¡La décima! Nadal again a French CHAMP10N
Tuesday, June 13, 2017
On Sunday in tennis French Open men's singles final, "King of Clay" Rafael Nadal defeated Stan Wawrinka 6–2 6–3 6–1 to claim his tenth title in Paris. With this victory, Nadal became the first person to win a particular Grand Slam on ten occasions in the open era.
Image: MarioGalli01.
(Image missing from Commons: image; log)
32-year-old Wawrinka, who has featured in three Grand Slam finals before yesterday's match, had a 100% win record, while Nadal, who won his first French Open title in 2005 at the age of 19, had never lost a French Open final.
In the match lasting for just two hours and five minutes, Nadal served four aces, while the 2014 French Open winner Wawrinka hit only one. Nadal won six break points out of thirteen. His opponent, Wawrinka, missed his only chance to break the Spaniard's serve. Wawrinka, who faced first seeded Andy Murray in the semi-final — winning that match 6–7 6–3 5–7 7–6 6–1 after four hours and 34 minutes — committed 29 unforced errors, compared to Rafa's twelve.
Just as in 2008 and 2010, Nadal did not drop a single set in the entire tournament. Last year, Nadal had to withdraw from the tournament due to wrist injury. Nadal extended his record at the French Open to 79–2, losing just two matches in thirteen seasons on the French soil. Nadal is the third man to win this Grand Slam title in his teens, 20s, and 30s; the others were Ken Rosewall and Pete Sampras.
After the match, Nadal said, "You know, on paper, when you look at the scores, it all seems fairly easy[...] But it's not. As I said before, the French Open is the most important tournament of the year. That means when you arrive in Paris, I'm very nervous and I know that it's going to be difficult for me. Year after year it's becoming increasingly difficult, because I'm getting older, also."
Nadal now has fifteen Grand Slam singles titles. Only Roger Federer has more than him. Nadal has faced Federer in the French Open finals four times. A player who defeated Nadal at Roland Garros has never won the tournament in that year, which remains true to current date.
Stanislas WAWRINKASUI
Rafael NADALESP
Related news
- "Nadal withdraws from French Open 2016, suffers from wrist injury" — Wikinews, May 28, 2016
- "Roger Federer wins the French Open at Roland Garros" — Wikinews, June 9, 2009
Sources
- Dan Imhoff. "La Decima: Rafa immortalised at Roland-Garros" — Roland Garros, June 11, 2017
- Piers Newbery. "French Open: Rafael Nadal beats Stan Wawrinka to win the tournament for a 10th time" — BBC Sport, June 11, 2017
- "Match statistics" — Roland Garros, June 11, 2017
- Julien Pichené and Alex Sharp. "31 for 31: Rafa's Roland-Garros records" — Roland Garros, June 11, 2017
