2022 Roland Garros Men's Final: Rafael Nadal vs. Casper Ruud

[rafanoy1992]

This is will be their first official meeting.

This is Nadal's 14th Roland Garros final appearance and 30th Grand Slam Final appearance overall (1 behind Djokovic and Federer). He will try to extend his record into to 22 Grand Slam titles, which is an All-time record for the Men's side.

For Ruud, this is his 1st Roland Garros Final and also 1st Grand Slam Final appearance overall. Interestingly enough, this is his only 2nd final appearance outside of 250 events (2022 Miami was his 1st final appearance). So, it is quite an accomplishment for Ruud. One more thing: By reaching the final of RG, he reaches a career high ranking of 6th in this upcoming week. And if he wins this match against Nadal, he will be ranked five in the world on the week of June 13th.

One last thing: Hopefully, both players come out injury-free in this match!

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

This is will be their first official meeting.

This is Nadal's 14th Roland Garros final appearance and 30th Grand Slam Final appearance overall (1 behind Djokovic and Federer). He will try to extend his record into to 22 Grand Slam titles, which is an All-time record for the Men's side.

For Ruud, this is his 1st Roland Garros Final and also 1st Grand Slam Final appearance overall. Interestingly enough, this is his only 2nd final appearance outside of 250 events (2022 Miami was his 1st final appearance). So, it is quite an accomplishment for Ruud. One more thing: By reaching the final of RG, he reaches a career high ranking of 6th in this upcoming week. And if he wins this match against Nadal, he will be ranked five in the world on the week of June 13th.

One last thing: Hopefully, both players come out injury-free in this match!

May I add no more protestors running on the court,after the s/final Ruud/Cilic, security has to be much tighter.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

I am certain Nadal will ask for a Day Match for the final
Also 2 of his pupils are also finalist's at RG this year from his academy
Nadal is the oldest player to play in a final at RG....just 36 years young.

 

[Jelenafan]

Ruud: Playing your idol for the first time in your first Major final.

Nadal in 3 sets.

 

[Front242]

Would've loved to see the same Cilic who absolutely destroyed Medvedev play in the final against Nadal but seems the 5 setter against Rublev left him very flat today. I think that version of Cilic would have made for a much better final than what this will be. Reminded me very much of his USO 2014 match against Federer. Absolutely unplayable in both. That was the best performance from any player I've seen this year at RG by a country mile and best I've seen anywhere in years tbh. Medvedev just wasn't allowed play at all.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Casper Ruud is the first man since Robin Soderling in 2009 to reach his first fourth round, q/final,s/final and final in the same year.

 

[Front242]

Casper Ruud is the first man since Robin Soderling in 2009 to reach his first fourth round, q/final,s/final and final in the same year.

A good stat alright but Soderling beat far better players en route I have to say. Draw really opened up here.

 

[Jelenafan]

Rafa, OTOH, is facing his 4th top ten player in a row, getting past seeds #9, # 1, #3 , and on Sunday # 8.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

A good stat alright but Soderling beat far better players en route I have to say. Draw really opened up here.

After The Young Greek went out in the bottom half of the draw early, quite frankly it was up for grabs.Top half of the draw soo heavy and lop sided, it is what it is I suppose.

 

[Front242]

After The Young Greek went out in the bottom half of the draw early, quite frankly it was up for grabs.Top half of the draw as soo was heavy and lop sided, it is what it is I suppose.

Yup. Been a long time since there's been a more arseways draw than this ! Credit to Rune of course for knocking out Tsitsipas but the other side was seriously lopsided besides him. Cilic was class though apart from today sadly but Ruud hit some very nice shots against Cilic. Had no interest in watching him against Rune.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Yup. Been a long time since there's been a more arseways draw than this ! Credit to Rune of course for knocking Tsitsipas but the other side was seriously lopsided besides him. Cilic was class though apart from today sadly but Ruud hit some very nice shots against Cilic. Had no interest in watching him against Rune.

Marin could be dangerous on the grass this year, I feel his game is more suited to grass, though the way he played at RG this year,was the best I have seen him play for sometime.

 

[Front242]

Marin could be dangerous on the grass this year, I feel his game is more suited to grass, though the way he played at RG this year,was the best I have seen him play for sometime.

Fingers crossed. I've seen him blow way too many big matches. Murray and Djokovic both breathed sighs of relief against him in the past.

 

[Moxie]

Would've loved to see the same Cilic who absolutely destroyed Medvedev play in the final against Nadal but seems the 5 setter against Rublev left him very flat today. I think that version of Cilic would have made for a much better final than what this will be. Reminded me very much of his USO 2014 match against Federer. Absolutely unplayable in both. That was the best performance from any player I've seen this year at RG by a country mile and best I've seen anywhere in years tbh. Medvedev just wasn't allowed play at all.

Hey, Fronty! Good to see you around. I'm surprised you would have backed Cilic more in the final. Aside from what you've said about him in the past in conjunction with your obsession about doping, do you really think he's the more dangerous opponent to Rafa? I don't. While Rafa doesn't love the tall big servers, because they take the racquet out of his hand, for part of the match, Ruud is an actual clay player, and he's going to make Rafa work. At 36, newly-turned today, I think Rafa would prefer the big server who is less natural on clay. Ruud will give him a grind, AND he served and hit exceptionally well today.

