Rafael Nadal ties Federer at 20 Slams by beating Djokovic in Paris
Paris: Rafael Nadal tied Roger Federer with 20 Grand Slam titles by producing a nearly perfect performance against Novak Djokovic in the French Open final.
Nadal equalled long-time rival Federer for the most major singles tennis championships won by a man and added to his own record at Roland Garros with No 13 on the red clay, courtesty of a surprisingly dominant 6-0 6-2 7-5 victory over the No 1-ranked Djokovic on Sunday.
When Nadal ended it with an ace, he dropped to his knees, smiled widely and pumped his arms. He did not cede a set in his favorite tournament this year.
Nadal, No 2 in the rankings, improved to 100-2 at the French Open, including a combined 26-0 in semifinals and finals, and picked up his fourth consecutive title in Paris.
The 34-year-old left-hander from Spain previously put together streaks of four French Open championships from 2005-08, then five in a row from 2010-14, to go alongside his four trophies at the US Open, two at Wimbledon and one at the Australian Open.
Nadal is now even with Federer for the first time since each man had zero Slams to his name in 2003. Federer's first arrived at Wimbledon that year; Nadal, naturally, earned his first in France in 2005, by which point he trailed 4-0.
Djokovic's loss left him at 17 majors; had he won, the trio's standings would have read 20-19-18.
Nadal is the oldest French Open champion since 1972 and the more than 15 years between his first and most recent Grand Slam titles is the longest such span for a man.
This was the 56th installment of Nadal vs Djokovic, the most meetings between any pair of men in the professional era, and their ninth in a Grand Slam final, equalling Nadal vs Federer for the most.
Djokovic had won 14 of the last 18 matchups against Nadal, and led 29-26 overall, including a 6-3 6-2 6-3 win at the 2019 Australian Open final. Nadal allowed Djokovic one fewer game this time.
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Three die of suffocation from smoldering stove in Rajasthan Khairthal-Tijara district
Jaipur, Jan 12: A man, his son and their neighbour died of suffocation after they went to sleep without extinguishing a stove they lit to keep their room warm in Khairthal-Tijara district of Rajasthan, police said on Sunday.
The incident came to light when other family members broke the room's door after noticing that the trio did not come out of the room until Sunday afternoon.
Station House Officer Bhiwadi Devendra Pratap Sharam said Dhananjay (50), his son Ankit (14) and neighbour Abhishek Rai (25), lit a stove in the room to keep themselves warm and went to sleep without extinguishing it on Saturday night.
The windows of the room were closed and there was no ventilation. Overnight, the stove emitted toxic gases, leading to them losing consciousness and subsequently dying from suffocation, he said.
When they did not come out of the room the next day, family members broke the door open and found them unconscious. They were taken to a nearby hospital where doctors declared them brought dead, the officer said.
The three hailed from Bihar. Dhananjay worked as a daily wage labourer and his son Ankit was a Class 10 student.
