French Open Final: [1] Rafa Nadal vs [7] Dominic Thiem

How’s it go?

  • Thieminator in 3

    Votes: 10 6.1%

  • Thiem’s time is now in 4

    Votes: 22 13.4%

  • Domi shows supreme mental strength in 5

    Votes: 12 7.3%

  • Bull rushes to victory in 3

    Votes: 60 36.6%

  • Rafa crushes puny ball basher in 4

    Votes: 41 25.0%

  • Rafa trolls Fed fans in 5

    Votes: 2 1.2%

  • Rain ruins another match

    Votes: 4 2.4%

  • Mury GOAT

    Votes: 1 0.6%

  • Just get this over with so we can get the grass season started!

    Votes: 6 3.7%

  • Anyone but Zverev

    Votes: 6 3.7%
  • Total voters
    164
octobrina10

octobrina10

Talk Tennis Guru
Rafa, the King of Clay, lifted the Musketeers' Trophy for the 11th time (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018)!
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Hippity hip hooray!
DfWHVObVQAAzGu-.jpg

Via Veeru
 
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Mustard

Mustard

Bionic Poster
Rafael Nadal's updated French Open match record after today. He's now 86-2 at the French Open.

2005 French Open
R128: Rafael Nadal def. Lars Burgsmuller (6-1, 7-6, 6-1)
R64: Rafael Nadal def. Xavier Malisse (6-2, 6-2, 6-4)
R32: Rafael Nadal def. Richard Gasquet (6-4, 6-3, 6-2)
R16: Rafael Nadal def. Sebastien Grosjean (6-4, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3)
QF: Rafael Nadal def. David Ferrer (7-5, 6-2, 6-0)
SF: Rafael Nadal def. Roger Federer (6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3)
FR: Rafael Nadal def. Mariano Puerta (6-7, 6-3, 6-1, 7-5)

2006 French Open
R128: Rafael Nadal def. Robin Soderling (6-2, 7-5, 6-1)
R64: Rafael Nadal def. Kevin Kim (6-2, 6-1, 6-4)
R32: Rafael Nadal def. Paul-Henri Mathieu (5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4)
R16: Rafael Nadal def. Lleyton Hewitt (6-2, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2)
QF: Rafael Nadal def. Novak Djokovic (6-4, 6-4, ret.)
SF: Rafael Nadal def. Ivan Ljubicic (6-4, 6-2, 7-6)
FR: Rafael Nadal def. Roger Federer (1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6)

2007 French Open
R128: Rafael Nadal def. Juan Martin del Potro (7-5, 6-3, 6-2)
R64: Rafael Nadal def. Flavio Cipolla (6-2, 6-1, 6-4)
R32: Rafael Nadal def. Albert Montanes (6-1, 6-3, 6-2)
R16: Rafael Nadal def. Lleyton Hewitt (6-3, 6-1, 7-6)
QF: Rafael Nadal def. Carlos Moya (6-4, 6-3, 6-0)
SF: Rafael Nadal def. Novak Djokovic (7-5, 6-4, 6-2)
FR: Rafael Nadal def. Roger Federer (6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4)

2008 French Open
R128: Rafael Nadal def. Thomaz Bellucci (7-5, 6-3, 6-1)
R64: Rafael Nadal def. Nicolas Devilder (6-4, 6-0, 6-1)
R32: Rafael Nadal def. Jarkko Nieminen (6-1, 6-3, 6-1)
R16: Rafael Nadal def. Fernando Verdasco (6-1, 6-0, 6-2)
QF: Rafael Nadal def. Nicolas Almagro (6-1, 6-1, 6-1)
SF: Rafael Nadal def. Novak Djokovic (6-4, 6-2, 7-6)
FR: Rafael Nadal def. Roger Federer (6-1, 6-3, 6-0)

2009 French Open
R128: Rafael Nadal def. Marcos Daniel (7-5, 6-4, 6-3)
R64: Rafael Nadal def. Teymuraz Gabashvili (6-1, 6-4, 6-2)
R32: Rafael Nadal def. Lleyton Hewitt (6-1, 6-3, 6-1)
R16: Robin Soderling def. Rafael Nadal (6-2, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6)

2010 French Open
R128: Rafael Nadal def. Gianni Mina (6-2, 6-2, 6-2)
R64: Rafael Nadal def. Horacio Zeballos (6-2, 6-2, 6-3)
R32: Rafael Nadal def. Lleyton Hewitt (6-3, 6-4, 6-3)
R16: Rafael Nadal def. Thomaz Bellucci (6-2, 7-5, 6-4)
QF: Rafael Nadal def. Nicolas Almagro (7-6, 7-6, 6-4)
SF: Rafael Nadal def. Jurgen Melzer (6-2, 6-3, 7-6)
FR: Rafael Nadal def. Robin Soderling (6-4, 6-2, 6-4)

