way traffic, Nadal was at his best, covering the clay ground and beating forward, winning his fourth consecutive French Open by defeating Federer, a wandering player and increasingly desperate.

The impressive final score – 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 – was the most unbalanced result of a major men's final as John McEnroe had also made only four games against Jimmy Connors at Wimbledon in 1984 .

Bjorn Borg could not get to Roland-Garros, which has turned out to be a missed opportunity. That would have given the right picture: Borg entrusted the Musketeer's Cup to his successor in the soft evening light in Paris.

It's been 30 years since Borg won his sixth and final Roland Garros, and one could imagine that no other relentless baseliner could compete with Borg's domination at the world's biggest clay court tournament.

In fact, the man who would charge it was not born yet. But Rafael Nadal is in the prime of his life, and this Sunday he turned back to Borg and won his sixth title here by holding his usual French Open foil: Roger Federer.