La Decima: Nadal´s 10th French Open title in numbers
History was made at Roland Garros on Sunday as Rafael Nadal completed ‘La Decima’ at the French Open by beating Stan Wawrinka 6-2 6-3 6-1 in the final.
Nadal’s victory made him the first man in the Open Era to win the same grand slam on 10 separate occasions, enhancing his right to the nickname of ‘King of Clay’.
The Spaniard was unplayable as he swept aside the challenge of Wawrinka, producing a moment for the ages when he sent a laser-guided forehand down the line after scrambling across court to return an excellent backhand from his opponent.
But Nadal’s 10th title at Roland Garros is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the incredible nature of his success.
We examine the numbers as the Spaniard earned a place in the history books.
#CHAMP10N pic.twitter.com/BV0M1qE7NE
— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) June 11, 2017
2 – Having claimed the French Open title, Nadal has risen to number two in the world rankings. He last held that position in October 2014.
3 – By winning in straight sets, the Spaniard has triumphed at Roland Garros without dropping a set for a third time, matching the feat he achieved in 2008 and 2010.
3 – Nadal is the third man to win a major singles title as a teenager, in his 20s and in his 30s.
4 – The 31-year-old matched the feat achieved by Bjorn Borg in 1980 in claiming the French Open title without losing more than four games in a set.
5 – Nadal is one of a quintet of men to win a career Grand Slam in the Open Era. Rod Laver, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are the only others to do so.
10 – The Spaniard’s French Open haul puts him three clear of the competition’s second most prolific winner – Borg won the Coupe des Mousqetaires six times between 1974 and 1981.
A #LaDecima chomp.#RG17 pic.twitter.com/kDwy4DeeJq
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 11, 2017
15 – Victory sent Nadal clear of Pete Sampras’ haul of 14 grand slam triumphs, with the Spaniard also having won the US Open and Wimbledon twice each and the Australian Open once. Federer is the only player with more on 18.
16 – Nadal has won 16 of his 19 matches against Wawrinka, including a quarter-final win en route to the 2013 French Open title.
35 – In surging to the title Nadal lost just 35 games, the second lowest number by a grand slam champion in the Open Era. Borg let just 32 slip when triumphing at Roland Garros in 1978.
79 – The Spaniard has come out on top in 79 of his 81 matches at the French Open – withdrawing once due to injury – and has won the title on 10 of his 13 appearances.
102 – Nadal is 102-2 in best-of-five-set matches on clay with his only losses coming to Robert Soderling in 2009 and Djokovic in 2015.
