Rafael Nadal was celebrating in Paris once again this Sunday and he had every right to do so. His win over Novak Djokovic saw him pick up his 13th French Open title, his 20th Grand Slam victory and his 100th triumph at Roland Garros in a record-breaking evening.He saw off his Serbian counterpart in straight sets of 6-0, 6-2 and 7-5 in a match which lasted two hours, 41 minutes.
Roland Garros is an arena in which Nadal has dominated for years and there was little doubt that he would come out on top again against the world No.1. The pair last met in Paris in 2014 when Nadal overcame Djokovic in the final.
Djokovic started cautiously when playing around the net due to problems with his shoulder and neck, which ultimately cost him against a Nadal who was playing like his life depended on it. That made life even tough given the Spaniard is unmatched on clay.
A double fault by Djokovic preceded the second break and the Serbian was 3-0 down at the 20-minute mark and looked like he was struggling with the pace of the match. He seemed flat and Nadal took full advantage.At 41 minutes the scoreboard read 5-0 to Nadal and the Spaniard showed no sign of letting up.
It just seemed a matter of time until the Spaniard was lifting his 13th Roland Garros title. However, Djokovic did show a little fight in the third set when he finally managed to pull ahead of Nadal 4-3. A double-fault in the eleventh game, though, would be his undoing, finally losing the third set 7-5.
Nadal did what Nadal does best, and that is win on clay, and he did so by not conceding a single set throughout the whole tournament for the fourth time in his career.