Nadal equals Federer, wins record-equalling 20th Grand Slam at French Open

Bengaluru, October 11: Rafael Nadal dominated Novak Djokovic 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 in the French Open final at Roland Garros on Sunday to tie Roger Federer's record of 20 Grand Slam titles.

Djokovic had won 29 of the 55 meetings between two of the all-time greats, but on the Parisian clay on Sunday, Nadal proved a tough nut to crack as the Spaniard won his 100th match at Roland Garros from 102 appearances.

For the records, it was Nadal's 13th French Open crown, 60th ATP title and 999th premier class win in all ATP Tour matches.

Only Jimmy Connors (1,274), Federer (1,242) and Ivan Lendl (1,068) has won more tour-level matches.

For the 13th time...@RafaelNadal is King in Paris.#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/ICbgLmYj0T

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) October 11, 2020

Djokovic and Robin Soderling are the only players to have beaten the Spaniard in the Paris Grand Slam.

"For me winning here another time is I even cannot say a dream. It's something that's out of my better thoughts," said Nadal in the on-court interview.

The 34-year-old finished the one-sided affair with just 14 unforced errors to his opponent's 52.

"Congrats to Novak for another great tournament. Sorry for today. We've played plenty of times together - one day one wins, another the other," said Nadal.

"After all the things I have been through in my career with injuries, I could not have done it without my family."

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The 56th meeting between the world's top two under the roof of Court Philippe Chatrier was held with a limited crowd of 1,000 due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Nadal dropped to his knees in celebration, after clinching the title with an ace in their ninth Grand Slam championship final. It was his 27th win over Djokovic and his first since May 2019 as he improved a 22-4 record in the 2020 season cut short by COVID-19.

Nadal said he was not even thinking about matching Federer's record of 20 Grand Slam titles.

"It's been a very tough year. Winning here means everything to me so it's not about equalling Roger on 20, for me today it's just a Roland Garros victory.

"Roland Garros means everything to me. I spent most of the most important moments of my career here.

"Just playing here is a true inspiration. The love story I have with this court and city is unbelievable."

(With inputs from Agencies)