Rafael Nadal has won the first set against Casper Ruud 6-3 in the Roland Garros final Sunday as he aims to capture a historic 14th title in Paris and a record-extending 22nd Grand Slam trophy.

In front of a raucous crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier, the 36-year-old produced an intense and aggressive first-set performance, hitting his forehand with heavy topspin to outmanoeuvre the Norwegian and move ahead after 49 minutes.

Nadal is trying to become the oldest Roland Garros men’s singles champion in history, surpassing countryman Andres Gimeno, who set the record 50 years ago. If Nadal can improve to 112-3 at the clay-court major and capture his 22nd Grand Slam crown, the Spaniard will move further clear of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer in the Grand Slam race, with the Serbian and Swiss tied on 20 major titles.

Nadal, who will rise to No. 4 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday regardless of the result, has showcased his fighting qualities en route to the final, spending 11 hours and 46 minutes on court in his three previous matches. The fifth seed moved past Top 10 stars Felix Auger-Aliassime, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev to set a first ATP Head2Head meeting with World No. 8 Ruud.

If the Spaniard defeats the Norwegian, he will become just the third player to earn four Top 10 wins at a Grand Slam event since the inception of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in 1973. Mats Wilander at Roland Garros in 1982 and Federer at the Australian Open in 2017 also achieved the feat.

Ruud, who has trained at Nadal’s academy in Mallorca since September 2018, is playing in his maiden Grand Slam championship match after he overcame Croatian Marin Cilic to improve to 30-9 on the season.

The 23-year-old had never been beyond the fourth round at a major prior to his run in Paris and is the first Norwegian man to reach the championship match at a Grand Slam. Before Ruud, the last Scandinavian male to advance to the final at a major was Swede Robin Soderling at Roland Garros in 2010.

The eight-time tour-level champion, who has earned a Tour-leading 66 match wins on clay since 2020, will rise to a career-high No. 6 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday even with defeat.

Earlier this season, Ruud captured the seventh clay-court title of his career when he lifted the trophy in Buenos Aires. He then advanced to his maiden ATP Masters 1000 final in Miami, losing to Carlos Alcaraz, who holds a Tour-leading four titles in 2022.

Nadal will draw level with the 19-year-old if he improves to 14-0 in Roland Garros finals, having lifted the Australian Open, the Melbourne Summer Set and the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC this year. The Spaniard has never won the Australian Open and Roland Garros titles in the same season.

Set One

In lively conditions, Nadal immediately flew out of the blocks, forcing Ruud deep behind the baseline with his heavy forehand, which consistently rose above the Norwegian’s shoulders. After breaking for a 2-0 lead, the Spaniard suffered a slight dip in his second service game, double faulting twice, to give Ruud the opportunity to move onto the scoreboard, which he took. However, Nadal responded quickly by breaking again and continuing to fire his forehand with precision and power, hitting 11 winners to once again take the lead in a Roland Garros final.Source Tennis – ATP World Tour