Rafa Nadal smashes massive Roger Federer hoodoo with 18th major
Thanks to his smashing French Open win, Rafael Nadal has finally managed to inch closer to arch-rival Roger Federer.
Prior to Roland Garros, Federer had always kept Nadal at arms length, managing to maintain a three-grand slam buffer over the Spaniard.
On no fewer than 14 seperate occasions, Nadal had opportunities to draw closer to Federer’s record haul.
With his four-set victory over Dominic Thiem on Sunday, the Spaniard finally drew to within two majors of Federer.
Rafael Nadal is 0 for 14 when trying to close within two Grand Slam titles of Roger Federer's male record. Today he can finally do it in his 15th try.
14W 4R
15AO QF
15FO QF
15W 2R
15USO 3R
16AO 1R
16FO 3R
16USO 4R
17AO F
17W 4R
18AO QF
18W SF
18USO SF
19AO F
19FO ?— Nick Zaccardi (@nzaccardi) June 9, 2019
At the *15th* time of asking, Nadal finally narrows down the gap between he and Federer to two Grand Slams:
14 W - R4
15 AO - QF
15 RG - QF
15 W - R2
15 USO - R3
16 AO - R1
16 RG - R3
16 USO - R4
17 AO - F
17 W - R4
18 AO - QF
18 W - SF
18 USO - SF
19 AO - F#RG19 - W— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) June 9, 2019
The incredible hoodoo Nadal was able to break didn’t escape the attention of tennis fans as an incredible French Open came to a close.
Reason for Nadal's tears after French Open triumph
Rafael Nadal has admitted that his record 12th Roland Garros title was one of his most special after an injury-hit start to 2019 had left him "down mentally and physically" and questioning his love for the sport.
Nadal is now just two behind Roger Federer's all-time record of 20 majors and three ahead of Novak Djokovic, who was knocked out by Thiem in the semi-finals.
However, Nadal said that his troubled season leading up to the French Open had left him facing new fears about his ability to defend his title in Paris.
"I was not enjoying it too much, I was worried about my health. I was down mentally and physically after Indian Wells," said Nadal.
"I was too negative. After Madrid and Barcelona, I was thinking about what I needed to do. I could stop for a while and recover or change my attitude and recover."
'Simply unreal': Nadal's insane tennis history
For much of this final, rarely, if ever, has any opponent played so well against Nadal on this Philippe Chatrier centre court.
Rarely, if ever, has the best of the young guns Thiem struck the ball so firmly, or played with such purpose and aggression.
But it wasn't enough. Not nearly enough. Not even before Thiem ultimately ran out of steam.
The 33-year-old Nadal, who becomes the first player to win the same grand slam title 12 times, going past Margaret Court's 11 Australian Opens, now sits just two major titles behind his great foe and men's grand slam title record holder, 37-year-old Roger Federer.
"It's incredible. I can't explain the feeling," Nadal told the crowd.
"For me it was a dream to play here in 2005, and I could not imagine I would be back here in 2019. It's a very special moment for me.
"I want to say congratulations to Dominic. I feel sorry ... he deserves it. He has absolute intensity and passion for this sport. I wish him all the best for the future."