Spaniard set to battle
Wawrinka for the title
Rafael Nadal's historic clay-court season will reach its apex
on Sunday as the Spaniard will attempt to win his record 10th Roland Garros title
and his third “La Décima” of the season.
Nadal advanced to his 10th Roland Garros final
on Friday by avenging his lone clay-court loss of the season, dismissing
Austrian Dominic Thiem 6-3,
6-4, 6-0 in the semi-final.
On Sunday, Nadal will meet
another former Roland Garros champion
in third seed and 2015 titlist Stan Wawrinka, who prevailed past top seed Andy Murray 6-7(8),
6-3, 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-1 in four hours and 34 minutes.
Something will have to give
during what should be a battle of a final. Wawrinka has never lost in a Grand
Slam title match, having won all three of his earlier finals, including the
2015 Roland Garros title
match against Novak Djokovic and
the 2014 Australian Open final
against Nadal.
But Nadal has never
fallen in a Roland Garros final. The left-hander is a perfect 9-0. He also leads their
FedEx ATP Head2Head series 15-3 and is 5-1 against Wawrinka on clay.
The 30-year-old Mallorca native has looked nearly unbeatable
this fortnight as well. Through six matches, Nadal has yet to drop a set and
has lost only 29 games – just two games off the Open Era record for fewest
games dropped into a Grand Slam final.
Fewest
games dropped in reaching a Grand Slam final*
|
27
|
||
|
29
|
2017 Roland Garros
|
|
|
31
|
||
|
35
|
(*In the current 128-draw format where all-matches played were
best-of- 5-sets)
The Spaniard also should be fresh. Nadal has spent only about 10
hours on court. Wawrinka, meanwhile, has spent more than 15 hours on the red
dirt.
No man or woman has won
10 titles at a Grand Slam in the Open Era, since April 1968. Nadal won Roland Garros crowns in 2005-08 and '10-14, and another Roland Garros title would give him a trio of “La Décimas” this season.
The Spaniard captured his
10th title at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters and
at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.
He also won his fifth Mutua Madrid Open crown
on clay.
Thiem kept Nadal from winning the only other clay-court
tournament the Spaniard contested, knocking out Nadal in the quarter-finals of
the Internazionali BNL d'Italia. But Thiem, who said he played one of his best
matches that day, couldn't replicate his top level as Nadal rolled throughout
their seventh FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting.
The Spaniard won the
opening point with a backhand winner and pumped his fist after, showing how
much a strong start meant to the nine-time Roland Garros champion. The two exchanged breaks until Nadal held for a 2-1
lead.
La Decima se rapproche pour @RafaelNadal, tombeur de Thiem et à un match de soulever le
Trophée des Mousquetaires pour la 10e fois ! #RG17
With Thiem serving at 1-2, Nadal pounced, bringing up three
break points. But Thiem found success bludgeoning his forehand against Nadal,
saving three break points with three consecutive forehands to get back to
deuce. Nadal didn't go away, however, and broke two points later for a 3-1
lead.
For the match, Nadal would finish six for 10 on break points;
Thiem went one for eight.
The Spaniard sought to stay away from Thiem's forehand and
instead, target his one-handed backhand, the strategy Nadal focused on during
their three earlier match-ups this season as well. On set point, Thiem smashed
a backhand long to give Nadal the opener.
The 30-year-old Nadal started better in the second set as well,
erasing two break points in his opening service game and breaking Thiem during
an 11-point game to lead 2-1. Nadal would hold to love to take a two-set lead.
He cruised in the third set as well, needing only 32 minutes to wrap up the
last-four contest and improve to 22-3 in Grand Slam semi-finals.
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