When ‘Ultimate Thief’ Rafael Nadal Robbed Casper Ruud at French Open 2022

Rafael Nadal won his last Grand Slam title back at the French Open 2022. In the final against Casper Ruud, Nadal was accused of ‘stealing’ by a commentator on air. Nadal eventually won the match in straight sets to win his then-record 22nd Grand Slam title.

Fans are tremendously eager to see that version of Rafael Nadal again. Nadal, who was self-admittedly on painkillers and injections to manage his dodgy foot throughout the tournament, used one major strength of his to win a majority of his points. It left fans and pundits equally stunned and totally in applause, especially in the match against Ruud.

36-year-old Nadal won an unwinnable point against Ruud

Rafael Nadal had to fight for every point as if literally his life depended on it in the French Open 2022. Nadal was also taken to the distance in a 5-setter against Felix Augur-Aliassime earlier in the tournament. However, the Spaniard got out of jail with some genius and persistence as known of him over the years again.

As a result, the final against Casper Ruud was more of a cakewalk for the Spaniard. Although there was a point in the match when Ruud threatened to briefly challenge Nadal’s rampage in the second set. The 14-time champion won the first set, 6-3 and was up 5-3 in the second.

But Casper Ruud took his service game to deuce. He put in a slow serve into the backhand of Rafael Nadal, who responded with a cross-court shot to his opponent’s baseline. Ruud then fired in a powerful forehand down the line, which perhaps no other player on the ATP Tour would have been able to retrieve. Despite doing not much wrong, he still had to deal with Nadal successfully retrieving the ball with a defensive sliced forehand.

Ruud came aggressive forward and converted a backhand into a pacy, cross-court forehand. But that was the mistake that cost him dearly. Nadal got a much easier, typical forehand to play down the line of his own, which beat an on-the-net Ruud comprehensively.

That shot from the legend made one of the commentators on-air call Rafael Nadal ‘The Ultimate Thief’ of Tennis. He was quoted as saying after that –

“How does he do it? Steals another point!”

How much has Rafael Nadal won in prize money?

It is believed that Rafael Nadal nearly took home $2.4 million for winning the French Open 2022. Until his second-round exit at the Australian Open 2023, Nadal’s prize money earnings reached $134.64 million. Despite missing out on most of the 2023 season, the Spaniard continues to be the second-highest of all-time when it comes to prize money.

Novak Djokovic is the only player above Rafael Nadal, with $175.3 million earnings at the moment. However, Rafael Nadal has the distinction of winning the highest-ever prize money by any tennis player in history in a Grand Slam. That was in the US Open 2019 when Nadal bagged a whopping $3.85 million after beating Daniil Medvedev in the final.