HAIL, KING OF CLAY
RAFAEL Nadal says overhauling Roger Federer as the most successful man in grand slam history is not a priority.
The Spaniard slashed 20time major winner Federer’s lead to three with his 11th French Open crown and 17th overall.
But, in the aftermath of a 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 Roland Garros triumph over Dominic Thiem, Nadal said catching Federer was not on his radar.
“Let me enjoy this title,” he said. “I can’t be always thinking of more.
“I have ambition, of course. I have passion for what I am doing … but I never have been crazy about all this kind of stuff.
“No, you can’t be frustrated always if somebody have more money than you, if somebody have a bigger house than you, if somebody have more grand slams than you.
“You can’t live with that feeling, no? You have to do your way.
“And then you have to be happy with the things that are happening to you.
“I happy that other people have things, and I am very satisfied, and I feel very lucky with all the things that happened to me.
“Of course I would love to have 20 like Roger in the future or even more, but being honest, it is something that is not in my mind.
“What is in my mind now is I won a very important title for me. I add one more grand slam — 17 is an amazing number.
“I am enjoying that moment.”
Thiem believes Nadal, 32, can prevail for some time yet, especially on clay.
“If you win a grand slam tournament 11 times, one single one, then this is just very exceptional and amazing,” the Austrian said. “You need to have, I think, many extraordinary skills and talents and work ethics to achieve that.”
Nadal needed treatment midway through the third set when he began to cramp in his left arm, complaining to his box he had lost feeling in a finger.
“I felt something to my hand. And then the finger … I couldn’t move the finger,” he said. “And then I understand it was a cramping on the finger.”
Nadal is only the second player in history to win 11 singles titles at a grand slam tournament. With victories here in 2005-08, 2010-14 and 2017-18, the Mallorcan emulated Margaret Court’s haul at the Australian championship from 1960-73.
The win was Nadal’s 415th on clay. He has lost a total of 34 matches on the slow red dirt in his 16-season career.
Underlining the left-hander’s dominance on clay, the French Open is the third separate event where he has claimed 11 titles — Monte Carlo and Barcelona are the others.
As a comparison, Federer’s eight crowns at Wimbledon is second on the table of most wins at the same major.
Nadal has never lost a Roland Garros final and has now won 86 of 88 matches at the home of clay.
Nadal’s victory meant the remarkable duopoly he shares with 36-year-old Federer has become far more of a twilight quirk. Between them, Nadal (2017-18 French and ’17 US Open) and Federer (2017-18 Australian Open and ’17 Wimbledon) have won the past six majors.