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French Open

Rafael Nadal wins his twelfth French Open

The Spanish tennis legend beat Dominic Thiem in the final of the French Open for the second year in a row, 6-3, 5-7, 6-1 and 6-1.

Update:
PARIS, FRANCE - JUNE 09: Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates with the trophy following the mens singles final against Dominic Thiem of Austria during Day fifteen of the 2019 French Open at Roland Garros on June 09, 2019 in Paris, France. (Photo by Clive Brun
Clive BrunskillGetty Images

Rafael Nadal won his twelfth French Open this afternoon, beating Dominic Thiem for the second year in a row in the final (6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1).

Nadal powers through the last two sets

Nadal, the firm favourite, took the first set 6-3, with two breaks, before Thiem fought back to surprise Nadal in the second 7-5 to level the match. Alas for the Austrian fourth seed taking a set off Nadal only unleashed an absolute cyclone of tennis from the Spaniard. Thiem was unable to fend off Nadal as he powered through the next two sets, winning both 6-1, to take the title.

Nadal's 12th French Open take his total grand slam tally to 18, just two behind Roger Federer, who Nadal beat easily in three sets in the semi-final here, and three ahead of Djokovic, who went out to Thiem in the other semi.

Nadal: "It's a dream"

After the match Nadal was asked if he was the biggest legend in the history of Roland Garros: "I don't know", he replied. "It's truly incredible. You can't explain it. It's so emotional, a dream. In 2005 I could never have dreamt of this".

Nadal 93-2 at Roland Garros

With this win Nadal takes his overall win-loss stats at the French Open to a remarkable 93 wins and only two defeats.

Nadal's two losses at the French Open came in the fourth round in 2009 against Robin Soderling and the quarter-final in 2015 against Novak Djokovic. He also missed out on the trophy in 2016 when he retired before the third round of tournament with a wrist injury.