By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday June 3 2022
Sunday’s final between King of Clay Rafael Nadal and rising 23-year-old Casper Ruud promises to be a blockbuster - and a glimpse into the future of men’s tennis at Roland-Garros.
With Nadal going for history and Ruud looking to play the spoiler role, there’s lots at stake on Sunday. Will the tectonic plates of men’s tennis shift again, allowing Nadal to separate himself from Federer and Djokovic? Or will it be a second first-time champion in the last three Slams on the men’s side? Here is a look inside the numbers of their highly anticipated final:
13-0 Nadal has never lost a final at Roland-Garros. He has won 39 sets and dropped just seven across his thirteen Roland-Garros final.
36 Nadal will bid to become the oldest champion in Roland-Garros history, surpassing 1972 champion Andres Gimeno, who won the title at 34 years and 10 months old.
1997 The last time two players met for the first time in a Roland-Garros men's singles final - Gustavo Kuerten vs Sergi Bruguera.
111-3 Nadal’s career record at Roland-Garros. Nadal has only lost three times, and only two players – Robin Soderling and Novak Djokovic have ever defeated him on clay.
22 Nadal will bid to become the first man to ever win 22 major singles titles. He would tie Steffi Graf on the all-time list for Grand Slam singles titles.
2010 Ruud, 23, is the first Scandinavian man in a Grand Slam final since Robin Soderling at 2010 Roland Garros.
2009 The Norwegian would be the youngest Grand Slam men’s champion since Juan Martin del Potro, 20, at the 2009 US Open.
4 Nadal will bid for his fourth Top-10 win in the final against Ruud. The Spaniard is aiming to become the third player to earn four Top-10 wins at a Grand Slam event since the Pepperstone ATP Rankings began in 1973 (also Mats Wilander at 1982 Roland Garros, Federer at 2017 Australian Open).
473-45 Nadal’s all-time record on clay, including 136-3 in best-of-five matches on his favorite surface.
3-0 Nadal’s record in fifth sets at Roland-Garros (25-13 overall).
30 Number of Grand Slam finals Nadal has reached (21-9). Only Federer and Djokovic (31) have played more on the men’s side.
1930 By reaching the final Nadal has become the oldest finalist at Roland-Garros since 1930 (Bill Tilden).
0 Number of times that Nadal has won the Australian Open and Roland-Garros in the same season. He will attempt to do it for the first time on Sunday.
8-1 Nadal was the last man to win his first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros and he is 8-1 against players vying for their first Grand Slam title. R
66 Ruud leads the ATP in clay-cour wins since the start of 2020.
7 Ruud leads the ATP in clay-court titles since the start of 2020.
1 Ruud is the first man from Norway to ever reach a Grand Slam singles quarter-final, semi-final and final.