Rafael Nadal at the French Open - The eternal dominance of the matador
The dozen is full, Rafael Nadal has won the French Open for the twelfth time. And even if the pursuers get a little closer: An end to the Spaniard's dominance is not in sight.
by Jörg Allmeroth
last edit: Jun 10, 2019, 09:58 am
When America's last major tennis star retired at the beginning of this century, there was also passionate discussion about Pete Sampras' Grand Slam record. Sampras had won 14 titles; he had overtaken all the greats from previous generations, the Borgs, McEnroes, Beckers, the Lavers or Rosewalls. Soon Roger Federer took the stage as champion, Rafael Nadal soon followed, and finally Novak Djokovic joined. Federer, Nadal, Djokovic: They were the Big Three, they are still the Big Three. They pulverized top performances in series, everywhere in the traveling circus, on all continents - and also, by the way, all overhauled Sampras.
But a record stands out among all possible records of the honorable gentlemen, and the man responsible for it made this record a little bigger on Pentecost Sunday at “Stade Roland Garros”. Rafael Nadal is this man, of course, the matador in red sand who also landed his incredible twelfth triumph in Paris against Austrian Dominic Thiem in the twelfth career final at the French Open. "It is a great moment for me. It is not a matter of course to have won here again, ”said Nadal after the 6: 3, 5: 7, 6: 1, 6: 1 victory in three hours of fighting time.
John McEnroe praises Rafael Nadal
A big moment? It was a gigantic moment, an incredible moment too. After all, who in sport can compete with the Mallorcan dominance in a single tournament or competition at this level, with the reign that he has exercised since he started as a teenager in 2005? "Nadal is incomparable," said ex-superstar John McEnroe, who was mostly only convinced of himself, in awe, "This guy is a phenomenon." One should "never, never, never" make the mistake of copying Nadal. Just like in the past few weeks, before the climax of the clay court under the Eiffel Tower. Then Nadal's aura seemed to be scratched, his winning mentality in the special discipline damaged - after all, he lost to Thiem, Fognini and the Greeks Tsitsipas in the first three tournaments in Barcelona, Monte Carlo and Madrid before the final. Some believed that the annual one-on-one game of strength in Paris could now come to a different end with a champion not called Nadal.
But Paris is his kingdom, his kingdom of heaven, the place, the place where Nadal unfolds all his glory. He has won 93 out of 95 knockout games after the twelfth title mission, the only conquerors remain the Swedish Robin Söderling in 2009 and Djokovic in 2016. Thiem, according to experts the natural successor, the Crown Prince of Nadal, went for the second time in a row as a beaten finalist. He cut a much better figure than last year, he played for a long time at eye level with the "cannibal" (Le'Equipe), but just when he won his first set against Nadal in Paris, everything was over in the next moment .
One-way street tennis against Dominic Thiem
Nadal shifted up another two or three gears, Thiem, on Saturday still in the delayed semi-final against Djokovic, could not keep up. It was almost only one-way street tennis, with Nadal in the familiar role of the dominator, who only played two games. "Your time will come, you will definitely win here," said Nadal, addressed to Thiem, at the official ceremony. The warm words, however, could only elicit a grim smile from the Austrian. Because, like so many previous losers against Nadal, Thiem will ask one question: How long do I have to wait for the first title here? How long will Nadal, the 18-time Grand Slam champion, continue to play? About as long as Federer, who at the age of 37 was still cheerfully advanced to the semi-finals.
Nadal is and remains a force of tennis in Paris, a man fused with his element sand. He's one of the greatest elsewhere, but in Paris he's a two-legged superlative. "He is beyond the world here," said his coach Carlos Moya, himself a French Open winner. With his twelve French Open titles alone, Nadal is ahead of people like Rod Laver and Björn Borg, who have achieved eleven successes in their entire careers - and only two victories behind Sampras' and its best value, which had previously been considered inviolable . Borg, the icon of the 70s and 80s, has appeared in the Paris final six times and also won all six duels. Nadal has doubled these numbers, he now has a dozen French Open trophies in the cup room of his academy in Mallorca. Nadal, the insatiable? “Paris,” he says, is the most important, most emotional place for my career. As long as I play tennis, will I fight for victory here?