Rafael Nadal powers to 11th French Open title

Rafael Nadal won a historic 11th French Open title with a straight-sets win over Austrian seventh seed Dominic Thiem in Paris on Sunday.

The Spaniard came through 6-4 6-3 6-2 at Roland Garros to retain the title he first won in 2005, and keep hold of the No.1 ranking.

Nadal becomes the first man,  and only the second player after Margaret Court at the Australian Open, to win one of the sport’s major tournaments 11 times.

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The 32-year-old’s 17th Grand Slam title closes the gap to three behind all-time leader Roger Federer on 20.

“It’s amazing, I can’t describe my feelings because it’s not even a dream to win here 11 times,” said Nadal. “It’s impossible to think something like this.”

Thiem, who made his Grand Slam final debut, said: “I think what you did and what you’re doing is one of the most outstanding things achieved in sport, winning this tournament 11 times. It’s amazing.”

Eleven looks good on you, Rafa…#RG18 pic.twitter.com/KqVhfESP7b

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 10, 2018

Nadal now has an 86-2 record at Roland Garros, his only defeats coming against Robin Soderling in the 2009 fourth round and Novak Djokovic in the 2015 quarterfinals.

Thiem, 24, looked to have the best chance of anyone of derailing Nadal, having beaten the Spaniard three times on clay including in Madrid last month.

However, Nadal continues to excel in the five-set format on clay, especially in the wide open spaces of Court Philippe Chatrier. 

He began the final in bullish form, winning eight of the first nine points for a 2-0 lead, and there was as much relief in the stands as across the net when the Austrian broke back straight away.

Fears of a one-sided contest were eased further when Thiem came through a lengthy sixth game and saved two break points for 3-3.

A predictably punishing match of huge groundstrokes looked to be heading for a tiebreak until Thiem played a poor game at 5-4 down, slipping to 0-40 before firing a forehand way over the baseline.

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Thiem was struggling on his first serve, making just 45% in the opening set, a number which was never going to be enough to keep Nadal at bay.

At 4-2 down in the second, Thiem fashioned a chance to claw back the deficit, but Nadal saved the break point with a thunderous backhand and went on to close out the set.

Nadal was now dominating in all areas – serve, return, from the baseline and at the net – and it was all Thiem could do to cling on as the third set began.

He valiantly saw off four break points before succumbing on the fifth, with Nadal pumping his fist as he marched to the chair with a 2-1 lead and the finish line in sight.

Amazing! #Nadal wins his 11th @rolandgarros title. One of the greatest achievements in all of sport.

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Congratulations @RafaelNadal on a truly superhuman achievement. #RG18

— Pat Cash (@TheRealPatCash) June 10, 2018

There was a moment of alarm for Nadal and his supporters when the Spaniard then halted mid-game and asked for the trainer to attend to cramp in his left hand.

In some discomfort, and with the threat of bad weather on the way, a straightforward afternoon suddenly became more tense for the champion, but he responded brilliantly.

Nadal raised his arms in relief when he broke serve once again to move 5-2 clear, and after letting a 40-0 lead and four match points slip by, he dropped his racquet and stared at the sky in triumph when Thiem sent a backhand long on match point number five.

“It’s really incredible, I’m very, very happy,” added Nadal. “There was a tough moment in the third set when I got a little bit of cramp in the hand, I was very scared.”