Nadal entered the Phillipe-Chatrier court by acknowledging the screaming fans by dropping his bag, then taking off his jacket he did a little jig that previously had the full house crowd at his feet. Dominic Thiem broke Rafael with a forehand in round three and to his credit, he did bring his biggest shot to the game.

For Nadal or any other professional tennis player, winning 11 titles is not even a dream, it is simply unbelievable. Nadal raised his arms in celebration as he turned towards his team, it was indeed celebration time as the 2-hour 42-minute French Final ended.

Rafael suffered from cramps during the third set, which made victory so much sweeter, the cramps he explained, is what happens when you as a player are really pushed, in a match. In the final Nadal triumphed 6-4, 6-3 and 6-2 against Dominic Thiem.

Dominic Thiem Waited Since His 11th Birthday to Play Rafael Nadal in a Final

Played under heavy skies the final ended on a high note for the 32-year-old, while the 24-year-old Thiem continued to fight until the end. Dominic Thiem later told the press that he watched his first final on television when he was only 11 years old. He also watched the match in which Nada won his first Roland Garros title on television in 2005. It was his dream to one day, play a final against Rafael Nadal.

Dominic Thiem feels what Nadal achieved is amazing. In total, the Spaniard has 17 major crowns, each as special as the one before it and he wept as the 80-year-old legend, Ken Rosewell presented him the Coupe des Mousquetaires.

Rafael Nadal Applauded Dominic Thiem for Great Play

The eleventh time champion, Rafael Nadal went home with €2,200,000 for this victory, after he praised and applauded the young Dominic for great play. He also ensured the young opponent that he’ll be a big winner. Nadal shared that Dominic is not only a fantastic player he is even a greater person.
World number one Nadal earned his 17th grand slam, which only three adrift of that of the all-time men’s record holder Roger Federer. In Grand Slam totals the last six were win by either Federer or Nadal.

While Thiem had few answers to the brilliance of Nadal, the 7th seed used both his mental resilience and athleticism during the match, after he did show some nerves as he failed to find his rhythm in the opening game.

It is a race against time for Andy Murray after he had to pull out form another warm-up session this week, while Novak Djokovic also admitted that he too might have to miss out on this year’s event starting on the 2nd of July.

The Libema Open was supposed to be the big comeback for the Scot, although he had to withdraw again from the event in Hertogenbosch in Holland. It was the withdraw that Djokovic confessed that he might not be able to play on the grass this year, following being dumped out of the French Open by Marco Cecchinato.

Andy Murray has been out for the past year after he had hip surgery in January. He regretted not being able to play in Hertogenbosch as he was excited to finally play at the Libema Open, although he realised that he was still not ready to return yet. Murray wants to be 100% in shape when he returns and is still planning to play in the coming weeks.

Murray Hopefull to Participate at Fever Tree Championships

He is hoping to participate in the Fever Tree Championships starting next Monday at the Queens Club, which is the last event he could play, the only other alternative is Eastbourne, which is only one week before Wimbledon.

Neither Murray nor his team expected him to be out of tennis for almost a year, but recovery is slow, and now finally he is getting closer to participation, and hopefully, thousands of fans will see him back on the grass court this season. With his training schedule already planned, Murray had a bit of a setback in April, which delayed his practising on the court by over a month. Last year Murray had no choice but to pull out from the US Open, followed by the Brisbane International taking place in January and then the Australian Open since he had his operation in January in Melbourne.

Murray has not participated in an event since his last year’s quarter-final defeat by Sam Querry at Wimbledon which means he is no longer in the world top 150 after he had 42 weeks in number one, just before his hip injury worsened.

Depending on his progress over the next week, Murray might still decide to play at Eastbourne one week before Wimbledon to gain some competitive match time. In order to build-up his match fitness, he needs matches as he realises he won’t come back and start immediately where he left off. The only thing he can do is to listen to his body and let how he feels guide him as at the end of the day he is the only one that really knows how he feels.

During the Foro Italico, two players, Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah were pinned against a wall and a hard place through the entire week. Though, on Sunday the two Colombian based players stunned again as they went on to claim their Maiden ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crowns.

Farah and Cabal easily rode past Pablo Carreno Busta along with Joao Sousa with a 3-6, 6-4, and 10-4 in their pursuit to achieve the title during the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. As their appeared at their second final match at the Masters 1000 level, while finishing up as only runners-up during the Miami tournament in 2014, the iconic duo trained harder and played with true preciseness to come out as victors.

Cabal commented on the duo’s win with a smile before saying that the title they received was one they were striving to get for years now. He continued that he and Farah worked hard since their Miami tournament to reach where they are. He finished up the sentiment by stating wins like keeps the duo motivated to keep achieving their goals.

