Roland Garros—Paris, France
No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal claimed his record 12th French Open title on Sunday in Paris, France, dismissing No. 4 seed Dominic Thiem 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1. In a match that took three hours and one minute to complete, Nadal won a grueling first set before Thiem stormed back to take set two. With the match hanging in the balance, Nadal took his game to another level after his opponent was visibly fatigued. Thiem had played four straight days due to rain.
Hitting 38 winners to 31 unforced errors and winning 73 percent of his first serve points, Nadal broke serve on seven occasions, while losing his serve twice.
Winning his 18th Major, Nadal also won his 950th career match. He currently trails Major leader Roger Federer by two Majors. The Swiss star stands with 20 title. Nadal defeated Federer in straight sets in the semifinals.
Thiem, who is still chasing his first career Grand Slam title, defeated world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in five sets in the semifinals. Djokovic was attempting to win his fourth career Major in a row.
Thiem also lost to Nadal in last year’s final.
