Del Potro has ‘nothing to lose’ against the ‘King of clay’

Thankfully for Nadal – less so for Thiem – he was able to finish the job and continue his remarkable domination at Roland Garros with a 6-4 6-3 6-2 victory.

Thiem, who is the only player to have beaten Nadal on clay over the past two seasons, tried hard but failed to match Nadal’s intensity at the Philippe Chatrier court. However, all those doubts were put to bed ever since he graced his bastion in Paris, losing just one set on his road to winning his historic 11th French Open title.

“You have to be humble and accept that you have to work to improve things”, added Nadal.

The 32-year-old Spaniard is also vying for his 17th major trophy, which would move him within three of Roger Federer.

“Coming back and to have the chance to win in Monte-Carlo, Barcelona, Rome, and now especially here, it’s very emotional for me”, said Nadal.

Stan Wawrinka, it should not be forgotten, also has three Slams although his name is usually an absentee when it comes to such number-crunching.

It was a first Grand Slam final for the Austrian. The victory allowed him to hold the number one ranking.

Nadal wept after being handed the trophy by Australian legend Ken Rosewall – who won the inaugural French Open in 1968.

Not that 17-times Grand Slam champion Nadal, whose latest feat is all the more remarkable considering he was sidelined for several weeks this year due to injury, is pre-occupied with trying to keep up with his Swiss rival. I feel at home here.

“You can’t fight against age and you can’t fight against the watch”. So I just am just going to keep fighting for things and that’s it. Of course, I have ambition, of course.

Those who should be anxious are the likes of world number three Alexander Zverev, who again flattered to deceive in Paris.

Right from the start of the tournament the Nadal camp knew Thiem was the biggest danger, having seen at first hand what the Austrian can do when he defeated their man in Madrid last month. Thiem broke the Spaniard’s serve in the third game of the match, nullifying Nadal’s early break but earned only one more break point – which was saved by Nadal. I had a long and mentally tough clay court season, of course, because I played nearly all the matches possible after coming from an injury.

“I think everybody can stop talking about it now”.

However, you will never hear Nadal echo similar brash confidence despite his straight-sets win over Dominic Thiem in the final.

If Thiem does win on Sunday, he will join Novak Djokovic and Robin Soderling as the only two players to down Nadal on his favourite claycourt battleground. I was a little bit scared. But I guess the way he’s been playing the last three sets yesterday (Thursday, vs Schwartzman) and the last two sets today (Friday, vs del Potro) is going to help give him confidence. Thiem and the man he beat in the quarterfinals, 21-year-old Alexander Zverev of Germany, are the two most well-rounded rising stars in the game.

“I’m very happy to win the tournament. I am doing well”, he said after edging out third seed Cilic 7-6 (7/5), 5-7, 6-3, 7-5.