Rafael Nadal – Casper Ruud, live: the Roland Garros final, minute by minute

There is no time for speculation anymore. The final of the French Open begins. Rafa Nadal starts serving against Ruud.

Britain’s James Keothavong is the chair umpire for the final between Nadal and Ruud. He is a very experienced umpire, especially in the big tournaments.

Players enter center court. First Ruud, then Nadal. When the Spanish appears, literally, the Philipp-Chatrier collapses. Fabulous welcome, standing ovation.

There is a lot of crosswind at the moment: it will be seen if it influences the game.

The German Lars Burgsmüller was the first defeated by Nadal in the French Open, in 2005. At 46, today he works as a radiologist in a hospital in Essen. The match was on Court 1 at Roland Garros, on May 23, 2005: Nadal won in one hour and 45 minutes, 6-1, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1.

The Roland Garros men’s final will start with the roof of the Philippe-Chatrier open, however the weather forecast is not good in Paris. We will have to see if it starts to rain during the match, which would force the retractable roof of the central stadium to close.

The Spanish soccer coach, Luis Enrique, wished that “we can sing that title” of Rafa Nadal in Paris. “I hope he wins the 14th, the 15th and as many as he wants because it is a source of pride for anyone who feels Spanish that Rafa Nadal represents our country,” said Luis Enrique at the press conference prior to this Sunday’s League match. of Nations, against the Czech Republic.

Some of Rafa Nadal’s incredible numbers at Roland Garros. The Spaniard has a record of 111 wins and just 3 losses. He has 332 sets won, 34 lost (90.7%). Also, of the 111 wins in Paris, 89 were in straight sets.

Nadal only lost one match in straight sets at the Bois de Boulogne (to Novak Djokovic, in the 2015 quarterfinals). The Mallorcan won four titles without losing sets (2008, 2010, 2017 and 2020).

Most wins at Roland Garros: Nadal, 111; Djokovic, 85; and Roger Federer, 73.

Roland Garros doubles champions in 2020, 2021 and also in 2022. The British Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid defeated the Argentine Gustavo Fernández and the Japanese Shingo Kunieda 7-6 (7-5) in the adapted tennis final in Paris and 7-6 (7-5), in 2h20m.

Rafael Nadal’s only big concern is how his physique will respond in the final, against a long-term opponent like Norway’s Ruud. Carlos Moyá, manager of the manacorí, had assured three days ago: “Rafa’s foot will last until the end of the tournament”.

The Roland Garros social networks are activated to present a final in which Rafael Nadal can continue adding records to his already incredible record in Paris.

Since his first competition in 2005, Rafael Nadal has 111 wins at Roland Garros and only lost three games to two rivals: Robin Söderling (2009 round of 16) and Novak Djokovic (2015 quarterfinals and 2021 semifinals). In addition, he reaches his 30th Grand Slam final throughout his professional career, just one less than Roger Federer and Djokovic, at the top of appearances of all time.

Welcome to the Roland Garros final. Rafael Nadal will seek to continue making history and, from number 10 in our country (ESPN, Star+), he will pursue his 14th crown in the Parisian competition and his twenty-second Grand Slam tournament. The man from Manacori, who has the incredible statistic of having won all the finals in Paris, faces the Norwegian Casper Ruud, who is 23 years old and occupies 8th place in the world ranking. Bad weather is expected in the French capital, so it is very likely that it will be disputed with the covered Philippe Chatrier.