By beating Thiem, Nadal wins third straight Roland-Garros title, and 12th overall.
Rafael Nadal has won an extraordinary 12th Roland-Garros title thanks to a four-set victory over Dominic Thiem on Sunday.
In a rematch of the 2018 final in Paris, Nadal was again the victor, triumphing 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 to take his win-loss record at Roland-Garros to a jaw-dropping 93-2.
Nadal fell behind an early break in a high-quality first set but responded strongly, winning the next four games to take control of the match.
Thiem fought back impressively to take the second set – the first time he has won a set in four Roland-Garros matches against Nadal – but that only triggered a ferocious response from the King of Clay, who won the first 11 points of the third set and broke twice to take a stranglehold on the match.
It is Nadal’s third straight Roland-Garros title and is one that delivers him an 18th major singles title, putting him just two behind all-time men’s leader Roger Federer.
The Spaniard becomes the first player in tennis history – male or female, amateur or professional era – to win the same Grand Slam singles title 12 times.