2011 French Open
R128: Rafael Nadal def. John Isner (6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 6-2, 6-4)
R64: Rafael Nadal def. Pablo Andujar (7-5, 6-3, 7-6)
R32: Rafael Nadal def. Antonio Veic (6-1, 6-3, 6-0)
R16: Rafael Nadal def. Ivan Ljubicic (7-5, 6-3, 6-3)
QF: Rafael Nadal def. Robin Soderling (6-4, 6-1, 7-6)
SF: Rafael Nadal def. Andy Murray (6-4, 7-5, 6-4)
FR: Rafael Nadal def. Roger Federer (7-5, 7-6, 5-7, 6-1)

2012 French Open
R128: Rafael Nadal def. Simone Bolelli (6-2, 6-2, 6-1)
R64: Rafael Nadal def. Denis Istomin (6-2, 6-2, 6-0)
R32: Rafael Nadal def. Eduardo Schwank (6-1, 6-3, 6-4)
R16: Rafael Nadal def. Juan Monaco (6-2, 6-0, 6-0)
QF: Rafael Nadal def. Nicolas Almagro (7-6, 6-2, 6-3)
SF: Rafael Nadal def. David Ferrer (6-2, 6-2, 6-1)
FR: Rafael Nadal def. Novak Djokovic (6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5)

2013 French Open
R128: Rafael Nadal def. Daniel Brands (4-6, 7-6, 6-4, 6-3)
R64: Rafael Nadal def. Martin Klizan (4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3)
R32: Rafael Nadal def. Fabio Fognini (7-6, 6-4, 6-4)
R16: Rafael Nadal def. Kei Nishikori (6-4, 6-1, 6-3)
QF: Rafael Nadal def. Stanislas Wawrinka (6-2, 6-3, 6-1)
SF: Rafael Nadal def. Novak Djokovic (6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7, 9-7)
FR: Rafael Nadal def. David Ferrer (6-3, 6-2, 6-3)

2014 French Open
R128: Rafael Nadal def. Robby Ginepri (6-0, 6-3, 6-0)
R64: Rafael Nadal def. Dominic Thiem (6-2, 6-2, 6-3)
R32: Rafael Nadal def. Leonardo Mayer (6-2, 7-5, 6-2)
R16: Rafael Nadal def. Dusan Lajovic (6-1, 6-2, 6-1)
QF: Rafael Nadal def. David Ferrer (4-6, 6-4, 6-0, 6-1)
SF: Rafael Nadal def. Andy Murray (6-3, 6-2, 6-1)
FR: Rafael Nadal def. Novak Djokovic (3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4)

2015 French Open
R128: Rafael Nadal def. Quentin Halys (6-3, 6-3, 6-4)
R64: Rafael Nadal def. Nicolas Almagro (6-4, 6-3, 6-1)
R32: Rafael Nadal def. Andrey Kuznetsov (6-1, 6-3, 6-2)
R16: Rafael Nadal def. Jack Sock (6-3, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2)
QF: Novak Djokovic def. Rafael Nadal (7-5, 6-3, 6-1)

2016 French Open
R128: Rafael Nadal def. Sam Groth (6-1, 6-1, 6-1)
R64: Rafael Nadal def. Facundo Bagnis (6-3, 6-0, 6-3)
R32: Marcel Granollers def. Rafael Nadal (Walkover)

2017 French Open
R128: Rafael Nadal def. Benoit Paire (6-1, 6-4, 6-1)
R64: Rafael Nadal def. Robin Haase (6-1, 6-4, 6-3)
R32: Rafael Nadal def. Nikoloz Basilashvili (6-0, 6-1, 6-0)
R16: Rafael Nadal def. Roberto Bautista Agut (6-1, 6-2, 6-2)
QF: Rafael Nadal def. Pablo Carreno Busta (6-2, 2-0 ret.)
SF: Rafael Nadal def. Dominic Thiem (6-3, 6-4, 6-0)
FR: Rafael Nadal def. Stanislas Wawrinka (6-2, 6-3, 6-1)

2018 French Open
R128: Rafael Nadal def. Simone Bolelli (6-4, 6-3, 7-6)
R64: Rafael Nadal def. Guido Pella (6-2, 6-1, 6-1)
R32: Rafael Nadal def. Richard Gasquet (6-3, 6-2, 6-2)
R16: Rafael Nadal def. Maximilian Marterer (6-3, 6-2, 7-6)
QF: Rafael Nadal def. Diego Schwartzman (4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2)
SF: Rafael Nadal def. Juan Martin del Potro (6-4, 6-2, 6-1)
FR: Rafael Nadal def. Dominic Thiem (6-4, 6-3, 6-2)


So, going by the statistics above:

Nadal has played 88 matches at the French Open
Nadal has won 67 matches in 3 sets
Nadal has won 2 matches after his opponent retired in the second or third set
Nadal has won 15 matches in 4 sets
Nadal has won 2 matches in 5 sets
Nadal has lost 1 match in 4 sets
Nadal has lost 1 match in 3 sets
 
D

Deleted member 120290

Guest
Not sure why some people thought Thiem had a chance against Nadal today.
Prime Fed and 1hbh monster Wawrinka could not come close to beating Nadal at RG.
Playing 1hbh against Nadal at RG is like climbing Mt. Everest on 1 leg.

