Rafael Nadal clinched his 10th Roland Garros title on Sunday. What can be termed as an unconquerable feat, however, for Nadal it was just another belated birthday gift. The star in Paris never failed to impress. He won the title without dropping a single set, which he had done in 2008 and 2010 as well. He lost only 35 games, which was according to Andy Roddick, the number of times he has lost his car keys this year itself. Overall, Nadal’s performance at Roland Garros was phenomenal. He came in to the tournament as the hot favourite by winning titles at Barcelona and Monte-Carlo and another in Madrid. His play was perfect for the clay season. He looked even better than when he won his first French Open back in 2005.

For Rafael Nadal, the journey to the Decima has not been easy in the past three years. He had to face numerous injury problems and had to stay out for most of last year’s tour. The Roland Garros title was his first Grand Slam in exactly three years as he won his last on the same court in 2014, defeating Novak Djokovic. However, Nadal is known as the warrior and the King of Clay. He bounced back after his break last year by regaining form in the Australian Open, where he reached the final against Roger Federer but lost in a thrilling five set match. His performance in the Australian Open won him accolades on the clay court and the King was back.

Rafael Nadal reinvigorates lost hopes

Rafael Nadal’s Roland Garros triumph came as he defeated several top players in his seven matches. He also got the better of Dominic Thiem in the semi-final, the rising young Austrian who has started a clay court rivalry with Nadal this year, being the only one to beat him on clay at the Rome Masters. The final was also like a cake walk for Nadal. Although he was playing against the world no.3 Stan Wawrinka, the 2015 French open champion, Nadal made it look extremely easy. He won the match in straight sets, serving four aces and making just a few unforced errors. His powerful forehand topsin was too much for the Swiss as he found it extremely tough to battle it out after a thrilling five set semi-final against the world no.1 Andy Murray.

At the prize distribution ceremony, Nadal was extremely emotional. He thanked all his team members and the fans at Roland Garros for their support. With this win, he climbed to the second spot in the ATP Rankings and became the first to qualify for the Nitto ATP World Tour finals in November, a title he has yet to win in his career.

With Nadal regaining his form, one can only hope for the better. Nadal has shown remarkable improvement in his style of play and after winning his 15th Grand Slam title, making him the sole no.2 in the total Grand Slam titles in the history of the Men’s Open Era tennis, he would be looking to get even more stronger in the coming cycle of tournaments starting with the Wimbledon. For Rafael Nadal it was another history in the making.

Image courtesy: CNN

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