Rafael Nadal beat Dominic Thiem 6-4 6-3 6-2 with the sort of regal dominance he has now shown 11 times at Roland-Garros trophy.
The only thing that overcame him on the day was emotion. As he held the Coupe des Mousquetaires aloft to show off to a packed Court Philippe-Chatrier in Paris, his eyes brimmed. It was incroyable, he said. The undecima. It happened for Rafa.
"Tough moment," Nadal would say later. "I was very scared."
Up in the stands, Nadal's uncle Toni, his former coach, was nervous, too, "because I thought maybe we can have a problem," he said. "But in the end, it was not too difficult."
"There is a reason why he won 11 times here," said Thiem, a 24-year-old Austrian appearing in his first major final. "It's definitely one of the best things somebody ever achieved in sport."
Throw in three titles at the U.S. Open, two at Wimbledon and one at the Australian Open, and Nadal is up to 17 majors, second among men only to Roger Federer's 20. The two stars have combined to win the past six Slams.
The victory also allowed the 32-year-old Spanish Nadal to hold onto the No. 1 ranking, ahead of Federer.
Rafael Nadal playing his unmistakable brand of nearly unbeatable clay-court tennis, to enter the legend of Roland Garros.
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