Paris witnessed history today as Stade de Roland Garros saw its most famous athlete win the French Open for a record 10th time.
Rafael Nadal had finally accomplished his La Decima (that's how you refer to the tenth in Spain, the county that Nadal belongs to).
The organizers were set for it and had put together a presentation ceremony themed on the tenth win. The stage had a big logo showing 10 alongside the Roland Garros logo, while there were banners in the crowd saying "10 RG" and "Bravo Rafa".
The match itself ended up being a side note in the event, as it was very much one-sided. His Swiss opponent Stanislas Wawrinka looked listless against a Nadal onslaught, and wasn't up to the mark. He didn't show any of the spark that had helped him get the better of Nadal in their last Grand Slam final together, 2014 Australian Open.
Wawrinka looked tight from the start, probably a combination of being overwhelmed by the occasion and being exhausted from having spent 15 hours on the court in the last 2 weeks, which included a grueling 5-set win over Andy Murray. Nadal had spent 5 hours lesser, having dropped just 29 games on way to an impressive run to the final, which saw him drop no sets.
Wawrinka looked tight from the start, probably a combination of being overwhelmed by the occasion and being exhausted from having spent 15 hours on the court in the last 2 weeks, which included a grueling 5-set win over Andy Murray. Nadal had spent 5 hours lesser, having dropped just 29 games on way to an impressive run to the final, which saw him drop no sets.
Nadal started applying pressure right from the start, and the 4th game (Stan's serve) saw many balls sent long from both players, and Rafa looked close to breaking. The game saw as many as 6 deuces, but the Swiss managed to just about hold his serve. Rafa was in brilliant touch both physically and mentally, which he displayed in the 5th game, when serving on the game, he saw Wawrinka move to the side of the court from the corner of his eye, and served down the line to close the game.
The relentless pressure helped him break Wawrinka in the 6th game and again in the 8th game. Takes first set 6-2!
The second set saw Wawrinka becoming more aggressive. He strives to open up the court more, make more angles for Nadal, approaches the net often for serve and volley (where he manages a remarkable 100% points won on net approaches). He does show glimpses of his aggressive win on this court 2 years ago in the final against Djokovic where he had approached the net and volleyed to good effect.
However, today the opponent was on a different plan altogether, and Nadal broke up once to take the second set 6-3. The third set was a formality as Nadal easily clinched it 6-1.
When Wawrinka hit it into the net on match point, Nadal collapsed to the ground in joy where he stayed for a while. He rose, totally overwhelmed, and with tears of joy in his eyes, as he ran to accept his opponent's greetings. His dream had been accomplished! History had been made!
The relentless pressure helped him break Wawrinka in the 6th game and again in the 8th game. Takes first set 6-2!
The second set saw Wawrinka becoming more aggressive. He strives to open up the court more, make more angles for Nadal, approaches the net often for serve and volley (where he manages a remarkable 100% points won on net approaches). He does show glimpses of his aggressive win on this court 2 years ago in the final against Djokovic where he had approached the net and volleyed to good effect.
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| The image effectively sums up Wawrinka's day on Sunday. Frustrating! |
When Wawrinka hit it into the net on match point, Nadal collapsed to the ground in joy where he stayed for a while. He rose, totally overwhelmed, and with tears of joy in his eyes, as he ran to accept his opponent's greetings. His dream had been accomplished! History had been made!
What followed was a very emotional Nadal watching his 10 title wins being shown on the big screen, an image that will stay in the hearts of all tennis fans and certainly in those of Rafa fans for some time to come. Relive all those 10 here :
The way he cuddled the trophy showed the world how much this means for him, after career threatening injuries, loss of form, and the slow and painful return to the top level. It had been 3 long years of wait since his last win here in 2014, his last Grand Slam!
This was a time when even his biggest fans had started doubting if he could ever return to his old form. But he showed us all that you don't count Rafa out, never ever. Vamos!
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 12, 2017
The way he cuddled the trophy showed the world how much this means for him, after career threatening injuries, loss of form, and the slow and painful return to the top level. It had been 3 long years of wait since his last win here in 2014, his last Grand Slam!
This was a time when even his biggest fans had started doubting if he could ever return to his old form. But he showed us all that you don't count Rafa out, never ever. Vamos!
1 comment:
Detailing, emotions,and the intricacies...brilliant..loved the conclusion !! Well written !!
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