Nadal seeks No. 10 in Paris
PARIS » Rafael Nadal acknowledged during the French Open that he’s never been all that good with numbers.
“Math,” he said, smiling 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 the final at Roland Garros on Sunday, so much of the story would be about the statistics.
It would give Nadal his 10th French Open championship, more than any man or woman has won at any major tournament in the nearly half-century professional era. It also would raise Nadal’s overall Grand Slam haul 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 Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 in the semifinals Friday, Nadal was asked whether No. 10 would constitute his greatest achievement, especially given the wrist injuries he dealt with last season. Predictably, the 31-year-old Spaniard shrugged, then joked: “Nine or 10 — (it’s) 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,” Uncle Toni said. “But of course, if he wins Sunday, it will be very special, incredible.”
Those last two words also aptly describe his nephew’s path to this final. Not only has Nadal not conceded a set, he has dropped a total of only 29 games along the way.
“So far, so good,” as Uncle Toni put it.
A couple of other numbers: Nadal is 78-2 for his career at Roland Garros, and 101-2 anywhere in best-of-five-set 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,” said Wawrinka.