PARIS, (Reuters) – Playing the King of Clay at the French Open is akin to scaling Mont Blanc without ropes and even an intrepid adventurer from Europe’s Alpine heartland found it a peak too steep as Rafael Nadal stormed to an 11th title yesterday.
Austria’s Dominic Thiem strained every sinew trying to cling on to the 32-year-old Spaniard and at times even gained a precarious foothold in his first Grand Slam final.
But it ultimately proved a futile mission as, just like in all but two of Nadal’s previous 87 matches here, the relentless Spaniard proved insurmountable, winning 6-4 6-3 6-2.
In claiming a 17th Grand Slam title to move three short of Roger Federer’s mark, Nadal also matched Margaret Court’s record of 11 titles at a single major — hers all coming at the Australian Open in the 1960s and 70s.