Rafael Nadal coasted to a record 10th French Open title yesterday, demolishing Stan Wawrinka in a brutally one-sided final to cement his status as the greatest clay-courter of all time.
Spains Rafael Nadal celebrates with the French Open trophy after defeating Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland in the final at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, on Sunday.
With the victory, Nadal now has 15 Grand Slam titles, one more than Pete Sampras and behind only rival Roger Federer on the all-time list.
The Swiss has won all three Grand Slam finals in which he has appeared - in 2014 he beat Nadal in Australia and then Novak Djokovic in the 2015 Paris final and again in last year's US Open finale. Nadal. Nadal established himself as a star-in-the-making, beating Roger Federer in four sets in the semifinals in the first Grand Slam meeting of their great rivalry, before getting past Puerta for the title. He also won his 10th titles this year in Monte Carlo and Barcelona. It was his 18th crown.
Rafael Nadal soaks in the crowd's applause after winning his 10th French Open title.
"I try my best in all events but the feeling I have here is impossible to describe", the champion said on Court Philippe Chatrier. For me the nerves, the adrenaline I feel when I play on this court is impossible to compare to another feeling. "To win here again is something I can not describe", said Nadal.
At other points in the match, Wawrinka was a little less appreciative - as when he smashed his racket in frustration after a lost point. It is hard to compare this tournament to any other one. "To play against you is an honour". Nadal scored 27 winners as compared to Wawrinka's 19.
Kinder Morgan Inc (NYSE:KMI), Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)
Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 234,712,353 shares in the company, valued at $4,360,955,518.74. The current share price indicate that stock is -30.61% away from its one year high and is moving 5.87% ahead of its 52-week low.
The victory capped what could rightly be seen as Nadal's most dominant performance at Roland Garros.
Five-set match, it's going to be a really tough challenge when you play against him", the Swiss player admitted in press conference. "I think from the beginning from my side, for sure, I didn't play my best tennis.
For the second time in a row, the most important match at the most important clay-court tournament was being contested without him. "It's something tough to describe when you just say you won 10 French Opens", he said. Facing a trio of set points, Nadal showed the mettle and shots that would become so familiar, saving all three and not dropping another game for his first major championship.
The pressure from Nadal was relentless in the third set as well, as he broke Wawrinka time and again to take the final set 6-1. Reaching the final here, despite the obvious disappointment of losing, was a major step forward, as he moves up to No. 3 in the rankings.
Nadal did not lose a set in this year's tournament and only dropped a total of 35 games.
In three weeks I won Geneva and made final of a Grand Slam, so that's big for me.
Comments