CASSIUS CLAY
Nadal simply The Greatest on this surface
RAFAEL NADAL said it was beyond a dream to win his 11th Roland Garros title after beating Dominic Thiem in straight sets.
“It’s amazing now, I can’t describe my feelings,” Nadal told the crowd on Philippe Chatrier Court moments after capturing his 17th Grand Slam trophy with a 6-4 6-3 6-2 victory.
“It’s not even a dream to win here 11 times, because its impossible to think of something like this.”
Nadal (right) saluted his opponent, who is the only man to have beaten the Spaniard on clay over the past two seasons.
“He’s very aggressive, with big shots,” Nadal said in halting
French before switching to
English.
“I want to say well played to Dominic. He played a great two weeks. He’s a good friend, one of these players that the tour needs. I am sure you’ll win here in the next couple of years.”
The emotional Spaniard wiped away tears as he held on to the Coupe de Mousquetaires.
Once a competitive first set went the way of the world No.1, the plan became damage limitation and Nadal’s ‘undecima’ never looked in any doubt.
It was hard not to feel sympathy for Thiem, playing in his first Grand Slam final against a man who simply does not lose this particular battle.
If Thiem is, as he is widely regarded, the second-best clay-court player in the world then he probably has a few more of these pummellings to look forward to at least until Nadal, 32, finally calls it a day.
His incredible record in Paris now reads 86 wins and two defeats.
He has won every final he has reached and in those 11 finals he has dropped just six sets.
Nadal, an avid Real Madrid fan, was watched by their former boss Zinedine Zidane who quit after winning a third successive Champions League last month.
As if the task was not daunting enough for Thiem, the early signs were even more ominous. The Austrian won just one of the first nine points as Nadal immediately broke for 2-0.
But Thiem, 24, unusually standing up to Nadal’s first serve, forced two break points in the next game and converted the second with a flashing forehand into the right corner.
It was the only blow he landed all afternoon.
Thiem withstood a barrage of break points to hold in a marathon sixth game, which he thought he had won at 40-30 when he left a wide ball, only for the umpire to overrule the line judge.
But at 4-5 Thiem’s serve let him down badly, handing Nadal three set points. Any hopes of an upset all but disappeared along with the ragged Thiem forehand which sailed way beyond the baseline.