with his incontestable victory in the Roland Garros final against Casper Ruud, Rafa Nadal conquered his 22nd Grand Slam title, 14th in the French tournament, and distances himself from his rivals in the fight for historical supremacy in tennis. The Balearic has two more than Roger Federer, currently inactive, and Novak Djokovic, whom he eliminated in Paris a few days ago in the quarterfinals.
The Serbian lost the opportunity to match the Spaniard and gave him the opportunity to take even more advantage. The fight could return at Wimbledon (June 27 to July 10), where Djokovic, current champion, will surely (barring injury or another setback) be. Federer’s presence is completely ruled out and Nadal’s is up in the air. It will depend on whether the treatment to which he will undergo from this week to try to play without pain, but also without anesthetic injections in his left foot. If he does go, he will do so as the number three seed, if ultimately, as seems likely, Alexander Zverev is unable to compete due to torn ligaments in his right ankle. Thus, Rafa could meet Novak again on the same side of the draw, if the draw so decides.
In 2017, before the Australian Open, Federer had 17 majors, Nadal 14 and Djokovic 13. Since then, the Swiss has won three (and it is difficult for him to harvest more), the Serbian seven and the Spanish eight, so it can already be said that he has been the most dominant in the last five years.
If he manages to solve his physical problems, the man from Manacori could even equal or surpass the two players who lead the global list of Grand Slam titles: Serena Williams, who has 23 and has no comeback date, and Margaret Court, who added 24 in his carrer. He has already matched Steffi Graf’s 22, making him third in the all-time standings.