For the ninth time in the last 10 years, Spaniard Rafael Nadal achieved the French Open title Sunday morning. Known as the “King of the Clay,” Nadal again proved that he might be the greatest player to ever play on clay courts. Nadal easily breezed through the majority of his matches until the finals, beating both David Ferrer and Andy Murray, ranked fifth and seventh, respectfully. However, beating Serbian player Novak Djokavic was not as easy. Ranked second worldwide just behind Nadal, Djokavic gave Nadal a strong fight despite his previous success in Paris. The four set match lasted almost four hours with both players struggling to keep playing to the end. For years, Nadal and Djokovic ended up playing in the finals of major tournaments, giving the crowds great shows through true athleticism and passion for the game.
The first set Nadal showed some weakness, losing 3-6 despite almost breaking Djokovic multiple times. It seemed like the match was going to Djokovic until Nadal came back in the second set with a fire that he was missing before. The second set he barely won with a score of 7-5: a full hour of slow games with the points going back and forth. The last two sets were a little easier for Nadal, winning 6-2 and 6-4; however, the scores don’t show the intense action of both players. Both sets lasted about 50 minutes and were a great display of competition. Achieving his 9th French Open Title, Nadal has now won 14 Grand Slam tournament finals, tying with Pete Sampras, trailing Roger Federer by only three titles.