First five games, he was lucky to win points: Patrick McEnroe narrates how Rafael Nadal dominated Dominic Thiem in the 2019 French Open final
Patrick McEnroe recently spoke about Rafael Nadal's dominance over Dominic Thiem in the opening games of the 2019 French Open final.
Nadal won his 12th Roland Garros crown in 2019 by defeating the Austrian 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 in the title clash. The Spaniard produced a dominant performance throughout and dropped only two games en route to his title win.
Patrick McEnroe recently spoke to Brad Gilbert on his podcast, "Holding Court with Patrick McEnroe." The 56-year-old recalled watching Nadal play Thiem in the 2019 French Open, where the latter beat Novak Djokovic in the semifinals.
McEnroe said that the Spaniard was so good in the opening 4-5 games of the final that Thiem was lucky to win points at that point.
"I went over to the French (Open) basically as a fan. There was a year that Rafa played Thiem in the final, and Thiem was playing great. I mean, he had a great clay-court season, we were all thinking, 'This guy can win a Major, the French would be the best chance', of course he went on to win the (US) Open," Patrick McEnroe said.
"This was pre-pandemic and I gotta tell you Brad, I mean, the first 4-5 games of the match, I'm sitting in the stadium and I'm really watching, more like a fan than anything else.
"I think he (Thiem) beat Djoker that year in the quarters or semis, second or third-best clay-court player in the world, and in the first five games, Brad, he was lucky to win points," he added.
McEnroe also stated that Nadal's dominance on clay was due to the extreme topspin he generated.
"I mean that's how good Rafa was, and like you said, on clay, because of the extreme spin that he has, you can see, it's easier but he has been able to dominate," the 56-year-old said.
Rafael Nadal has a 9-6 head-to-head record against Dominic Thiem
Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem have locked horns on 15 occasions, with the Spaniard leading their head-to-head 9-6. Twelve of these encounters came on clay, with Nadal winning eight times, including two French Open finals in 2018 and 2019.
On hard-courts though, Thiem won two out of three meetings against the Spaniard. The only time Nadal beat the Austrian on hard was their iconic quarterfinal at the 2018 US Open, with the former winning 0-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5).