Rafael Nadal has been a household name for some years now with his record-breaking spree in the international men’s tennis game. The 33-years old have many achievements to his name on several ground and Nadal has been untameable on Sunday, dominating with his presence and skill on the clay grounds. His popularity reached a new high, when on Sunday, 9th June, Rafael Nadal teared through Austrian player Dominic Thiem’s game plan as he became the first individual player in men’s category to secure the French Open title for the 12th time, and added with that 18th time Grand Slam winner. The only other player to have 20 Grand Slam title to his name is Roger Federer.
In the final of French Open, both Nadal and Thiem were looking hungry for the title, but Rafa took the contest a little higher and tore apart Thiem’s defence to claim the title for the 3rd consecutive time and the new record of 12th title win in men’s single format to his name. With the 12th title, Nadal proved the clay court to be his home ground, where he can play at ease. His legacy continues as he shattered Dominic on Sunday for 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1, after Dominic started with an equally dominating game, but after a break, Nadal retrieved his glory with the next 5 serves from which Thiem failed to claim a single point and after that, there was no looking back. Nadal debuted in French Open in 2005 with a gusty win and he went on to secure clay ground for several years after that, tailing Margaret Court’s record of 11 titles, and levelled the scores in 2018, against Thiem only. With the 12th French Open and 18th Grand Slam he has embedded a legacy, along with a cheque of 2,300,000 Euros, while runner-up Dominic Thiem got home with 1,180,000 Euros. Making history at Ronald Garros, Rafael Nadal will live his legacy on the ground for the rest of his time.
