Zeenews Sports Bureau
Paris: Novak Djokovic, who rose to glory in 2011, became the World No. 1, yet he managed to reach the final of the Roland-Garros for the first time in his career only in this year. Here are top 10 interesting facts about the intriguing encounter.
• Rafael Nadal has now won French Open for record seven times. He surpassed legend Bjorn Borg who won the tournament six times. Rafa now shares the feat with former women tennis player Chris Evert, who won the women’s singles Roland-Garros seven times.
• Nadal ended Djoker’s 27-match winning streak in Grand Slams, which was just two wins short of Rod Laver’s tally who won 29 in a row from the start of the Australian Open in 1969 through to Wimbledon 1970.
• Nadal and Djokovic were facing each other in the fourth consecutive Grand Slam final, which is also an Open Era record.
• It was for the first time that the French Open did not finish on the allotted Sunday, as the match was suspended due to rain.
• Djoker became the only player to have won a set against Nadal in French Open 2012.
• Spain now holds the command in terms of men’s singles titles here at Roland Garros. Nadal’s seventh win was the 13th for the country overall. Andres Gimeno (1), Sergi Bruguera (2), Carlos Moya (1), Albert Costa (1) and Juan Carlos Ferrero (1) are the other Spaniard’s who have emerged victorious at the Roland Garros.
• Djokovic was seeking to become the first man in 43 years to win four Grand Slam tournaments in a row. Rod Laver in 1969 won four straight major titles.
• This seventh French Open title was Nadal’s 11th Grand Slam. He has achieved this feat at the age of 26 years and 7 days, making him the third-youngest player to do so, after Borg (25 years and one day) and Roger Federer (25 years and 334 days).
• Since his French Open debut in May 2005, Rafa is 52-1 for his career at the tournament now and has defeated Djokovic four times.
• This was Nadal's 11th Grand Slam title. The ones who have won more Grand Slams are Roger Federer (16), Pete Sampras (14) and Roy Emerson (12).
Compiled by Suyash Srivastava
First Published: Wednesday, June 13, 2012, 00:14