Nadal can make history with another Paris win
PARIS — Rafael Nadal admits he has never been all that good with numbers.
“Math,” he said with a smile as he turned his right thumb upside down, “was the only subject that I failed in the last year that I had the chance to go to school.”
Well, perhaps he should brush up. If Nadal beats Stan Wawrinka in today’s French Open final, so much of the story would be about the statistics.
It would give Nadal his 10th championship in the clay-court major, more than any man or woman has won at any Grand Slam tournament in the professional era, nearly half a century. It also would raise Nadal’s overall haul of major titles to 15, alone in second place and three away from the men’s record of 18 held by his great rival, Roger Federer.
After dismissing sixth-seeded Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 in the semifinals Friday, the fourth-seeded Nadal was asked whether a 10th title at the French Open would constitute his greatest achievement, especially given the wrist injuries he dealt with last season. Predictably, the 31-yearold Spaniard shrugged, then joked: “Nine or 10 — only 10 percent more.”
Both Nadal and his uncle Toni, who has served as a mentor and coach since Rafael was 4, have been downplaying the significance of “La Decima” — which means “The 10th” in Spanish.
“Every time we come here, we just take one match at a time, we never think about the next title,” Toni said. “But of course, if he wins Sunday, it will be very special, incredible.”
Those last two words aptly describe his nephew’s path to this final. Not only has Nadal not conceded a set at this year’s tournament, he has dropped only 29 games. A couple of other numbers: Nadal has a career record of 78-2 at Roland Garros, and he is 101-2 anywhere in best-of-five matches on red clay.
“To play Rafa on clay, in (the) French Open, in a final is probably the biggest challenge you can have in tennis. He’s the best player ever on clay,” Wawrinka said. “It’s for sure going to be really difficult. But … it’s the final. The pressure is on both players. No one (can) go on the court thinking he has no pressure.”
After playing most of his career in Swiss countryman Federer’s considerable shadow, Wawrinka — at 32, the oldest men’s singles finalist in Paris since 1973 — has blossomed lately. He is 3-0 in Grand Slam finals, beating Novak Djokovic at the 2015 French Open and 2016 U.S. Open, as well as Nadal at the 2014 Australian Open.
Nadal is 9-0 in French Open finals, but he hasn’t played in one since 2014. He lost to Djokovic in the 2015 quarterfinals, then withdrew from the tournament before the third round last year due to an injured left wrist.
That wrist propels his intimidating, topspin-heavy forehand, which might be the best shot in the game when at its best. Another contender for that accolade: Wawrinka’s flat, one-handed backhand, which is so smooth and so dangerous.
Because Wawrinka is right-handed and Nadal a lefty, when Wawrinka hits a cross-court backhand — his preferred option — it will wind up heading toward Nadal’s forehand. It worked in Wawrinka’s favor (as did his opponent’s bad back at the time) when he beat Nadal to win the Australian title.