Rafael Nadal on Sunday came out with a stunning display against Wawrinka and defeated the Swiss in straight sets to won the Singles title for a magical 10th time, achieving 'La Decima' and reaffirming his status as the greatest clay-courter of all time.
Rafael Nadal on Sunday came out with a stunning display against Stan Wawrinka and defeated the Swiss in straight sets to won the Men’s Singles title for a magical 10th time, achieving 'La Decima' and reaffirming his status as the greatest clay-courter of all time.
The World No. 4 claimed an incredible 10th French Open title with a 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 victory over Wawrinka in a match that lasted for two hours.
The Spaniard dominated the summit clash completely and didn’t allow the third seeded player to stage a comeback into the match. He did not drop a set in his seven victories in Paris in 2017. Nadal scored 27 winners as compared to Wawrinka’s 19.
With the win, Nadal extended his head-to-head lead over Wawrinka to a stellar 16-3, and improves to a perfect 10-0 in French finals.
This was the 15th grand slam win for the Spaniard, who is referred as ‘Master of Clay’.
A 10th singles title at the clay-court Grand Slam represents a professional era record - no player has won more singles titles at the same major event as the 31-year-old.
Martina Navratilova, previously tied with Nadal, owns nine singles titles at Wimbledon, while Margaret Court holds 11 singles titles at the Australian Open - a feat spanning both the amateur and open eras.
Watch this video:
A lookback at his career:
Born: Manacor, Mallorca, Spain on June 3, 1986 (Age: 31)
Grand slam career-best results: Australian Open (2009); French Open (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017); Wimbledon (2008, 2010); U.S. Open (2010, 2013)
* Nadal won his 15th grand slam, three away from the men's record held by Swiss Roger Federer.
* Took his head-to-head record against Wawrinka to 16-3 overall and 6-1 on clay.
* Nadal extended his match wins tally to a 43-6 record, including a 24-1 stretch on clay.
KING OF CLAY
- Became the first player in the Open Era to lift 10 titles at a grand slam tournament.
- He took his record at Roland Garros to 79-2 after winning his 10th straight final in the French capital.
- His overall record in best-of-five matches on red clay is now 102-2.
- Nadal dropped just 35 games in his seven matches at this year's French Open.
- The Spaniard bagged his 53rd claycourt title, four more than Argentine great Guillermo Vilas.
- Won his 10th titles in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Paris this year.
MAKING HIS NAME
- Born to Sebastian Nadal and Ana Maria Parera.
- Nadal's uncle Miguel Angel Nadal, a former football, played for Barcelona, RCD Mallorca and the Spain national team.
- Nadal was introduced to tennis at the age of three by another uncle, Toni Nadal.
- Plays left-handed but writes right-handed.
- Turned professional in 2001 and won the junior Davis Cup with Spain in 2002.
- Won the ATP newcomer of the year in 2003.
- Coached by former Spanish pro Carlos Moya and uncle Toni Nadal.
PROFESSIONAL CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
2003 - Became the youngest player to reach the third round at Wimbledon since Boris Becker in 1984
2004 - Defeated then world number two Andy Roddick to help Spain clinch the Davis Cup title. He won the tournament again in 2008, 2009 and 2011.
2005 - Won the French Open on his debut in 2005 and a year later beat Roger Federer in the final for his second title.
2007 - Became the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win a hat-trick of Roland Garros titles.
2008 - Won gold medal at Beijing Olympics for Spain in singles. He won the doubles gold with Marc Lopez at 2016 Rio Games.
2009 - Suffered his first French Open defeat when he lost to Robin Soderling in the fourth round.
2010 - He came back to regain the title, beating Soderling in the final. He also won his first U.S. Open title, becoming the seventh man to win all four grand slam titles.
2011 - Matched Borg's record of six French Open titles.
2013 - Became the first man with eight titles at the same grand slam tournament when he beat fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in the French Open final. He also won the U.S. Open.
2014 - Became the first man to win five successive French Open titles.
2017 - Reached the Australian Open final where he lost to Federer in five sets. The Spaniard won three titles on the Tour before entering Roland Garros.
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