"King of Clay" reigns for the 11th time!
The tennis fraternity witnessed some epic matches over the last fortnight and it all came down to a showdown between Rafael Nadal and Dominic Theim. History repeated itself as the World No.1 won the his 11th Roland Garros title by trouncing Theim 6-4,6-3,6-2 in stunning fashion.
The first set began on a great intensity with Nadal breaking Dominic's serve and racing to a 2-0 lead. Thiem broke back to level the opening set 2-2. Nadal bagged the first set 6-4 after converting first of the three break points. The defending champion carried the momentum in the second set and won it 6-3 by breaking Theim twice and pounding him with his fierce groundstrokes.
The World No.8, Theim's double faults at crucial points and winning less than 20% of the net points further compounded his troubles. There was no change of gears in the third set, with Nadal breaking twice to find an opportunity to serve for the championship at 5-2.
The "King Of Clay" had four match points but Theim denied him an opportunity in all four chances. Finally, the relentless beast converted the fifth championship point and lifted his hands in celebration. Nadal equals Margaret Court's record of winning 11 titles at a single tournament and also consolidates his position as World No.1 in the ATP rankings.
The French Open champion takes his grand slam tally to 17, three short of his arch-nemesis Roger Federer who sits as the leader of the pack at 20 grand slams. The victory also makes him enter the $100 million mark in career earnings.
Nadal described Theim as the future great and one of the best players on the tour during an on-court interview. The Spaniard got the perfect birthday gift a week later after his birthdate and received the beautiful silver trophy in front of a packed crowd to establish his supremacy yet again.
With Wimbledon looming in three weeks time, it will be intriguing to watch the Big four in action after a long hiatus