Jones positive despite SA loss
RAFAEL NADAL roared to French Open title number 11 with a straight-sets demolition of Dominic Thiem.
The Spaniard continued his extraordinary domination at Roland Garros with a ruthless 6-4 6-3 6-2 victory.
Seventh seed Thiem is the only player to have beaten Nadal on clay in the past two years, and he claimed he had a plan to thwart the Spaniard in Paris.
But once a competitive first set went the way of the world number one, 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 claycourt player in the world then he probably has a few more pummellings to look forward to at least until Nadal, 32, finally calls it a day.
Nadal’s 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.
In the women’s competition Simona Halep’s long wait for a grand slam title is over after she won a thrilling final against Sloane Stephens.
The world number one finally got her hands on the coveted Coupe Suzanne-Lenglen four years after her first appearance in the final at Roland Garros.
She sealed the title with an unreturnable serve before covering her face with her hands in disbelief following a 3-6 6-4 6-1 victory. FINLAND’S Mikko Korhonen shrugged off two weather delays to cruise to his first European Tour title at the inaugural Shot Clock Masters.
Korhonen took a five-shot lead into the final round at Diamond Country Club and carded a closing 69 to finish 16 under par, six shots ahead of Scotland’s Connor Syme.
Syme, 22, who only turned professional last September and was ranked 836th in the world at the start of the week, holed from 60 feet for a birdie on the 18th to finish outright second, a shot ahead of Steve Webster, Nicolas Colsaerts, Justin Walters and Raphael Jacquelin.
Jacquelin reduced Korhonen’s overnight advantage to three shots EDDIE JONES insists South Africa used their “get out of jail card” at Ellis Park as England returned to their coastal base to lick their wounds.
A fourth successive Test defeat was registered as the Springboks fought back from a 21-point deficit surrendered inside the first quarter to prevail 42-39 in a mesmerising opening instalment of the series.
It is England’s worst run since 2014 and the pressure is continuing to build after a stunning opening salvo of tries from Mike Brown, Elliot Daly and Owen Farrell was followed by a dramatic collapse partly induced by the recurring flaw of indiscipline.
Jones, who was verbally abused by South Africa fans in the tunnel after the match, believes the Springboks had ridden their luck as his team dropped to fifth in the global rankings.
“South Africa have used a get out of jail card and sometimes you don’t get that again,” Jones said.
“They know they were in one hell of a game, they got home and did well to get home and deserved the victory. after four birdies in the first seven holes, but Korhonen birdied the third before play was suspended for 75 minutes due to the threat of lightning.
The 37-year-old, who needed eight attempts to earn his European Tour card via the qualifying school, picked up further shots on the fifth and sixth when play resumed before carding his
“They’ll take confidence from the result, but we’ll take confidence from this game as well. Not at all will it be hard to pick the players up.
“The way we played in the first 20 minutes is the way we want to play all the time. This game has set the series up fantastically well.”
While England return to Umhlanga on the Indian Ocean to begin preparations for Saturday’s second match at Free State Stadium, South Africa celebrates a landmark moment in the nation’s history.
As the Springboks’ first black Test captain in their 126-year history, the reign of Siya Kolisi got off to a scripted start and the meaning of the occasion is not lost on Jones.
“It’s a big moment for the country to have Kolisi as captain and for him to win his first game at Ellis Park, the spiritual homeland of the Springboks,” said Jones, who worked as a consultant to South Africa during their successful 2007 World Cup.
“It’s an enormously symbolic thing for South African rugby and shows that transformation is working. Kolisi will be a good captain, let’s just hope he’s not too good in this series.
“While I’m desperately unhappy to first bogey of the week on the ninth.
A birdie on the next quickly settled any nerves and despite another bogey on the 12th following the second stoppage in play, Korhonen (pictured right) was never in danger of being caught.
He made his fifth birdie of the day at the 13th before safely parring the last five holes to secure the crown. have lost the game, I think it’s a great thing for rugby generally and for the game here particularly.”
England at least emerged from a pulsating Johannesburg opener without any significant injury concerns, with Tom Curry and Elliot Daly suffering minor cramp and a dead leg respectively.
At the top of their agenda will be devising a plan to nullify Faf de Klerk, South Africa’s dynamo of a scrumhalf who thrived off the quick ball presented by his dominant pack.
Alongside Wasps full-back Willie le Roux, the Sale playmaker was a constant menace by loading the bullets for debutant wings Aphiwe Dyantyi and S’Busiso Nkosi to fire.
“Faf was excellent, he was a little buzzsaw. He was quick to the ball, shifted the ball quickly, picked up his runners,” Jones said.
“When you get front football like he was, he’s a dangerous player. The two wingers look like they run as fast as Usain Bolt. That’s a dangerous back three South Africa have.”