‘Clay king’ Rafa wins his unprecendented ‘Duodecima’ French Open

Has there ever been a more relentless player at the French Open than Rafael Nadal? The clay court legend wins his record 12th Roland Garros title, his 18th overall, a 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1, victory over Dominic Thiem.

Rafael Nadal proved that no one can beat him at the French Open. Absolutely no one.

It probably was too much to expect Dominic Thiem to perform the impossible. He had a tough semifinal match with the world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, a win he grinded out over two days in difficult weather conditions. No one has ever beaten both Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in a row at a grand slam championship, including on Sunday. Taking out the two biggest titans (besides Roger Federer) in the sport required a Herculean effort. Doing that at Roland Garros against the “King of Clay?” Just impossible.

Rafa was not only good, he was glorious. He’s proven time and time again that he is the most dominant player in history to have ever graced the orange dirt. He now has an outrageous 93-2 win rate at Roland Garros. He owns a dozen Coupe des Mousequetaires trophies. The 18-time slam champion was unstoppable from the very first point to the very last. He stands just two slams behind Federer’s 20.

Still, there was a brief period when an upset seemed to be coming once the Austrian dug in and broke the 33-year-old in the second set. Thiem had achieved the surprise break in the first, but testament to Nadal’s predator mindset, he returned the favor, dashing the 25-year-old’s hopes.

Both players clocked in approximately the same amount of unforced errors and winners in the first set: nine unforced errors and winners for Thiem, and 11 unforced errors and 12 winners for Nadal. But it was the Spaniard’s ability to convert the breaks that solidified the win, capitalizing on two out of three opportunities.

However, the Austrian Indian Wells champion was able to achieve the second-most impossible task at Roland Garros: take a set off of the King of Clay. Thiem turned the tide in the sophomore set by hanging tough to break through and clinch the 7-5 lead, only the second set Rafa had lost at this year’s French.

Just like that, Nadal’s prize fighter spirit answered back with a dominant third set that demonstrated why the 18-time slam champ has the strongest mind in the game. Whenever down, the warrior inside wakes up. He has an uncanny ability to bounce right back, erasing the memory of any weakness outright. He pounced to a third set lead of 6-1, leaving a weary Thiem befuddled.

Nadal surged forward like a rocket, racing through the final fourth set. Once Thiem hit another shot long, Rafael Nadal collapsed on the Terre Batu. A usually unemotional man, this time the tears flowed once the realization of a record 12th title sunk in.

As ruthless as he was on the court, he was as gracious as ever afterwards, with his first words in his on-court interview directed at his opponent — the second best clay court player on the tour — telling Thiem that his time will come and congratulating him for his hard-fought performance throughout the fortnight of the tournament. He also praised Domi’s work ethic, called him a “good person,” and said that he inspired him and kids everywhere, later in the trophy presentation. Nadal concluded his interview calling his record 12th win “a dream.”

Nadal now owns the most titles of any one grand slam, surpassing Margaret Court’s 11 Australian Opens. From one legend to another, “The Rocket” Rod Laver handed the Coupe des Mousquetaires to Nadal during the trophy presentation.

The King of Clay, long may he reign.