Set 1: Nadal Steals From Thiem
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Dominic Thiem came to Philippe Chatrier as a man inspired to dethrone the King of Clay. The Austrian’s power-hitting took Rafa by surprise and the Spaniard’s serve was under pressure from the word go.
Thiem broke Nadal at 3-2 after 25 minutes of extraordinary tennis. The Austrian was however not able to consolidate the break. Nadal broke back straight away and from then looked like as if he had tasted blood.
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Thiem was not allowed a single game after that and Rafa stole the set. After 51 minutes the Spaniard was 2 sets away from rewriting history in Paris.
Set 2: Thiem Bounces Back
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The intensity and level of play went further up in the 2nd set. Nadal did manage to hold his 1st five service games to love. Thiem was also holding serve comfortably at his own end and it seemed a tie breaker would decide the outcome.
However, serving at 6-5 to take the set to a tie breaker Nadal played a nervous and error prone game.
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Thiem held his nerve and broke at the crucial moment and took the 2nd set 7-5. This was Thiem’s 1st ever set win against Nadal at Roland Garros.
Set 3: Nadal Responds In Style
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Angered by the loss for 2nd set, the Champion’s response was immediate and swift. He broke Thiem twice in succession to race to a 4-0 lead in mere 15 minutes. The backhand began to talk as it had done through the tournament.
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Thiem’s resolve began to break and with Nadal raising his level with each point, the Austrian was finding is difficult to catch up. Nadal bossed the whole set taking in 6 games 1 in what was one-way traffic.
Set 4: Nadal Rewrites History
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In the 4th set, Nadal just started from where he had left in the 3rd. He raced to a 3-0 lead and there was no way back from there. Thiem tried all he could but there was no way through Nadal’s defense.
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As the clock struck 3 hours, Nadal had his championship point. What followed was the moment of history etched at Philippe Chatrier. He finally lifted his 18th Grand Slam and 12th Roland Garros trophy.