Nadal eyes 17th Slam as Thiem lurks
› It may sound easy and logical, but I don’t want it to be. It’s not a routine. I don’t want anyone to think that it’s a routine.
RAFAEL NADAL, On his domination at French Open
› If I want to beat him, I have to play that way like I did in Rome and in Madrid. But I’m also aware that here it’s tougher. DOMINIC THIEM,
On facing Nadal in the final
PARIS : Rafael Nadal admits that his desire to clinch an 11th French Open title on Sunday is fired by his growing realisation that the end of his career may not be too far away.
The 32-year-old Spaniard, with 16 Majors to his name, will play his 24th Grand Slam final at Roland Garros against Dominic Thiem who is in his first.
Victory will give Nadal an 11th title in Paris and equal Margaret Court’s all-time record for wins at the same Slam event -- in her case, the Australian Open from 1960 and 1973 Nadal still trails great rival Roger Federer by four Major titles although the Swiss star is more than four years older.
“For me, the motivation to play here always is high, high as possible,” said Nadal after breezing past Juan Martin del Potro in the semi-finals in what was his 85th win in Paris against just two defeats.
“I have lost a lot of opportunities through injuries, and I know the years are going quick. So there is not 10 more chances to keep playing here.”
The statistics illustrate Nadal’s concerns --- he has missed at least eight Slam tournaments through a legacy of wrist and knee problems.
Such is his motivation to win his 17th Grand Slam on Sunday, that the task facing Austrian 24-year-old Thiem was described as “almost impossible” by
Del Potro. There have, however, appeared to be one or two chinks in his armour at Roland Garros this year.
On Friday, del Potro was by far the better player in the first set while, in the quarter-finals, Diego Schwartzman won the first set of his clash with Nadal.
It was the first time in three years that Nadal had dropped a set in Paris. At least Thiem has in the past found the key to unravelling the Nadal clay court enigma.
He is the only man to beat the world No 1 on clay in the last two years
-- in Madrid this spring and in Rome last year.
“If I want to beat him, I have to play that way like I did in
Rome and in
Madrid. But I’m also aware that here it’s tougher,” said Thiem, the first Austrian in a Major final since Thomas Muster won in Paris in 1995.