Rafael Nadal won his 11th French Open title at this year’s Roland Garros tournament by beating Dominic Thiem in straight sets.
The 32-year-old world No. 1 won 6-4 6-3 6-2 to earn his 17th Grand Slam, three adrift of Roger Federer’s all-time men’s record.
Rafael Nadal edged an intense opening set, tightening his grip in the second.
Despite having cramp in the third the Spaniard increased the tempo further, beating the Austrian in his first major final when the 24-year-old returned long.
After the match, Rafael Nadal said: “It’s a dream to win 11 times.
“It was important to play the way I did. It was a tough moment when I got cramp. He is a player who pushes you to the limit.”
The victory means the past six Grand Slam titles have been won by either Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer with the next generation of players finding it hard to break the veterans’ stranglehold on the game.
Rafael Nadal is the only second player in history to win the same Grand Slam on 11 occasions after Margaret Court, who won 11 Australian Open titles between 1960 and 1973.
Roger Federer has won this year’s Australian Open final after a thrilling five-set victory over Rafael Nadal.
This is his 18th Grand Slam title and first for five years.
Roger Federer, 35, won 6-4 3-6 6-1 3-6 6-3 to claim his fifth Australian Open title and extend his lead at the top of the all-time men’s major winners’ list.
Rafael Nadal, 30, remains tied in second with Pete Sampras on 14 Grand Slams following his first final since 2014.
Roger Federer’s previous major title came at Wimbledon in 2012.
The Swiss said: “I’ve been coming here for almost 20 years now.
“I’ve always enjoyed it and now my family does too.
“Thanks again for everything, to everybody. I hope to see you next year. If not, this was a wonderful run here and I can’t be more happy to win.”
Image source AP
Roger Federer’s achievement in ending his drought is all the more remarkable given this was his first tournament since last year’s Wimbledon, after which he took the second half of the season off to recover from a knee injury.
He becomes the first man in history to win five or more titles at three different Grand Slam events – five Australian Opens, five US Opens and seven Wimbledons.
Rafael Nadal was also on the way back from injuries that curtailed his 2016 season, but the Spaniard could not improve his winning record against Roger Federer – the Swiss has now won 12 of their 35 matches and three of nine major finals.
Rafael Nadal has won his second US Open title in New York after beating world number one Novak Djokovic in a pulsating four-set final.
Rafael Nadal, 27, held on magnificently in the third set to go on and win a gripping contest 6-2 3-6 6-4 6-1 in three hours and 21 minutes.
One incredible 54-shot rally – the longest in the tournament by 20 shots – summed up a battle that thrilled the 23,000 spectators in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Rafael Nadal has now won 13 Grand Slam singles titles and moves within one of Pete Sampras in the all-time list, with Roger Federer leading on 17.
And after missing last year’s US Open during a seven-month absence with a knee injury, Rafael Nadal is now set to regain the number one ranking.
Rafael Nadal has won his second US Open title in New York after beating world number one Novak Djokovic in a pulsating four-set final
“Having this success is amazing,” he said.
“I never expected it. That’s life and I’m lucky to have what I’m having.
“I really love the competition, I really love the sport. All my career I dreamed to be involved in matches like today. I enjoy every moment.
“These things are not forever. In a few years I won’t have this chance. I try my best, I have passion and that’s all I can do.”
Monday’s final was a predictably electrifying, punishing contest as Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic met for the 37th time – taking them past the rivalry of John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl to set a new record since the Open era began in 1968.
It was their sixth Grand Slam final and third at Flushing Meadows, after Rafael Nadal won in 2010 and Novak Djokovic took revenge in 2011.
A masked protester waving a lit flare ran onto the court at the men’s final of the French Open tennis in Paris but was restrained by security before he could interrupt the match.
A few minutes earlier, two bare-chested men stood up in the front rows, holding a banner accusing France of trampling on children’s rights.
Masked protester waving a lit flare ran onto the court at the men’s final of the French Open tennis in Paris
Other protesters called on President Francois Hollande to resign.
The protesters were angered by France’s decision to legalize same-s** marriage.
The first same-s** wedding in France took place last month under tight security.
Campaigners against gay marriage and adoption by same-s** couples, backed by the Catholic Church and conservative opposition, argue the law undermines an essential building block of society.
The protests at the French Open final were quickly snuffed out.
Rafael Nadal won the final in straight sets, defeating fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.
Rafael Nadal had to cope with an on-court intruder and the Paris rain to beat fellow Spaniard David Ferrer and win a record eighth French Open title.
Rafael Nadal, 27, came through 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 to reaffirm his dominance on clay, and further elevate himself among the greats of the sport.
However, the final was marred by a brief protest high in the stands during the second set that was quickly followed by an intruder leaping onto the court while brandishing a flare.
Security guards managed to bundle the man to the ground as he approached Rafael Nadal, and the player even took care to shake an official’s hand before returning to the action.
Rafael Nadal immediately dropped his serve, but within an hour he had wrapped up the victory that makes him the first man to win a Grand Slam singles tournament eight times.
His 59th match win also takes him past Roger Federer and Guillermo Vilas at Roland Garros, while his 12th major title moves him above Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver on the all-time list.
David Ferrer, playing in his first major final at the age of 31, was a worthy adversary and pushed his compatriot harder than the score might suggest, but he never threatened an upset.