Well done to the King of Klay. Everyone else was playing for #1 runner-up trophy.
Huge Heart awards go to Halep and Schwartzman.
 
Rickenbacker4003

Rickenbacker4003

Hall of Fame
Mike Sams said:
Nadal may have blown his full load in the clay season as he tends to do. And won't be ready to go hard until US Open. Although it will be likely a bigger task this time around. Nadal isn't known for defending Slams successfully off clay.
Click to expand...
Depends on his W draw. If he has some bums in the first week and no Muller he will go hard.
 
marc45

marc45

G.O.A.T.
Toni: This is not normal

...............

The Guardian:

Rafael Nadal sheds tear for French Open court he has made his own

The Spaniard’s 11th Roland Garros title was emotional as the demolition workers prepared to smash up Court Philippe Chatrier but thoughts turned immediately to Wimbledon

Simon Cambers

Sun 10 Jun 2018

The tears were new but otherwise things were as they always seem to be in Paris. Rafael Nadal duly collected his 11th French Open title here on Sunday with a brutal, brilliant, resilient and ruthless performance, just as he had done 10 times before. But as Nadal’s uncle, Toni Nadal, said shortly afterwards, “this is not normal”.

Less than an hour after the match was completed, demolition workers began to smash up Court Philippe Chatrier, part of the continuing redevelopment that will lead to a roof being in place over the stadium court in two years’ time. This, though, is Nadal’s court, the place he has dominated like no other. His emotions were on show as he shed a few tears when the national anthem of Spain was played in his honour for the 11th time, an obvious sign of what this tournament means to him. Nadal’s 11th title takes his grand slam tally to 17 and even at 32, despite the miles in his legs, who is going to stop him making it 12 in a year’s time?

When he was recovering from injury this year, for the umpteenth time in his career, he was focused on this title and nothing – certainly not Dominic Thiem – was going to stand in his way. Even a cramp in his left hand early in the third set, which required a rub-down of his left forearm, did not stop him as he closed out for victory.

Uncle Toni, no longer his nephew’s coach but back in his customary seat on the end of the players’ box, two seats down from the current coach, Carlos Moya, summed it up perfectly. “When someone wins 11 times here, for me it’s unbelievable,” he told reporters. “To think that Rafael has won 11 times, it’s unbelievable. I think he is really good.”

The understatement was classic Toni but there was nothing understated about Nadal himself. It was his best performance of the fortnight, as Nadal confirmed on court, just when he needed it most.

Right from the start of the tournament the Nadal camp knew Thiem was the biggest danger, having seen at first hand what the Austrian can do when he defeated their man in Madrid last month. Having also beaten him in Rome last year, he is the only man to defeat Nadal on clay in the past two years, and the way he had played on the way to the final threatened to make it a classic match.

That it was not was testimony to Nadal’s level, which never wavered, despite everything Thiem threw at him. Nadal threw himself across the baseline, retrieving everything. When he had the chance, he thumped his forehand with his customary effect, his dazzling footwork still a marvel even as he enters his 33rd year.

The momentary cramp in his left hand gave him a brief scare but he was simply too good, yet again. He is now three grand slam titles short of Roger Federer, the pair having shared the past six slam titles between them. Might he catch him? “I want to think that is possible but I know maybe in a month Federer will win Wimbledon again. I don’t know,” Toni Nadal said.

It is eight years since Nadal last lifted the Wimbledon title and he has not been past the last 16 since he reached the 2011 final. The transition from clay to grass is a tough one for him, the loading required particularly difficult for his chronic knees, which nevertheless have held up amazingly well over the years.

Last year, he looked good only to lose against Gilles Müller of Luxembourg in a five-set match. It is a tough assignment but with the confidence earned here it is possible. “I think so,” Toni Nadal said. “I thought last year he could win. I thought it, because he played really good, but in the end Gilles Müller just played too good.”
 
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D

Deleted member 688153

Guest
Just checked the score, congratulations to Rafa.

What a letdown though. Less than ten games? Really Thiem?
Can't say I'm surprised but damn. When are these guys going to stop letting him off the hook like this?
They can get wins over Nadal (and Fed) but when it really counts on the biggest stages they fold like a cheap suit.

Not expecting him to win but maybe a set at least? Is that too much to ask? Make Rafa sweat a bit? Make him earn it? Not even a tiebreaker or 7-5 - a 6, 6, 6 loss? That's journeyman stuff.

I know Fed was probably playing really well at Wimbledon last year but really, Fed's opponents? Not a single set? The guy is nearly 37 ffs. The tour is in trouble if none of them can even get a set off Fed.
The one upside I guess is that Fed should have an easy time at Wimbledon this year.
 
