After a two-month battle all over Europe, the clay court swing got its final showdown in Paris as the french open's final was scheduled for today. Rafael Nadal and Stan Wawrinka were the gladiators stepping into Philippe Chatrier grand stage battling for men's singles crown. In the end, it was a clean victory for Rafa Nadal who has now 15 Grand Slam singles titles under his belt while Wawrinka recorded his first ever defeat on a Major final. It's extraordinary how Nadal produced his best tennis game knowing the stakes and the pressure a match like this brings at the table.
The no. 1 Swiss seemed a bit under the weather following his gruelling battle against Andy Murray in the previous round. An extended wave of hits completed the meltdown of the Swiss player while Nadal got himself into one of those highly fertile areas. The 2017 French Open crown is now resting in Nadal's hands thus completing the circle for the Spaniard who can brag about his 10th Roland Garros supreme title.
It was a one-sided matchup with Nadal dominating the exchanges
Reaching the 10th final at the French Open was mostly an easy ride for Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard who turned 31 years of age the other day made a strong run over the past two weeks. Without dropping a single set throughout the previous stages, his overall game was at least one class above the others.
His triumph in Paris ends a 3 year drought in winning Grand Slams. Since 2014 French Open Nadal went through many ups and downs having a surge in form starting with 2017 Australian Open where he lost to Roger Federer in a 5 sets thriller.
Wawrinka is one of those players able to produce some outstanding tennis especially when the burden is heavier.
Today was not the case as he seemed to have no special weapon to match his game to that of Rafael Nadal. He did his regular job opening the court with some perfectly executed backhand shots. On the other side, Wawrinka failed to capitalise when he had the opportunities. To win against Nadal is tricky especially on clay. Unable to take advantage when the chances presented itself, Wawrinka faced the inevitable defeat.
In the end, it was 2-6 3-6 1-6 for the 31-year-old who is set to be the new world no. 2 starting from Monday.
Rafael Nadal could maintain this pace throughout the grass season
With 15 Grand Slam titles under his belt, the Spaniard is now only three steps away from equaling Roger Federer in that gargantuan race of all times great. The Swiss star is expected to make his comeback next week in Stuttgart as the grass season is knocking at the front door. After losing all three meetings of 2017 against Federer it'll be interesting to watch how things will work for Nadal now that he is again in the zone. Also, if his pace won't suffer any harm in the foreseeable future, even the no. 1 seat is on the radar for this season.
