In a rematch of the 2018 French Open final, Rafael Nadal downed Dominic Thiem to claim his 18th Grand Slam and become the only man or woman to win the same major tournament 12 times. He won 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1.
Nadal has won the past three French Opens. He is 93-2 in his career at Roland Garros and has never lost a French Open final.
“First thing that I want to say is congrats to Dominic. I feel sorry, because he deserves it here, too,” Nadal said during the trophy ceremony. “He has an unbelievable intensity.”
Nadal took the first set 6-3, but Thiem held serve in the second to go up 7-5 and break the 10-set winning streak the Spaniard held over him in Paris. But Nadal reasserted himself by grabbing 16 of the next 17 points and 12 of the remaining 14 games.
“I gave everything I had,” Thiem said. “It’s amazing: 12 times here. It’s unreal.”
Nadal beat Thiem in straight sets in 2018.
With his 18th Grand Slam, Nadal is two shy of tying Roger Federer’s men’s record of 20.