D

Deleted member 688153

Guest
At least it means we'll probably get to see Fedal for a fair while yet. They've combined to win the last six slams LMFAO

And they've barely been challenged
 
marc45

marc45

G.O.A.T.
NYT:

Rafael Nadal Extends His Reign With an 11th French Open Title
merlin_139352628_e7f89869-de81-42c6-817f-8547e850ff6d-articleLarge.jpg

Rafael Nadal became only the second person to win 11 singles titles at the same Grand Slam tournament.CreditAlessandra Tarantino/Associated Press


By Christopher Clarey

  • June 10, 2018
PARIS — Though it seems the right thing to do at this stage, there is no plan to retire the Coupe des Mousquetaires, the trophy that goes to the winner of the men’s singles title at the French Open.

Rafael Nadal has all but taken permanent possession of it, hoisting it high and biting down on its handle for the 11th time after defeating Dominic Thiem, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, in the final on Sunday.

But the French are, in a sense, retiring the historic stadium in which Nadal has established his historic dominance.

Almost immediately after Thiem’s last return had flown long, the attendants in the tournament’s longstanding press room inside the Philippe Chatrier Court were distributing hard hats and colored markers to reporters and others for their demolition party. Much of the Chatrier Court, the main showplace at Roland Garros, will be demolished and rebuilt in the next 10 months to prepare for the installation of a retractable roof by 2020.

It will be a new era at the world’s greatest clay-court tournament, but given how Nadal demolished a worthy opponent from the next generation on Sunday, it would be no surprise if he managed to bridge the eras.

At age 32, he was in vintage form against Thiem, a 24-year-old Austrian who had beaten Nadal three times on clay — but never in a best-of-five-set match. Nadal, who had some shaky opening starts this year at Roland Garros, was well aware of the threat, and he was focused and ferocious from the start.

“If you tell me, seven, eight years ago, that I will be here with 32 years old having this trophy with me again, I will you that it is something almost impossible,” Nadal said afterward. “But here we are.”

Players have approached his level of achievement on other surfaces: Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Martina Navratilova on grass. But there has been no one like him on clay in any era.

Bjorn Borg was just as overwhelming at his peak but did not have Nadal’s staying power, burning out in his mid-20s. Chris Evert won seven women’s singles titles here over a 12-year period, but never won more than two in a row.

Nadal was a prodigy who has remained prodigious. While he has won six of his 17 Grand Slam singles titles on other surfaces, he is to clay what Michael Phelps is to water.

Like Phelps, his physique and technique are perfectly adapted to this environment: No one moves on terre battue like Nadal, and no one’s topspin forehand kicks like Nadal’s, not even Thiem’s, which is quite a versatile weapon on its own.

Like Phelps, Nadal has an enduring drive to excel even after having won all there is to win, many times over. Eleven was the number this year as he won his 11th career title in Monte Carlo, in Barcelona and in Paris.

Most would be jaded by now. But Nadal still plays tennis on clay with the match-by-match hunger of someone who has not won so much as a Challenger event, and though he is rightly famous for relishing the struggle as much as the victory, there is also an element of protecting his turf at this stage.

The rallies on Sunday were routinely physical and often extended, full of topspin and corner-to-corner action and punctuated by loud grunts that were every bit as clamorous as any in the women’s game (even if the grunting issue only seems to be a talking point in the women’s side).

But though Thiem regularly took huge risks to try to push Nadal outside of his comfort zone, he was also pushing beyond his own: He finished with 42 unforced errors to go with his 34 winners. Before the final, Thiem said he had a plan, and he stayed closer to the baseline than usual to return and to rally, trying to deprive Nadal of time.

He hit some spectacular shots, but he could not hit enough of them. He struggled repeatedly with the timing on his one-handed backhand as he tried to counter Nadal’s whipping topspin by hitting the ball right after the bounce.

He also picked the wrong time to play his worst game — serving into the wind at 4-5 in the first set — losing his serve at love to give Nadal the lead for good.

The Spaniard, who had plenty of plans of his own on Sunday and used the body serve very effectively, did have one edgy moment left.

Serving with a 2-1 lead in the third set, he stopped play while leading, 30-0, after missing a first serve, and jogged to his chair to address a cramp in his left hand that had left him unable to move his middle finger.

After treatment, he returned to the court and immediately double faulted, but still managed to hold. After more treatment on the next changeover, he won a 19-shot rally and held serve at love for a 4-2 lead.

He did not lose another game, and his record at Roland Garros is now 86-2: a far-fetched figure that is worth copying down in our notebooks 11 times.

He was asked what he thought, really thought, in the locker room after the victory, and he explained that there were so many obligations — hands to shake, questions to answer — that it was hard to have much time to think. But he gave it a shot.

“Well, the answer is quite simple,” he said. “I think probably the same as you. That in the end — and I don’t like to say it myself — but it’s something that is really unique, something that you can’t dream of, winning 11 times the same tournament. But it happened, and as always I would like to thank life for giving me this opportunity. Many people work as much as I do or even more and haven’t had my luck. That being said, yes, winning 11 times here is a lot.

