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French Open men’s final — at a glance
PARIS, June 9, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Sunday’s French Open men’s final — at a
glance:
Rafael Nadal v Dominic Thiem
Head-to-head: Nadal leads 6-3
Nadal
— Bidding to win 11th French Open, which would tie Margaret Court’s all-
time record of most singles titles won at a single Grand Slam.
— Has never failed to win Roland Garros after reaching semi-finals, but
joked earlier this week that he “is a human person”.
— The 32-year-old won record 11th Monte Carlo and Barcelona titles earlier
this year and has an 85-2 winning record in Paris.
— Only defeats at Roland Garros were by Swede Robin Soderling in the 2009
fourth round and Novak Djokovic in the 2015 quarter-finals.
— Victory in the final would make him the third player to reach $100
million in prize money after Djokovic and Roger Federer.
— Bidding for 17th Grand Slam title, which would pull him to within three
of great rival Federer’s all-time record.
He says: “It’s (been) a lot of years of playing and doing the same things
every year. But the only way to keep doing that and keep going on court every
morning with the motivation to improve something, (is) because you feel the
game, no? You feel the sport and you appreciate (it).”
Thiem
— Into first Grand Slam final after ending the surprise run of Marco
Cecchinato.
— Completed four weeks of mandatory national service with Austrian
military in 2014, something he says was “a pain in the arse”.
— Only man to have defeated Nadal on clay in last two years — in 2017
Rome quarter-finals and in the Madrid last eight last month.
— Girlfriend is French star Kristina Mladenovic, who watched his semi-
final win on Court Philippe Chatrier.
— In past, has trained by carrying tree trunks on his back to build
physique.
— One of only three players to have beaten Nadal three or more times on
clay — the others are Djokovic and Gaston Gaudio.
— Has won 10 consecutive matches after lifting the ATP title in Lyon the
week before the French Open.
He says: “I know how to play against him. I have a plan. If it’s going to
be him on Sunday, I will try everything (so) that my plan (is) also going to
work out a little bit here and not only in Madrid or in Rome.”
BSS/AFP/ARS/1920 hrs