NADAL GOES FOR NO. 11 IN PARIS
To meet Thiem in Sunday’s title match
Rafael Nadal overwhelmed Juan Martin del Potro in Friday’s semifinal. Standing between him and an 11th French Open singles title is No. 7 seed Dominic Thiem.
PARIS ––Rafael Nadal will play for an 11th French Open title after he cruised to a 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro in the semifinals at Roland Garros in Paris Friday. The 10-time champion was in full control as del Potro wilted under the relentless pressure of his whipping trademark forehand. Spain’s Nadal will meet Dominic Thiem in Sunday’s final. The Austrian earned a place in his first grand-slam final with a 7-5, 7-6 (12-10), 6-1 victory over Italy’s Marco Cecchinato. “My feeling is on Sunday I have a very difficult match against a player that is playing great,” said Nadal, who has won six times out of nine matches against Thiem, including in the semifinals of the previous French Open. “I know I have to play my best if I want to have chances.” Nadal will be strong favorite to claim the title. However, Thiem is the only man to beat him on clay this season — in a Madrid quarterfinal — and also triumphed in a Rome meeting last year. “I have to play that way like I did in Rome and in Madrid,” Thiem said. “But I’m also aware that here it’s tougher. He likes the conditions more here than in Madrid, for sure. Best of five is also different story.” Del Potro pulled up with a hip complaint as he trailed 2-1 in the first set against Nadal, but despite clear discomfort, he fought on and made it a dogged affair until surrendering a break that gave the world No. 1 an advantage. The famous Nadal forehand was charged up to its full unforgiving force in the second set as it racked up point after point to earn a double break at 4-0 before del Potro yielded with a lackluster return that landed long. The man who now stands in Nadal’s way overcame a tough opening against Cecchinato. He resisted fight-backs from the world No. 72, who is aiming for a place in the world’s top 20 after his remarkable run. Thiem saved three set points in the second before winning an epic tie-break, something for which Cecchinato has become notable this year. “The big key was the second set, it was a close tie-break and if I lost it, I didn’t want that because it would be a tough match,” Thiem said. The Italian’s seed-stopping streak came to an end in the third set against Thiem after 2 hours and 17 minutes. Cecchinato, who was banned from tennis in 2016 in a matchfixing investigation, had never won a grand slam match going into the 2018 event but dispatched eighth seed David Goffin and former world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in a string of surprise wins. WOMEN’S FINAL: Simona Halep needs no reminding of her record in major finals: 0-3. The top-seeded Romanian lost the Australian Open final in January and last year’s French Open final, having also lost the clay-court tournament final at Roland Garros in 2014. Her opponent in today’s latest final is 10th-seeded American Sloane Stephens, who won last year’s U.S. Open final. But Stephens has found it tough going against Halep, who has won five of their seven previous matches — including the past four. Halep has also won both encounters played on clay in straight sets, including beating Stephens in the fourth round here in 2014.