Rafa Nadal continues to enhance his sporting legacy. This Sunday he won Roland-Garros again after defeating Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0. The Spanish tennis player has now won 14 French Open trophies, bringing his total number of Grand Slams to 22. Nadal already made history earlier this year, when he became the highest Grand Slam tournament winner of the Open Era on the men's tennis circuit with his victory at the Australian Open, his 21st major.
It all began in 2005, when Nadal won his first Roland-Garros, becoming one of the youngest players to conquer the Parisian Grand Slam, at the age of 19 years and two days, and the second tennis player to win the tournament at his first attempt - something that had only been achieved by the Swede Mats Wilander. This victory was followed by three consecutive wins in Paris in 2006, 2007 and 2008 against Roger Federer.
In 2008, Nadal also won his first Wimbledon, a title he would win again two years later. Although his first defeat at Roland-Garros came in 2009, that year he was crowned champion of the Australian Open, winning his first Grand Slam on hard courts. In 2010, by winning the U.S. Open, Nadal managed to conquer the only Grand Slam that was missing from his list of titles. In addition, that year he was also victorious at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon, winning three Grand Slams on three different surfaces in the same year.