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And then there were two.
In what will be his 30th major final, Rafael Nadal will have the chance to extend the two records that he holds outright: those for the most grand slam singles title by a man, and the most singles titles at any grand slam tournament.
The Spaniard has again defied the odds, as well as a recent rib injury, to again take his place in the championship match of a tournament he has dominated ruthlessly ever since his debut in 2005.
He enters his 14th final at Roland Garros off the back of a truncated semi-final match against Alexander Zverev, after the German was forced to retire at 6-all in the second set after suffering a sickening ankle injury.
The King of Clay had to save four set points to win the first set tiebreak by 10-8, in a set that lasted 92 minutes, and the second set appeared evenly poised before Zverev slid on the clay and was ultimately forced to retire after returning to court on a wheelchair.
It was a disappointing end to what had shaped as an intriguing semi-final, and it was not the way Nadal would’ve wanted to celebrate his 36th birthday, the Spaniard having more often than not celebrated his special day at his pet tournament.
Prior to that, he defeated career rival Novak Djokovic in a lengthy quarter-final that didn’t finish until after 1:00am Paris time, while he was also stretched to five sets by Canadian ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the fourth round.
(Photo by Oscar Gonzalez/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
He had won his first three matches in straight sets, sending a huge warning to the tennis world that he is still the man to beat at Roland Garros, all these years on.
In tonight’s (AEST) championship match he will face eighth seed Casper Ruud, who has become the first man from Norway to reach a major final, and the first man since Robin Soderling in 2009 to reach his first fourth round, quarter-final, semi-final and final at the French Open.
The Norweigan began his tournament with a clash against local favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in round one; after he dropped the first set in a tiebreak, the 23-year-old saved a set point in the fourth before winning in four sets and sending the Frenchman into retirement.
His second round win against Emil Ruusuvuori was his only straight-sets victory of the tournament so far; in his very next match he was taken the distance by Italian 32nd seed Lorenzo Sonego.
By beating Hubert Hurkacz in the fourth round, Ruud became the first Norweigan to reach a major quarter-final in the Open Era, surpassing his father Christian’s effort in reaching the fourth round at the 1997 Australian Open (at which point Casper wasn’t even born yet).
Further four-set wins against Holger Rune and Marin Cilic (against whom he served 16 aces and came from a set down to win) has seen him break new ground for the country, and in his first major final will face the toughest task of all: facing Rafael Nadal in a French Open final.
No man has dominated any major tournament like Nadal has over the past 18 years; in this period, he has compiled an astonishing 111-3 win-loss record, the only losses being against Novak Djokovic (twice, in 2015 and 2021) and Robin Soderling (in 2009).
The only other year he failed to reach the final was in 2016 when he was forced to withdraw mid-tournament due to a wrist injury which ultimately forced him out of Wimbledon.
Thus, Casper Ruud has it all before him if he is to cause what would be one of tennis’ greatest boilovers, and hand the Spaniard a first defeat in a French Open final, which would also see him complete a “dinner set” (a win and a loss in each of the four major finals).
Making tonight’s (AEST) final all the more intriguing, is that this will be the first career meeting of the two players.
Now that you’ve got all the inside info, it’s time to crunch the all-important numbers below.
[5] Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs [8] Casper Ruud (NOR)
Sunday, June 5, 3:00pm local (11:00pm AEST)
Court Philippe Chatrier
Head-to-head
First meeting
Rafael Nadal’s road to the final
Round 1: defeated Jordan Thompson (AUS) 6-2, 6-2, 6-2
Round 2: defeated Corentin Moutet (FRA) 6-3, 6-1, 6-4
Round 3: defeated [26] Botic van de Zandschulp (NED) 6-3, 6-2, 6-4
Round 4: defeated [9] Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
Quarter-final: defeated [1] Novak Djokovic (ESP) 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (6-4)
Semi-final: defeated [3] Alexander Zverev (GER) 7-6 (10-8), 6-6 ret.
Casper Ruud’s road to the final
Round 1: defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (7-4), 6-2, 7-6 (7-0)
Round 2: defeated Emil Ruusuvuori (FIN) 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
Round 3: defeated [32] Lorenzo Sonego (ITA) 6-2, 6-7 (3-7), 1-6, 6-4, 6-3
Round 4: defeated [12] Hubert Hurkacz (POL) 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Quarter-final: defeated Holger Rune (DEN) 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3
Semi-final: defeated [20] Marin Cilic (CRO) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2
The stats that matter
* This is Rafael Nadal’s 30th major final, and 14th at Roland Garros, while for Casper Ruud this is his first major final. The Norweigan is the first man or woman from his country to reach a major final in the Open Era.
* Nadal is aiming to win a record-extending 22nd major title, which would pull him two clear of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, and 14th at Roland Garros. In 13 previous finals at the tournament, he has never lost.
* Despite his dominance at Roland Garros, Nadal has never won the Australian and French Open titles in the same calendar year. In the year he won his first Australian Open title (2009), he lost to Robin Soderling in the fourth round.
* If Nadal wins as expected, he would join Novak Djokovic (2016 and 2021) and Jim Courier (1992) in winning both the Australian and French Open titles in the same calendar year.
* Ruud is the 11th different opponent to face Nadal in a major final, after Mariano Puerta, Roger Federer, Robin Soderling, Tomas Berdych, Novak Djokovic, David Ferrer, Stan Wawrinka, Kevin Anderson, Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev.
* Nadal has beaten all ten different opponents he has faced in a major final on the first attempt, except for Wawrinka (2014 Australian Open), though he did beat him in the final of the 2017 French Open. Federer and Djokovic are the only other two men to beat the Spaniard in a major final.
* Since Nadal won his first French Open title in 2005, only Wawrinka (in 2015) has won a French Open final on his first attempt, when he beat Novak Djokovic in four sets.
Prediction: Rafael Nadal in straight sets.
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