“I can’t tell you any more than that.”

It is all in that answer, really: the humility, the reluctant realism. There has been some luck: Who could have imagined that Novak Djokovic, who seemed to have Nadal’s number on clay for good in 2015 and 2016, would fade from prominence so quickly? But without Nadal’s humility and internal drive, he would never have been able to keep pushing himself; to keep doing the unglamorous work to recover from physical setbacks, most recently the psoas muscle problem that forced him to retire in the middle of the Australian Open in January and then kept him from playing another tournament until early April.

“A lot of months with problems,” Nadal said. “So coming back and having the chance to win in Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome, and now especially here, it’s very emotional for me.”

He cried during the awards ceremony, which he has done before here. But these tears came as he held the trophy and received an extended ovation from the crowd that felt more like an extended recognition of his staying power.

It has rarely been a love affair. The French like their underdogs, and Nadal has too often drained the suspense out of their tournament. Both he and his uncle Toni Nadal resented the way the crowd cheered against him in the fourth round in 2009 as he lost to Robin Soderling, the Swedish outsider who is one of only two men to have beaten Nadal at Roland Garros.

There also have been insinuations and suspicions, reflected in the comment in 2016 by Roselyne Bachelot, a former French minister for health and sport, on French television that Nadal’s seven-month injury layoff in 2012 was “probably due to a positive doping test.”

Nadal was outraged and filed — and won — a defamation suit against Bachelot last year.

But the Franco-Nadal relationship seems to have arrived at a new and more convivial place. If he seemed the slightest bit blasé, it might be a different matter. Yet there he still was on a Sunday in the Paris spring, chasing every ball, groaning with nearly every stroke and whipping winners when he needed them most against a rival eight years his junior.

They can demolish the stadium, but his records here will likely stand until they demolish the next one.
 
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Mike Sams

Mike Sams

G.O.A.T.
TenFanLA said:
Not sure why some people thought Thiem had a chance against Nadal today.
Prime Fed and 1hbh monster Wawrinka could not come close to beating Nadal at RG.
Playing 1hbh against Nadal at RG is like climbing Mt. Everest on 1 leg.

Well done to the King of Klay. Everyone else was playing for #1 runner-up trophy.
Huge Heart awards go to Halep and Schwartzman.
Click to expand...
Federer's BH held up pretty well for 3 sets against Nadal in 2011 finals of RG. He even had his chances to take the first set, even first 2 sets, until his usual brain farts. His 2007 performance was atrocious. 1/17 in BPs.
 
cucio

cucio

Legend
Mike Sams said:
What about the future Nadals? A lot of kids are emulating Nadal's style coming up, and they're building their game for clay. Who knows what we'll see in the next few generations? Maybe the future Nadal will come right from Nadal's own tennis academy.
Click to expand...

It is hard to believe another Nadal (someone who hogs 3-4 of the main clay tournaments every season for more than a decade) is going to come up anytime soon. But who knows, indeed?

Nadal's forehand has redefined what aggression in tennis is (at least for those willing to entertain the notion that a heavy, deep, high-bouncing, wildly-spinning ball which is perhaps easy to reach with a racquet, but insanely difficult to return with pace and direction, is rather aggressive, in the sense that a sumo wrestler or an anaconda can be thought as aggressive.) This kind of forehand and superb mobility on court have proven a lethal combination on clay courts, and have acquitted themselves not too shabbily on other surfaces. Only Ultron-Djokovic at his highest peak was able to handle that weapon consistently (and what a magnificent spectacle that was!)

It is interesting to wonder about the impact that this is going to have in those new generations. Maybe it is true that new players will try to adopt Nadal's style (sorry, vive.) But perhaps Nadal's domination relies on him being a pioneer in that style that took the field by storm. If many new Rafa-wannabes are coming up, with the idea of tailoring their game for clay, it will no longer be a surprise and perhaps it will be more difficult that one of them will tower consistently over the rest.
 
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3fees

3fees

G.O.A.T.
Congrats to Nadal blnt Thiem 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 The Coupe des Mousquetaires being lifted by Thiem is not in cards for RG 18.

Cheers
3Fees :)
 
D

Deleted member 744633

Guest
Steve0904 said:
Why did you think I was angry? I've been saying that Nadal would win RG since at least April after I saw his first couple matches in MC. I'm not depressed about anything. I even mentioned in this thread that I was partly enjoying watching Thiem get the crap kicked out of him.
Click to expand...

Sorry, your post felt like it had a lot of venom so I thought you were perhaps angry seeing another 1 sided Roland Garros final.

It's incredible that even Djokovic at his peak never managed to take Nadal to a 5th set in a Roland Garros final :eek:
 
JohnnyMac Fan!

JohnnyMac Fan!

Legend
Mustard said:
Rafael Nadal's updated French Open match record after today. He's now 86-2 at the French Open.

