After 14 titles, 36-year-old Rafael Nadal hungry as ever for French Open glory

PARIS, June 6

Rafael Nadal would probably not have played any Grand Slam other than the French Open with the chronic foot injury that needed numbing injections in Paris, the 14-time Roland Garros champion said today.

The Spaniard’s record-extending triumph on the Paris clay earned him an all-time best 22nd men’s singles Major with a 6-3 6-3 6-0 crushing of Norway’s Casper Ruud and put him two titles clear of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. It was the ‘most unexpected’ of his French Open titles, Nadal said today after limping into the scintillating salon of a Paris hotel. Asked if he would have played any other Grand Slam with the injury that forced him to have injections to numb his foot, Nadal said: “Probably not”. “We have been through a lot of emotions. Probably the most unexpected, surprising (title) and all the things I had to do to play the event makes the title one of the most special,” the 36-year-old said. While he still does not know what his schedule will look like in the coming weeks, Nadal agreed to cast his mind forward to two years from now, when Roland Garros will host the Olympics after the French Open. “It is part of the history of my career, it’s the most important place. “It’s difficult to choose but the French Open is a little more special for me.” — Reuters

Gauff rises to 13th, Rafa 4th in rankings

Paris: American teenager Coco Gauff rose to a career-best No. 13 in the WTA rankings today after her runner-up finish to No. 1 Iga Swiatek at the French Open. Gauff, an 18-year-old from Florida, jumped 10 spots by getting to her first Grand Slam final. The French Open’s effect on the rankings for both the WTA and ATP will hold sway longer than usual, because the two professional tours have announced they will not award points this year for Wimbledon, which starts on June 27. Rafael Nadal’s 14th French Open title, and 22nd Grand Slam trophy overall, lifted him one place to No. 4 behind top-ranked Novak Djokovic. Ruud went up to a career-best No. 6 from No. 8. AP