The Only Colombians to Win Masters 1000 Title

The duo of Cabal/Farah are making headlines, not only because they are the first Colombians to win the prized Masters 1000 title. They are doubling as the world’s first all South American team to prevail so flawlessly at this elite level. After their win, the duo is taking home a total of €289,670 in prize money along with an impressive 1,000 additional points for the ATP Doubles Ranking. The point increase has raised the duo to third place in the ATP Doubles Race to London.

Farah added on that they feel amazing before reminiscing about how they played in finals the previous years but never won a title. He continues by stating that winning a Masters 1000 event feels even more special due to the elite level. He finished off with a smile proudly saying that this is something they worked hard before, and it is something that they are going to remember for the rest of their lives.

All the six seeds were told to work and practice in Rome all week, with a shocking three of the four wins coming from the Match Tie-Breaks. Opening with a narrow win over the well-known Dutch pair Robin Haase and Jean-Julien Rojer. The upset the top seeds, Marcelo Melo Lukasz Kubot played straight sets and easily battled against players, Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares in a match during the semi-final that took place on Saturday.

This was the 11th title won by the Cabal/Farah duo, who, at the beginning of the 2018 campaigns, opened with the first Grand Slam Final at the highly anticipated Australian Open.
On the other hand, the other duo of Carreno Busta and Sousa will remain to keep themselves in high spirits as they make an impressive run to the final matches. The duo was the as the team in the field as they Spanish-Portuguese pair were appearing in their first Masters 1000 title competition.

This was due to the pair of Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan withdrawing due to a hip injury that Bob received. This immediately gave Busta/Sousa a chance to take their place and test their abilities on the field. This was Carreno Busta’s first doubles final since the impressive win in Rio de Janeiro last year. On Sousa side, this was his first double final at the prestigious tour-level. The pair split a total of €141,820, along with 600 points of the ATP Doubles Ranking.

Rafael Nadal witnessed firsthand his 4-1 set lead vanish on Friday, thus prompting him to give it his all to beat the famed and skilled Italian player, Fabio Fognini. Fognini name gained more fame as he was boosted by the capacity Court Central audience that was spectating the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

Nadal, also dubbed as the Spanish superstar, brutally denied Fognini his wishes of scoring a win as an early present for his young son, Federico. During the match, Nadal managed to score an impressive 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory that is keeping him in the strong pursuit of retiring to the prized number one spot in the ATP rankings.

If Nadal manages to score his eighth trophy during the Foro Italico competition in Rome, it would be his 32nd record ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown. Nadal will then be in the process of succeeding and eventually replacing the skilled player from Switzerland, Roger Federer at this upcoming summit for men’s professional tennis on May 21st, 2018. On Saturday, Nadal will be playing his 10th Rome semi-finals game against the Siberian number eleven seed and four-time recorded finalist, Novak Djokovic or, depending on the results, The Japanese player, Ken Nishikori.

Nadal – Multiple Championship Wins

Nadal has been the Rome champion of 2005-2007, 2009-2010, and 2012-2013, is currently ranked 54-6 at the historical and ironically known clay-court tournament. Nadal’s intensity was obviously shown as he netted the first break of the match, which had a 3-1 lead at the time. At first, Fognini led the Spanish based player through an extremely wide backhand volley into the open court. However, Nadal flawlessly ran back in and hit the winning backhand strike.

As Fognini was cheered on by his courtside companions, he was finally broken during the 2-4 during the fourth break point with a miscalculated forehand return down the court. Thus, causing Nadal to lead 4-1. During this match, Nadal won 11 out of 41 of the available points. Moreover, Fognini was moving at a fantastic pace and skill around the court, managing to win the first set against Nadal. However, Nadal showed that he wasn’t ready to give up yet as he made a shocking return and refocused his intentions. On the set point moment of the game, Nadal managed to hit a perfected slice serve out wide before striking a crosscourt backhand.

After the game, the beaming Spanish player commented on his performance. Nadal stated how having a break as early as the second set gave him a much-needed confidence boost for this match. The 31-year-old player added on to his statement, reflecting on his playing skills, stating that as he used his forehand strikes more aggressively, his backhand strikes become more precise and effortless. As the Spaniard chucked, he reflected on how every part of the game was a positive learning experience that was needed for his career at this point. Nadal finished his sentiment with a piece of advice that he always keeps in his heart, stating the importance of having the ability to change the dynamics in the match to achieve the desired result – winning.

While Fognini competitor suffered a minor setback during the match, Nadal managed to come back with a passion for victory scored him that desired win after a two hour and fifteen-minute game. This was Fognini first quarter-final in Rome, during his 11th showing at his home tournament.