2005 French Open
R128: Rafael Nadal def. Lars Burgsmuller (6-1, 7-6, 6-1)
R64: Rafael Nadal def. Xavier Malisse (6-2, 6-2, 6-4)
R32: Rafael Nadal def. Richard Gasquet (6-4, 6-3, 6-2)
R16: Rafael Nadal def. Sebastien Grosjean (6-4, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3)
QF: Rafael Nadal def. David Ferrer (7-5, 6-2, 6-0)
SF: Rafael Nadal def. Roger Federer (6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3)
FR: Rafael Nadal def. Mariano Puerta (6-7, 6-3, 6-1, 7-5)

2006 French Open
R128: Rafael Nadal def. Robin Soderling (6-2, 7-5, 6-1)
R64: Rafael Nadal def. Kevin Kim (6-2, 6-1, 6-4)
R32: Rafael Nadal def. Paul-Henri Mathieu (5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4)
R16: Rafael Nadal def. Lleyton Hewitt (6-2, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2)
QF: Rafael Nadal def. Novak Djokovic (6-4, 6-4, ret.)
SF: Rafael Nadal def. Ivan Ljubicic (6-4, 6-2, 7-6)
FR: Rafael Nadal def. Roger Federer (1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6)

2007 French Open
R128: Rafael Nadal def. Juan Martin del Potro (7-5, 6-3, 6-2)
R64: Rafael Nadal def. Flavio Cipolla (6-2, 6-1, 6-4)
R32: Rafael Nadal def. Albert Montanes (6-1, 6-3, 6-2)
R16: Rafael Nadal def. Lleyton Hewitt (6-3, 6-1, 7-6)
QF: Rafael Nadal def. Carlos Moya (6-4, 6-3, 6-0)
SF: Rafael Nadal def. Novak Djokovic (7-5, 6-4, 6-2)
FR: Rafael Nadal def. Roger Federer (6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4)

2008 French Open
R128: Rafael Nadal def. Thomaz Bellucci (7-5, 6-3, 6-1)
R64: Rafael Nadal def. Nicolas Devilder (6-4, 6-0, 6-1)
R32: Rafael Nadal def. Jarkko Nieminen (6-1, 6-3, 6-1)
R16: Rafael Nadal def. Fernando Verdasco (6-1, 6-0, 6-2)
QF: Rafael Nadal def. Nicolas Almagro (6-1, 6-1, 6-1)
SF: Rafael Nadal def. Novak Djokovic (6-4, 6-2, 7-6)
FR: Rafael Nadal def. Roger Federer (6-1, 6-3, 6-0)

2009 French Open
R128: Rafael Nadal def. Marcos Daniel (7-5, 6-4, 6-3)
R64: Rafael Nadal def. Teymuraz Gabashvili (6-1, 6-4, 6-2)
R32: Rafael Nadal def. Lleyton Hewitt (6-1, 6-3, 6-1)
R16: Robin Soderling def. Rafael Nadal (6-2, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6)

2010 French Open
R128: Rafael Nadal def. Gianni Mina (6-2, 6-2, 6-2)
R64: Rafael Nadal def. Horacio Zeballos (6-2, 6-2, 6-3)
R32: Rafael Nadal def. Lleyton Hewitt (6-3, 6-4, 6-3)
R16: Rafael Nadal def. Thomaz Bellucci (6-2, 7-5, 6-4)
QF: Rafael Nadal def. Nicolas Almagro (7-6, 7-6, 6-4)
SF: Rafael Nadal def. Jurgen Melzer (6-2, 6-3, 7-6)
FR: Rafael Nadal def. Robin Soderling (6-4, 6-2, 6-4)

2011 French Open
R128: Rafael Nadal def. John Isner (6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 6-2, 6-4)
R64: Rafael Nadal def. Pablo Andujar (7-5, 6-3, 7-6)
R32: Rafael Nadal def. Antonio Veic (6-1, 6-3, 6-0)
R16: Rafael Nadal def. Ivan Ljubicic (7-5, 6-3, 6-3)
QF: Rafael Nadal def. Robin Soderling (6-4, 6-1, 7-6)
SF: Rafael Nadal def. Andy Murray (6-4, 7-5, 6-4)
FR: Rafael Nadal def. Roger Federer (7-5, 7-6, 5-7, 6-1)

2012 French Open
R128: Rafael Nadal def. Simone Bolelli (6-2, 6-2, 6-1)
R64: Rafael Nadal def. Denis Istomin (6-2, 6-2, 6-0)
R32: Rafael Nadal def. Eduardo Schwank (6-1, 6-3, 6-4)
R16: Rafael Nadal def. Juan Monaco (6-2, 6-0, 6-0)
QF: Rafael Nadal def. Nicolas Almagro (7-6, 6-2, 6-3)
SF: Rafael Nadal def. David Ferrer (6-2, 6-2, 6-1)
FR: Rafael Nadal def. Novak Djokovic (6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5)