Rafael Nadal won a record eighth French Open title after beating fellow Spaniard David Ferrer
Both men appeared edgy in the early stages, with breaks of serve exchanged in games three and four, but Rafael Nadal fired a brilliant cross-court backhand winner to move ahead again at 4-3 and took the set with a third break.
David Ferrer was making his illustrious compatriot work for his service games and missed an early chance in the second set, before Rafael Nadal made him pay with a forehand winner for 2-0.
A routine afternoon looked on the cards, but the calm was shattered by chanting from protesters with a banner in the upper tier of the stands during the sixth game of the set.
The players paused while the incident was dealt with only for another, potentially more serious, disturbance to follow before the next game when a shirtless man wearing a mask vaulted the flower bed surrounding the court, waving a burning flare above his head.
When play resumed, two unsurprisingly distracted service games followed, but Rafael Nadal moved two sets clear and looked razor sharp again when a volley put him 2-0 ahead in the third.
The increasingly heavy rain now appeared the biggest threat to his ambitions, but David Ferrer was not done and got back on level terms before blowing an opportunity to move ahead with a backhand error at 3-3.
It was to be David Ferrer’s last chance as a double-fault gave up his serve for the seventh time.
Rafael Nadal moved to match point and cracked a magnificent forehand winner before falling back onto the clay in celebration for an incredible eighth time at Roland Garros.
Rafael Nadal won a record seventh French Open title after beating Novak Djokovic with 6-4 6-3 2-6 7-5 in a rain-affected final.
Rafael Nadal, 26, resumed leading 6-4 6-3 2-6 1-2, but his uncharacteristic wobble late on Sunday had fuelled Novak Djokovic’s belief.
The Spaniard broke back in the first game of the day however, and then piled pressure on an unsettled Novak Djokovic.
The Serb finally folded with a double fault to hand Rafael Nadal an 11th Grand Slam.
Having drawn level with Bjorn Borg on six Roland Garros titles last year, the victory gave Rafael Nadal sole ownership of the landmark, and he is likely to have plenty of opportunities to stretch further clear.
Rafael Nadal won a record seventh French Open title after beating Novak Djokovic with in a rain-affected final
The only three men to have more Grand Slam victories – Roger Federer with 16, Pete Sampras on 14 and Roy Emerson on 12 – are now in his sights.
The crowd had returned to Court Philippe Chatrier entertaining the possibility that they may witness a different piece of tennis history.
Novak Djokovic, aiming to become only the third man in history to hold all four Grand Slam titles simultaneously, seemed to have the upper hand on his rival when Parisian drizzle had forced them off on Sunday.
Rafael Nadal led a precariously-poised contest 6-4 6-3 2-6 1-2 overnight, but, having been broken early in the fourth, he had looked ill at ease on the court he has made his own.
The Spaniard had surrendered eight successive games and grew increasingly irritated by the wet conditions underfoot before tournament officials called an end to proceedings.
With the chance to reassess his position and resume in dry, if cloudy, conditions the world number two emerged reenergized.
Novak Djokovic’s hopes of becoming the first man to beat Rafael Nadal on clay after losing the opening two sets immediately dimmed as Nadal toppled his serve in the opening game.
Rafael Nadal’s body language had spoken volumes on Sunday and, after the Serb’s forehand down the line was snagged by the tape to bring up 2-2 , it was Novak Djokovic who allowed his frustration to show.
The world number one pounded his head with his racquet strings, but the brutal treatment he was receiving from the opposite end of the net proved harder to halt.
Twice Rafael Nadal held to love, while Novak Djokovic’s serve continued to look vulnerable.
Novak Djokovic’s resolve and fight had seem him haul back four match points to beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga earlier in the tournament, but he appeared drained as he gifted Rafael Nadal the championship without forcing him to play a return.
The Serb’s second serve was long to signal an end of three successive Grand Slam final wins over Rafael Nadal and continue his rival’s extraordinary record of just one defeat in the tournament since making his debut in 2005.
Novak Djokovic won the US Open title after a more than four hours match against Rafael Nadal.
After it appeared the Serbian player Novak Djokovic, 24, was down and out, when he had lost the third set and was groaning on the sidelines while a trainer stretched and pulled and pounded on his aching back, he came out for more.
Novak Djokovic won the US Open title after a more than four hours match against Rafael Nadal
Novak Djokovic played the final games as if pain didn’t matter and, after making a sign of the cross, he bounced the ball 10 times, hit a serve and then a forehand winner, a massive thing that left Rafael Nadal almost immobile.
For the sixth time in a row Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-1, in 4 hours 10 minutes.
The win made Novak Djokovic 64-2 this year, gave him his first U.S. Open title and also placed him among the all-time greats.
Novak Djokovic became the sixth man to win three of the four major titles in the same year since tennis’ open era began in 1968.
Djokovic also won the Australian Open over Andy Murray in the final and beat Rafael Nadal in the Wimbledon final.
Overall, this was Novak Djokovic’s fourth major title. He won his first major title at the Australian Open in 2008.
Novak Djokovic kissing the court after his victory
“It’s been an incredible year,” said Novak Djokovic after the match, while he was wearing a blue baseball cap with FD/NY on it in honor of New York City firefighters, a day after the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Rafael Nadal, the defending champion, said:
“Obviously I am disappointed now. This guy is doing unbelievable things.”
Then Nadal looked toward Novak Djokovic and said:
“What you did this year is probably impossible to repeat, so well done.”
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