Nadal’s growth in stature as the greatest clay wizard of all time is enthralling to watch. How a player who puts so much pressure on his body, who goes that extra bit for every point, who strains himself to the limit is able to dominate the circuit at this age is incomprehensible. Th genius of the man is so much that sometimes all you can do is laugh it off. He turns into an artist on that clay court, drawing his portrait, perfectioning it, sometimes with hard strokes, sometimes with gentleness but with always with a definitive purpose; a purpose to make it the greatest art work of all time.
Yesterday was no different. Nadal took the court in his usual manner, the end to end court coverage was there, the powerful forehands made an appearance every now and then and the improved backhand drive never left his side. One of the greatest sights in sport is to see Nadal withering around the court, blazing from corner to corner to keep the ball in play, and then pouncing on that iota of opportunity that only he seems to recognise. All of that was on display last night, and while Thiem did put up a great fight, it was always going to be in vain with Nadal in such supreme touch.
Nadal just about edged through in the first set, stepping up to the plate in crucial moments, to win 10-8 in the tie break. That kind of broke Thiem’s spirit and he just couldn’t muster a comeback after that.
Nadal is now tied with Novaj Djokovic for the most number of ATP 1000 Masters titles(30).
Speaking to Television Espanola, Nadal said that he was glad to win against a player who would be competing for the top ranks in the next 5-10 years. He also stressed on the fact that he is trying to enjoy his time on the circuit, as he never knows when it might come to an end.
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