2013 French Open
R128: Rafael Nadal def. Daniel Brands (4-6, 7-6, 6-4, 6-3)
R64: Rafael Nadal def. Martin Klizan (4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3)
R32: Rafael Nadal def. Fabio Fognini (7-6, 6-4, 6-4)
R16: Rafael Nadal def. Kei Nishikori (6-4, 6-1, 6-3)
QF: Rafael Nadal def. Stanislas Wawrinka (6-2, 6-3, 6-1)
SF: Rafael Nadal def. Novak Djokovic (6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7, 9-7)
FR: Rafael Nadal def. David Ferrer (6-3, 6-2, 6-3)

2014 French Open
R128: Rafael Nadal def. Robby Ginepri (6-0, 6-3, 6-0)
R64: Rafael Nadal def. Dominic Thiem (6-2, 6-2, 6-3)
R32: Rafael Nadal def. Leonardo Mayer (6-2, 7-5, 6-2)
R16: Rafael Nadal def. Dusan Lajovic (6-1, 6-2, 6-1)
QF: Rafael Nadal def. David Ferrer (4-6, 6-4, 6-0, 6-1)
SF: Rafael Nadal def. Andy Murray (6-3, 6-2, 6-1)
FR: Rafael Nadal def. Novak Djokovic (3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4)

2015 French Open
R128: Rafael Nadal def. Quentin Halys (6-3, 6-3, 6-4)
R64: Rafael Nadal def. Nicolas Almagro (6-4, 6-3, 6-1)
R32: Rafael Nadal def. Andrey Kuznetsov (6-1, 6-3, 6-2)
R16: Rafael Nadal def. Jack Sock (6-3, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2)
QF: Novak Djokovic def. Rafael Nadal (7-5, 6-3, 6-1)

2016 French Open
R128: Rafael Nadal def. Sam Groth (6-1, 6-1, 6-1)
R64: Rafael Nadal def. Facundo Bagnis (6-3, 6-0, 6-3)
R32: Marcel Granollers def. Rafael Nadal (Walkover)

2017 French Open
R128: Rafael Nadal def. Benoit Paire (6-1, 6-4, 6-1)
R64: Rafael Nadal def. Robin Haase (6-1, 6-4, 6-3)
R32: Rafael Nadal def. Nikoloz Basilashvili (6-0, 6-1, 6-0)
R16: Rafael Nadal def. Roberto Bautista Agut (6-1, 6-2, 6-2)
QF: Rafael Nadal def. Pablo Carreno Busta (6-2, 2-0 ret.)
SF: Rafael Nadal def. Dominic Thiem (6-3, 6-4, 6-0)
FR: Rafael Nadal def. Stanislas Wawrinka (6-2, 6-3, 6-1)

2018 French Open
R128: Rafael Nadal def. Simone Bolelli (6-4, 6-3, 7-6)
R64: Rafael Nadal def. Guido Pella (6-2, 6-1, 6-1)
R32: Rafael Nadal def. Richard Gasquet (6-3, 6-2, 6-2)
R16: Rafael Nadal def. Maximilian Marterer (6-3, 6-2, 7-6)
QF: Rafael Nadal def. Diego Schwartzman (4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2)
SF: Rafael Nadal def. Juan Martin del Potro (6-4, 6-2, 6-1)
FR: Rafael Nadal def. Dominic Thiem (6-4, 6-3, 6-2)


So, going by the statistics above:

Nadal has played 88 matches at the French Open
Nadal has won 67 matches in 3 sets
Nadal has won 2 matches after his opponent retired in the second or third set
Nadal has won 15 matches in 4 sets
Nadal has won 2 matches in 5 sets
Nadal has lost 1 match in 4 sets
Nadal has lost 1 match in 3 sets
Click to expand...
So Dominic won 2 more games than last year at the Semis?
 
Steve0904

Steve0904

Talk Tennis Guru
Sunny Ali said:
Sorry, your post felt like it had a lot of venom so I thought you were perhaps angry seeing another 1 sided Roland Garros final.

It's incredible that even Djokovic at his peak never managed to take Nadal to a 5th set in a Roland Garros final :eek:
Click to expand...

No problem and yeah, pretty incredible. Nadal's amazing on the red clay. Many of his records on the surface will never be broken IMO.
 
marc45

marc45

G.O.A.T.
ESPN:

Same result, different day for French Open champion Rafael Nadal

  • Bonnie D. Ford
PARIS -- Only Rafael Nadal truly knows what he saw reflected when he glanced into the belly of the big silver bowl, but as he pressed his 11th French Open championship trophy against his cheek, his face began to crumple.

His tears were a reminder that as routine as his victory may have seemed to others, it was never a given for him. The red clay is running through the hourglass, and there's more piled at the bottom than there is left at the top.

Injuries pockmarked Nadal's early season and spawned doubt as he prepared to start the clay-court season that has traditionally served as a long taxi-way for Paris. But it all starts over again at Roland Garros. His form is compared to years past and the passage of time is made tangible on his birthday, which falls during the tournament every year.

