Spain's winner Rafael Nadal (R) poses with the Musketeers trophy next to Serbia's Novak Djokovic (L) holding the runner-up trophy, French Tennis Federation (FFT) president Jean Gachassin (2nd L) and Swedish tennis legend Bjorn Borg after the French tennis Open men's final match at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris on June 8, 2014. AFP PHOTO / MIGUEL MEDINA
By Terry Fredrickson
Rafael Nadal beats the heat and Novak Djokovic to win his 9th French Open title and 14th career major.
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The (terrible) Aunties
Spain's Rafael Nadal hits a return to Serbia's Novak Djokovic. AFP PHOTO / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD
Nadal wins ninth French Open, 14th major
Rafael Nadal clinched his ninth French Open and 14th career Grand Slam title on Sunday with a brutal 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 victory over a battling Novak Djokovic.
The world number one also became the first man to win five Roland Garros crowns in succession as the 28-year-old took his record at the tournament to 66 wins against just one defeat.
His tally of 14 majors equals the mark of Pete Sampras and puts him just three behind the all-time record of Roger Federer who is almost five years older.
Defeat was cruel for world number two Djokovic, the 2012 runner-up, who still needs a French Open title to become just the eighth man to complete the career Grand Slam.
"Every moment was crucial, all the points were so hard," said Nadal.
"Playing against Novak is always a big challenge, I have lost to him the last four times.
Every chance I have to beat him it's because I have had to play to my limit. I feel sorry for Novak. He deserves to win this tournament one day and I am sure he will."
He added: "It's an amazing, emotional moment for me. I lost the Australian Open final this year when I had a problem with my back. Today tennis has given me back what happened in Australia."
The Serb dominated the early stages of Sunday's final, the pair's 42nd meeting, seemingly immune to the sweltering 30-degree heat on Philippe Chatrier court.
But Nadal, playing in his 20th Grand Slam final to Djokovic's 13th, grew stronger as the final wore on as he ended a four-match losing streak against his old rival.
The 3hr 31min duel ended on a sour note when Djokovic double-faulted on match point, shaken by a shout from the crowd.
"Congratulations to Rafa. To win the French Open nine times is incredible," said Djokovic.
"There's a lot of emotions for me. I gave my maximum with all my strength and force but Rafa was better on the court.
"But I will keep coming back and coming back and try to win it at least once." AFP
Serbia's Novak Djokovic stretches for a point.
Vocabulary
battling: fighting - ต่อสู้
brutal: extreme and unpleasant - โหดร้าย
challenge: something that needs a lot of skill, energy, and determination to deal with or achieve - สิ่งที่ท้าทาย, การท้าทาย
clinch a title: to win a championship -
congratulations: something you say to praise someone and say that you approve of or are pleased about a special or unusual achievement - ยินดีด้วย
crown: title; the position of a winner in a sports competition - ตำแหน่งแชมป์
crucial: extremely important because it effects the result of something - สำคัญยิ่ง
cruel: deliberately causing pain to other people or animals - ป่าเถื่อน โหดร้าย
deserve: of something, good or bad, that you earn or are given because of your behavior or qualities - สมควรได้รับ
dominate: to be in control - มีอิทธิพลเหนือ ครอบคลุม ควบคุม
double-fault: double-fault (in tennis) to fail to get a serve in the proper area two times in a row -
emotion: strong feeling such as anger or love, or strong feelings in general - อารมณ์
emotional: connected with people's feelings เกี่ยวกับความรู้สึก, เกี่ยวกับอารมณ์ - เกี่ยวกับความรู้สึก, เกี่ยวกับอารมณ์
federation: a large organisation made up of several smaller organisations or groups that share similar aims - สหพันธ์, สมาคม
Grand Slam: one of the four major tennis tournaments, including the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open - การแข่งขันชิงแชมป์รายการใหญ่
immune: not influenced or affected by something - ซึ่งไม่ได้รับผลกระทบจาก
in succession: following one after another in order - ติดต่อกัน
incredible: difficult to believe - ไม่น่าเชื่อ
legend: a very famous person, especially in a particular field, who is admired by other people - บุคคลที่มีชื่อเสียง
limit: the largest or smallest amount, or the highest or lowest level, of something that is allowed - ขอบเขต, เขต
major: in tennis or golf one of the four most important tournaments (Grand Slams) - การแข่งขันชิงแชมป์รายการใหญ่
maximum: the most possible - ที่สูงสุด ที่มากที่สุด
rival: a person you are competing against or opposing - คู่แข่ง
runner-up: winning second place in a competition - รองอันดับหนึ่ง
seemingly: according to what you know or how something appears, - ตามที่ปรากฏ
shaken: shocked, upset or frightened by something - วิตก กังวล
sour note: in an unpleasant or unsatisfactory way -
sweltering: to be very hot in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable - ร้อนมาก
tally: a record or count of a number of items - การบันทึกจำนวน
title: the position of a winner in a sports competition - ตำแหน่งแชมป์
trophy: a large silver cup or similar object given as a prize to the winner of a competition - ถ้วยรางวัล
