NY TIMES
Rafael Nadal has been giving it all in Paris and elsewhere since 2005, and he is now 12-0 in the French Open finals.That is not a typo. His only two losses at any stage at this event came in the fourth round in 2009 to Robin Soderling and in the quarterfinals in 2015 to Novak Djokovic. (In 2016, he withdrew with an injury after the second round.)
He has cemented his reputation and legacy year after year, duel after duel, rout after rout. He added another layer of mortar on Sunday by holding off Dominic Thiem, 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1, in what was a dazzler of a final for exactly two high-powered, spectacularly athletic sets.
Such outrageous dominance has not been to the liking of those who prefer a healthy dose of suspense, but it is one of the most remarkable achievements in the history of professional sports.
Nadal has doubled Bjorn Borg, the greatest men’s clay-court player before him, who won six times in Paris. And he has, more intriguingly, closed the gap with his friendly rival Roger Federer, who has won a men’s record 20 Grand Slam singles titles. Nadal now has 18.