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TennisSection previews the 2022 French Open as Rafael Nadal meets Casper Ruud in the Final on Sunday, June 5th 2022.

Will Casper Ruud shock the world and get his maiden Grand Slam title under his belt against one of the greatest of all time? Will Rafael Nadal show us why he is 111-3 at the French Open as he aims to extend his Grand Slam title lead and win hi 14th title in Paris? Both players have had a great tournament, but this is crunch time, and only one player can leave with the trophy. Who will lift the 2022 French Open title?

Casper Ruud played very well over the last 3 weeks, defending his Geneva title the week before the French Open, and this was really the first time we saw him in control of his game over the last few months. Ruud had struggled on clay beforehand, losing against opponents you wouldn’t always expect him to lose against, and seemed to be struggling with form. However, since Geneva, he has been on fire at the French, only really looking under pressure against Lorenzo Sonego in the second round. Casper faced Marin Cilic in the semi finals and seemed to be losing quite easily after the first set, but he made sure to keep his head down and worked on solutions which allowed him to turn it around and win in 4 sets. This was a great performance from Ruud, however, he is now in his maiden Grand Slam Final. Adding to this, he is playing against his idol, Rafael Nadal, at his most successful tournament. Can Casper Ruud shock the world and win the 2022 French Open?

Rafael Nadal has been great all tournament, looking in great form all throughout the 2 weeks, but he did not have it easy in his last 2 matches. Nadal’s best match was probably his win over Novak Djokovic in the quarter finals, where he beat his biggest rival in 4 sets. This match really set the tone for Nadal here in Paris, showing us that even against the odds, he is ready to give it his all. In the semi finals, Nadal faced Alexander Zverev who definitely brought his best onto court from the start. Zverev seemed to be playing better for the majority of the opening set, but Rafa was clutch in the most important moments, and was able to break back, as well as come back from 6-2 down in the tiebreak. In the second set, both players were extremely tired and inconsistent (understandable after a 98 minute first set!). Both Rafa and Sascha kept breaking each other, and when they finally seemed to be both playing their best, heading into the tiebreak, unfortunately Zverev fell over and sprained his ankle badly which forced him to retire from the match on crutches. This is not the way Nadal would have wanted to make his way to the Final of the 2022 French Open, but he will surely have his eyes on the prize as he now meets Casper Ruud.

Rafael Nadal and Casper Ruud have never met before, with this being their first career meeting. This is a great match for many reasons, but the most important reason is the fact that Casper Ruud is an alumni of the Rafa Nadal Academy, therefore Nadal knows his game very well and has followed his progress very closely. Casper has a great game, similar to Nadal’s in terms of how he plays his forehand. However, he has not had the toughest of opponents here at the 2022 French Open as he has had the luck of the best players losing early on. Casper will come out here knowing he has nothing to lose, but he knows that he cannot afford to make any mistakes as they will be punished. Rafael Nadal has faced 3 top 10 players so far this tournament, and has beat them all, and he knows that in the clutch moments, he has never lost in a French Open Final (13-0). There will always be questions about how physically fit Nadal is, especially on his foot. However, I am sure that the adrenaline of the moment, as well as the possibility of reaching No.22 will give Nadal enough energy to get him through this quite easily against Casper Ruud.

Free Tennis Pick and Prediction: Rafael Nadal in 3 Sets.

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