NADAL wins 11th French Open Title Defeating Dominic Thiem
WORLD numbero uno Rafael Nadal has won the 122nd French Open title beating Austrian Dominic Thiem, 24, in straight sets in historic Ronald Garros , Paris, in the presence of a large cheering crowd .It was the 11th title of the tournament won by him. The Spaniard lifted the coveted crown 6-4 6-3 6-2 to earn his 17th Grand Slam outshining Roger Feeder’s all-time men’s record. The 32 – year- old tennis star tightened his grip in the second set .A triumphant and excited Nadal said “It’s a dream to win 11 times.” As BBC Sport says he victory means the past six Grand Slam titles have been won by either Nadal or Federer with the next generation of players finding it hard to break the veterans’ stranglehold on the game”.Nadal is the only second player in history to win the same Grand Slam on 11 occasions after Margaret Court, who won 11 Australian Open titles between 1960 and 1973. It’s the first time since 1992 that the top seeds have won the men’s and the women’s singles. Jim Courier and Monica Seles were the victorious pair 26 years ago, Rafa Nadal and Simona Halep, number one world’s female tennis star, have bagged French Tiles in 2018.The Guardian reports citing Nadal: “It was the best match tournament of me. It was important because Dominic is a very aggressive player. I had a tough moment in the third set when I got cramp in my hand. I was very scared. But that is sport. It is very humid and I was against a tough player who pushes you to the end.”However, it was not all smooth for Nadal, who missed four match points on his own serve before clinching victory when Thiem went long on the fifth. Nadal dropped his racquet at the baseline in celebration before turning to his box and raising both hands skywards, says the Guardian.
