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Patna : World No 1 in ATP rankings Rafael Nadal, 32, Spain, won French Open singles title for the 11th time ( La Undecima) defeating World No 8 Dominic Thiem, 24, Austria, in straight sets in the final on June 10, 2018, night.
Nadal, who was playing his 24th Grand Slam final, roarded past Thiem 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, on Philippe Chatrier Court, Roland Garros, Paris bringing his tally of Grand Slam titles to 17, still three behind Roger Federer’s 20. Nadal would have lost his Number 1 ranking to Federer, 36, Switzerland, had he lost in the final to Thiem, who was playing in his first Grand Slam final.
Interestingly, Nadal did not serve a single Ace in the match while Thiem fired 7. Nadal committed 3 double faults to Thiem’s 5. However, Nadal’s winning percentage on both first and second serve was much better than that of Thiem. Nadal also won 5 break points while Thiem won just one. Nadal won five games in a row to Thiem’s 2. Although Nadal won 8 match points in a row in the match, he sqandered away 4 match points in the 8th game of third set but finally managed to win the game, set and match.Overall, Nadal won 105 points to Thiem’s 79.
Nadal not only embarced Thiem after the match but in his post-match interview said that he has a bright future. Nadal lost only one set in the entire tournament to Diego Schwartzman, Argentina, in the quarter-finals. Schwartzman had won the first set but thereafter Nadal won the next three sets quite easily. Nadal had first won the French Open title in 2005.