One of the attributes that separate champions from everybody else is their ability to know exactly when to rise. And this year’s story at Roland Garros was no different as Rafael Nadal still reigns supreme in Paris and was relentless, ruthless and dominant in his 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 triumph in the final in 3 hours and 01 minutes over his hugely talented challenger Dominic Thiem to register a record-extending, unprecedented 12th French Open title.
With astonishing, mesmerizing victory yet again in Paris, Nadal now has won 18 Grand Slam Majors and for the first time ever is just two short of Roger Federer’s tally of 20 Grand Slam titles.
For Rafael Nadal, who appeared circumspect and vulnerable in the initial part of clay season following his triple semi-final defeats at Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid, the conclusion of 2019 clay-court swing couldn’t have been any sweeter. The Spaniard breezed past not only all his initial struggles and self- doubts, but also his opponents from the moment he stepped out on his beloved court Philippe Chatrier to write a fresh, new chapter to extend his already existing, staggering legacy on the red dirt.
For Dominic Thiem, Nadal’s challenger in the final, it was yet another case of so near yet so far as he slumped to his 2nd consecutive defeat in the finals of Roland Garros at the hands of ‘King of Clay’. The talented 25-year old Austrian might have beaten the Spaniard four times on clay so far, however, it’s one thing to conquer Nadal at the Masters level events, but totally another to get better of the World No.2 in his own fortress, at the French Open. A triumph to clinch his first ever Grand Slam title at Roland Garros would have been incredible for Thiem, but nonetheless, 2019 has already been a remarkable year so far for the talented Austrian, having won his first Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells and a title triumph at the Barcelona Open prior to his stupendous journey to the finals at Paris in the French Open.
Having won Wimbledon and US Open in 2018 and Australian Open in 2019, Novak Djokovic’s quest towards his 2nd ‘Nole Slam’ of his career was brought to an end when he fell short against resilient Austrian and runner-up Dominic Thiem in their thrilling, epic, titanic five-set semi-final clash at the Parisian clay.
Swiss-maestro, Roger Federer made a resurgent comeback on clay this season and his journey to the semi- finals of the French Open at the age of 37, having skipped the entire clay season for the past two years, was not only staggering but also remarkable. Having dropped just a set en route, Federer progressed to his first semi-final since 2012 at Roland Garros, but his journey at this year’s French Open was arrested by none other than his biggest nemesis, the ‘King of Clay’ and now the 12-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal when the Spaniard got better of the 20-time Grand Slam champion in straight sets in their sixth meeting so far at Paris.
The other noteworthy stories on the men’s side of the draw at the French Open involve Stan Wawrinka’s tale of his remarkable comeback where he recorded staggering, incredible wins over Grigor Dimitrov and Stefanos Tsitsipas en route his journey to his quarter-final appearance at Paris. Also, Russia’s emerging star, 23-year old Karen Khachanov made his first ever Grand Slam quarter-final appearance when he stunned Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro in their Round of 16 clashes to stage a success story of his own at this year’s French Open.
In the women’s side of the draw, the French Open has been all about celebrating the success story of Australia’s Ashleigh Barty’s rise to ascendance as she cruised past Marketa Vondrousova 6-1, 6-3 in the finals to secure her first ever Grand Slam title triumph.
Amanda Anisimova, the 17-year old American teenager, who won her first ever WTA title at Copa Colsanitas, took the French Open by storm when she stunned the defending champion Simona Halep in the quarter-finals in straight-sets en route her sensational journey to the semi-finals at the French capital.
While we witnessed the top four in men’s tennis dominating at this year’s French Open yet again, the story in the women’s side of the draw was significantly different as women’s top guns Simona Halep, Sloane Stephens, Naomi Osaka, Elina Svitolina, Serena Williams were all shown the door rather early than what one could have expected. But, that’s not totally shocking as randomness in women’s game has been a story for quite a while now in WTA circuit and it is as fascinating as the unperturbedness of ‘big three’s’ dominance in men’s game.
Now, that the clay season is over having witnessed similar, expected stories at least in the men’s side of the draw with Rafael Nadal winning his 12th Roland Garros title, we are all set to embrace the drama that unfolds in the upcoming season on grass in the lead up to the Championships, Wimbledon 2019.
