Nadal ties Federer, sets numerous other records with French Open victory

Rafael Nadal.
(Image credit: MARTIN BUREAU/AFP via Getty Images)

Rafael Nadal defeated his longtime rival, the top-seeded Novak Djokovic 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 to win his 13th French Open singles title, extending a record he set years ago and further solidifying him as one of the sport's all-time great performers.

It was a history-making kind of day for the Spaniard. The victory means the 34-year-old Nadal has tied another contemporary, Roger Federer, for the most Grand Slam titles in a career with 20. The "King of Clay," so-called because of his dominance on the surface, is now the oldest Roland-Garros champion since 1972. It's been 15 years since he won his first grand slam in Paris in 2005, marking the longest span between a male professional tennis player's first and latest Grand Slam victories.

It was also the 56th matchup between Nadal and Djokovic, the most between any pair in the professional era, and the ninth time they've faced off in a Grand Slam final, equaling the record set by Nadal and Federer. Needless to say, it's been a pretty successful run for the trio. Watch Nadal's victory speech below and read more from The Associated Press. Tim O'Donnell

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.