The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

2018 French Open: Men's final preview

Rafael Nadal, of Spain, reacts after beating Kevin Anderson, of South Africa, to win the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017, in New York. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Roar Guru
8th June, 2018
1

World number one Rafael Nadal is looking to create more history when he comes up against Dominic Thiem in the men’s final of the French Open.

Apart from his quarter-final scare against Diego Schwartzman, the Spaniard has made a mockery of his draw, winning five of his six matches in straight sets and only being taken to two tiebreaks – in the first round against Simone Bolelli and in the fourth against Maximilian Marterer.

What was supposed to be a blockbuster semi-final against former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro turned into a painfully easy win, as the 32-year-old dropped just seven games in a straight-sets victory.

Apart from his ten French Open titles, Nadal has also won Wimbledon twice, while he has won four hard-court Majors (one Australian Open title, in 2009, and three US Open titles in 2010, 2013 and 2017).

By comparison, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic won the French Open only once each, with Nadal being the major blot in their otherwise impressive records at Roland Garros.

Thirteen years after winning on his debut, as a recently-turned 19-year-old, Nadal now has the chance to become the first man ever to win 11 titles at any one Grand Slam tournament.

It is an astonishing record that will likely never be matched.

However, the King of Clay may not be top-seeded at Wimbledon, owing to his recent struggles on grass and the fact world number two Roger Federer is the defending champion there.

Advertisement

[latest_videos_strip]

As for Thiem, the seventh seed has become the first man from his country to reach a Grand Slam final since Thomas Muster at the 1995 French Open.

The 24-year-old has gradually improved since being thrashed by Nadal in the pair’s first meeting, in the second round of the French Open in 2014. On that occasion, Thiem won seven games, the same number he did when he last met Nadal at Roland Garros, in the semi-finals last year.

His run to the final included defeating former US Open finalist Kei Nishikori in four sets, and a straight-sets win over second seed Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals.

He will be buoyed by a good record against Nadal, defeating him three times out of nine, all on clay, and becoming one of just a handful of players to have beaten the Spaniard on his pet surface.

In fact, Thiem has inflicted the 32-year-old’s two most recent defeats on clay – in the quarter-finals of the Madrid Masters last month, as well as in the quarter-finals of the Rome Masters last year.

In between those defeats, Nadal did not drop a set on the red dirt, including at last year’s French Open while completing 19 of the 21 sets required to do so (his quarter-final opponent, Pablo Carreno Busta, retired at 2-0 down in the second set).

Advertisement

Remarkably, all nine of their previous meetings have come on clay.

Nadal starts as the favourite to retain his crown at Roland Garros, and the world number one ranking.

Here is the all-important information you need to know heading into tonight’s final.

[1] Rafael Nadal versus [7] Dominic Thiem
11pm (AEST)
Court Philippe Chatrier

Head-to-head
All matches: Nadal 6-3
At the Grand Slams: Nadal 2-0
At the French Open: Nadal 2-0
In finals: Nadal 2-0

Last meeting: Thiem won 7-5, 6-3, quarter-finals, 2018 Madrid Masters.
Last meeting at the French Open: Nadal won 6-3, 6-4, 6-0, semi-finals, 2017.
Last meeting in a final: Nadal won 7-6 (10-8), 6-4, 2017 Madrid Masters.

Rafael Nadal’s road to the final
Round 1: defeated Simone Bolelli (ITA) 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (11-9)
Round 2: defeated Guido Pella (ARG) 6-2, 6-1, 6-1
Round 3: defeated [27] Richard Gasquet (FRA) 6-3, 6-2, 6-2
Round 4: defeated Maximilian Marterer (GER) 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)
Quarter-finals: defeated [11] Diego Schwartzman (ARG) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2
Semi-finals: defeated [5] Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) 6-4, 6-1, 6-2

Advertisement

Dominic Thiem’s road the final
Round 1: defeated Ilya Ivashka (BLR) 6-2, 6-4, 6-1
Round 2: defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) 6-2, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
Round 3: defeated Matteo Berrettini (ITA) 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-2
Round 4: defeated [19] Kei Nishikori (JPN) 6-2, 6-0, 5-7, 6-4
Quarter-finals: defeated [2] Alexander Zverev (GER) 6-4, 6-2, 6-1
Semi-finals: defeated Marco Cecchinato (ITA) 7-5,7-6 (12-10), 6-1

Prediction
Rafael Nadal in straight sets.

close