Since they've never met before, officially on-court, I expect Ruud to come out intimidated by the occasion, and having to get used to Rafa's weigh of shot. But after he calmed down today, he played with great sang-froid and assurance. We'll see how Rafa comes back after a really C+ effort today. The old magic really just came in flashes. I do believe he was flat after the Novak win, and the conditions were abysmal. You noted the effect on both of them.

 

[Front242]

Hey, Fronty! Good to see you around. I'm surprised you would have backed Cilic more in the final. Aside from what you've said about him in the past in conjunction with your obsession about doping, do you really think he's the more dangerous opponent to Rafa? I don't. While Rafa doesn't love the tall big servers, because they take the racquet out of his hand, for part of the match, Ruud is an actual clay player, and he's going to make Rafa work. At 36, newly-turned today, I think Rafa would prefer the big server who is less natural on clay. Ruud will give him a grind, AND he served and hit exceptionally well today.

Since they've never met before, officially on-court, I expect Ruud to come out intimidated by the occasion, and having to get used to Rafa's weigh of shot. But after he calmed down today, he played with great sang-froid and assurance. We'll see how Rafa comes back after a really C+ effort today. The old magic really just came in flashes. I do believe he was flat after the Novak win, and the conditions were abysmal. You noted the effect on both of them.

Haha well, they all dope and I doubt your fella dopes less than Cilic First strike on many points in his prior matches was killing his opponents and aggressive short points were destroying Medvedev and we all know this is the recipe for beating Nadal so 100% I think he'd have been a better opponent in the final but it would have to have been a fresh Cilic and his energy seemed zapped after the Rublev match and given how flat Cilic was after the 5 setter against Rublev I'd hazard a guess he isn't on much special sauce at all these days. The fella not tired at all after a tough 5 setter and then easily dispatching Djokovic and with no injury despite talking non stop about the injury is a different story though haha but you mentioned doping in the above and not me Anyway...I might watch the women's final this year too.

 

[Front242]

Ruud: "He (Nadal) has been my idol my whole life". This is why Cilic would have been a better opponent in the final but only if he was fresh and he wasn't today and that contributed to his loss. Way too many tired shots and awful Djokovic-esque overheads into the bottom of the net. Anytime a young player mentions the guy across the net is their idol (especially in a first time slam final), it's a recipe for a poor match.

 

[Moxie]

Haha well, they all dope and I doubt your fella dopes less than Cilic First strike on many points in his prior matches was killing his opponents and aggressive short points were destroying Medvedev and we all know this is the recipe for beating Nadal so 100% I think he'd have been a better opponent in the final but it would have to have been a fresh Cilic and his energy seemed zapped after the Rublev match and given how flat Cilic was after the 5 setter against Rublev I'd hazard a guess he isn't on much special sauce at all these days. The fella not tired at all after a tough 5 setter and then easily dispatching Djokovic and with no injury despite talking non stop about the injury is a different story though haha but you mentioned doping in the above and not me Anyway...I might watch the women's final this year too.

Dude, I mentioned your obsession with everyone doping to keep you honest. So when you say "they all dope," I guess you mean Roger, too.

I honestly don't think Cilic ran out of gas today so much as he got out-played. He was stellar in the first, and, let's face it, Ruud was in his first SF of a Major. But as Ruud's level increased, Cilic's dropped. That's not just being out of gas. It's also that he played really well on his least best surface to get here, and then ran into a better clay player. He absolutely dumped a lot of smashes, and was out-served by Ruud, which was surprising, but it didn't look like he was tired to me. He was out-classed on the clay by a better clay man. No great surprise.

 

[Moxie]

Ruud: "He (Nadal) has been my idol my whole life". This is why Cilic would have been a better opponent in the final but only if he was fresh and he wasn't today and that contributed to his loss. Way too many tired shots and awful Djokovic-esque overheads into the bottom of the net. Anytime a young player mentions the guy across the net is their idol (especially in a first time slam final), it's a recipe for a poor match.

No tennis player at this level is going to completely succumb to being star-struck. He's ambitious enough to get to the final here, at 23. He'll be ambitious enough to want to win it. As I said above, the first set might be rough for him, given nerves of the occasion, and first time to deal with the Nadal weight of shot, but I think he will calm down and make a match of it. I've given him a set. Rafa in 4.

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

I don’t think Cilic was tired. He was outplayed. The problem I find for someone like Cilic or anyone else who has the ability to serve big is they usually live and die by their serve and once they get broken they start playing erratically or overthink the moment. He definitely wasn’t Set 1 Cilic after Casper broke him.

The thing about Ruud is he hasn’t been intimidated or nervous on his road here, so I don’t know he might surprise and play well against Nadal.

 

[Moxie]

I don’t think Cilic was tired. He was outplayed. The problem I find for someone like Cilic or anyone else who has the ability to serve big is they usually live and die by their serve and once they get broken they start playing erratically or overthink the moment. He definitely wasn’t Set 1 Cilic after Casper broke him.

The thing about Ruud is he hasn’t been intimidated or nervous on his road here, so I don’t know he might surprise and play well against Nadal.

I agree with you. The reason Cilic lost today was Ruud, not Cilic. I disagree that he wasn't nervous/intimidated in the first set today, and I expect him to start that way on Sunday, but I think he'll shake it off, the way he did today.

 

[rafanoy1992]

From a technical standpoint, Ruud’s backhand will be severely tested by Nadal’s forehand. One thing for sure: Ruud’s backhand is not like Djokovic’s and Zverev’s. So, Nadal will not have a problem doing CC exchanges. Ruud’s serve is super effective though especially on Clay. Also, his Forehand has variety so he should able to hang with Nadal somewhat.