  • "You can't fight against the age, and you can't fight against the watch," Nadal said Sunday after defeating Austria's Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. "The watch keep going always. For me, you know, if you tell me seven, eight years ago that I will be here [at] 32 years old having this trophy with me again, I will tell you that is something almost impossible, but here we are.

"I am just trying to keep enjoying, and keep playing until my body resist, and my happiness still high playing tennis. When that change, will be a time to do another thing, and I am not worried about this."

Nadal's welling eyes during the trophy ceremony provided a moment of vulnerability after a match that had very few of them, apart from a bizarre interlude in the third set when Nadal abruptly stopped mid-service game with a disconcerted expression and left the baseline to request medical attention for a cramping left hand.

For an instant, before it became clear that he could continue, the unthinkable seemed possible. Nadal theorized that the tight wrap on his forearm had cut off his circulation, and he said the unexpected sensation scared him.

"I felt that I was not able to move the hand, the finger," he said. "I was not under control of my [middle] finger. So, yeah, I just went straight to my chair because I went -- I didn't know even what I did."

But most of what transpired Sunday afternoon was eminently familiar: The distinctive roar of appreciation when the Spanish superstar walked into the stadium, the whirring accompaniment of photographers' motor drives as he tossed the ball skyward, the sense that when he closed out the first set, it was ballgame on center court even though it was best-of-five on paper.

Australian tennis legend Ken Rosewall told the crowd he would have liked to see a few more sets. Some paying customers at Philippe Chatrier or watching from a distance may have shared that sentiment -- a predictable yearning for a close, competitive encounter.

Nadal remained implacable in the homestretch, intent on ignoring his temporarily impaired hand, outracing the rainclouds that hovered close and low but didn't erupt, and trying to outrun, outhit and outwit a player who was 11 years old when he won his first title here in 2005.

Thiem, now 24 and ranked a career-high No. 7 following his first major final, said he enjoyed seeing Nadal thundering away from the comfort of his childhood couch far more than trying to field the lightning bolts coming at him across the net Sunday.

He set his jaw and stared off into space, downcast, as the love poured down for Nadal after the match, but managed a smile when Nadal predicted he would win a championship here.

The square-shouldered Austrian tried his best to engage with Nadal rather than let Nadal's avalanche of statistics overwhelm him. He didn't look meek or cowed, just frustrated when he missed chances to make minor headway.

"I was really fighting and playing from the first to the last moment," Thiem said. "And, of course, it was not nice to lose the first set, but still it was not a key point of today."

The lone player to defeat Nadal on clay over the last two seasons, Thiem made incremental progress by winning nine games Sunday, two more than in each of their previous meetings here. He staved off 12 of 17 break points and converted one of three he earned.

Nadal's 17th major title inevitably brought questions about his ultimate career goals. "Let me enjoy this title," he said, mildly. "I can't be always thinking of more. Of course, I have ambition, of course. I have passion for what I am doing.

"But I never have been crazy about all this kind of stuff. You can't be frustrated if somebody have more money than you, if somebody have a bigger house than you, if somebody have more Grand Slams than you. You can't live with that feeling, no? You have to do your way."

For now, he has locked up the family silver again and this remains his house. Everyone else is just living with that, and living in it.
 
TennisFan3

TennisFan3

Talk Tennis Guru
Dose of wisdom from Rafa - almost like Stoicism if you will -

"But I never have been crazy about all this kind of stuff. You can't be frustrated if somebody have more money than you, if somebody have a bigger house than you, if somebody have more Grand Slams than you.

You can't live with that feeling, no? You have to do your way."

------------------*
 
VaporDude95

VaporDude95

Banned
Rickenbacker4003 said:
Add their age difference their head to head and you get a more accurate description there dude.
Click to expand...

Not really. By h2h, Davydenko is better than Nadal. And by age, fed reached 17 grandslams by the age of 30.

Federer is 5-0 against Nadal since 2014. Nadal has primarily relied on one slam to increase his slam tally. Take away Fed’s Wimbledon’s and Nadal’s RGs, it’s 12-6.

Also weeks at number one, win loss ratios, World Tour Finals victories (6-0)...even down to the way they play technique wise.
I could go on and on and on.
 
Last edited:
Zetty

Zetty

Hall of Fame
This match looked like every French Open encounter Rafa/Fed had, banana ball to the backhand all day long no?
 
G

Goldie

Rookie
Nadal is doing better, he is now averaging only 40 seconds between points. To bad the ref's don't enforce the rule! Same old boring tennis!
 
TheGhostOfAgassi

TheGhostOfAgassi

Talk Tennis Guru
@markpetchey‏ @_markpetchey 40m40 minutes ago
like a Monet painting...up close you realise its genius, step further away you understand its beyond what you could conceive could be done on a simple canvas, step into the shadow of time and you realise he will live forever through his work...the same is true of @RafaelNadal

@Poisoned Slice
Petchey being emotionally poetic :)
 
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