2017 French Open...ATP 2000...Roland Garros...Paris, France

[klacr]

I'm going to miss this final today. Morning full of lessons. But I'm a bit too nervous for Stan and may be better off burning off some of that energy with students than in my pro shop watching. Godspeed to Wawrinka.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

Strange tactics so far from Stan. Bludgeoning balls straight into Nadal's forehand. Not just once to open up Nadal's backhand, but going to the forehand time and time again. Nadal will be in the stadium if he stands any further back in the ad court to return serve.

[stotty]

Looks ominous. Nadal looking way too strong for Stan at the moment.

5-2 Rafa..

[stotty]

First set Nadal. No matter what Stan does, Nadal just soaks it up....very easy so far. One way traffic.

[stotty]

Wawrinka is getting destroyed here. It could be embarrassing at this rate. Come on Stan, you going have to find something more.

Nadal leads 6-2 2-0

[stotty]

Nadal is now playing as well I have ever seen him play, hitting the ball harder then ever before for sure. It's a question of damage limitation here for Stan. He cannot win this match. He needs to at least get a credible score.

6-2 4-1

[stotty]

Well at least Nadal won't beat Borg's record of winning the event for the loss of just 32 games. At least Stan has stopped him doing that.

Great to hear Jim Courier being respectful Borg and the classic era.

The only tactic that Wawrinka might reach for is to power the ball down the middle. Hitting wider is doing no damage to Nadal and instead it's Stan getting moved all over the place.

It's really hard to know what Stan can do to stop the onslaught.

[stroke]

Nadal is now playing as well I have ever seen him play, hitting the ball harder then ever before for sure. It's a question of damage limitation here for Stan. He cannot win this match. He needs to at least get a credible score.

6-2 4-1

The greatest ask of all time in tennis, beating Nadal at FO. I can't help but think of other great clay courters like Lendl, Courier, Bruguera, Muster, Guga and how many times they won this title, and here is Nadal looking at 10.

[stotty]

Strong as he is, Stan is getting tired. He's been half a step slower since the match started. That long match with Murray took its toll while Nadal has had a far less taxing road to the final. It's all added up, and with Nadal in this form and this fresh, the final has been a disaster for Stan.

3-1 in the third to Nadal. Nadal is making no errors at all...none.

[stotty]

Poor Stan.

Rafa wins 10.

[stotty]

It's pretty clear what Moya has brought to the table during his time with Rafa. More aggression. A bigger backhand and harder struck forehands. I think what threw Stan the most is that he never expected to be matched for power, which he was. There were times in rallies where Rafa was more forceful than Stan. Stan just hits in straight lines, and he cannot steer disguised backhands up the line or do hooked forehands like Novak can.

Wimbledon might just turn out to be more interesting than I thought.

[stroke]

I would think Roger and Rafa are the oddsmakers favorites for Wimbledon.. I am eager to see.

[klacr]

Love or hate Rafa, one thing you cannot deny is his competitive nature and never say die attitude. Yes, he has his flaws and quirks, but he also has 10 French Open titles, and thats no fluke. Incredible feat for any player.

Nadal-10 French Open Titles

Kuerten, Burguera, Laver, Federer, Agassi, Djokovic - 10 French Open Titles Combined

Nadal games won/lost
116/35

This is the 3rd time (2008, 2010) Nadal has won French Open without dropping a set. Ties Bjorn Borg as only other player to win 3 grand slam titles without dropping a set

Nadal never lost more than 4 games during a set during 2017 French Open.

Nadal becomes just 3rd player to win a grand slam in their teens, 20s, 30s. (Laver, Sampras)

Butt picking, drink bottle rearranging, time violations and other faults be damned. If another player did those things could he win 10 French Opens? Doubt it. Nadal had an incredible tournament and a remarkable career on the terre battue.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

Love or hate Rafa, one thing you cannot deny is his competitive nature and never say die attitude. Yes, he has his flaws and quirks, but he also has 10 French Open titles, and thats no fluke. Incredible feat for any player.

Nadal-10 French Open Titles

Kuerten, Burguera, Laver, Federer, Agassi, Djokovic - 10 French Open Titles Combined

Nadal games won/lost
116/35

This is the 3rd time (2008, 2010) Nadal has won French Open without dropping a set. Ties Bjorn Borg as only other player to win 3 grand slam titles without dropping a set

Nadal never lost more than 4 games during a set during 2017 French Open.

Nadal becomes just 3rd player to win a grand slam in their teens, 20s, 30s. (Laver, Sampras)

Butt picking, drink bottle rearranging, time violations and other faults be damned. If another player did those things could he win 10 French Opens? Doubt it. Nadal had an incredible tournament and a remarkable career on the terre battue.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Rafa could now well surpass Roger in the slams department if he stays healthy, Djokovic was always going to prevent Rafa ever catching Roger's grand slam tally, but with Novak well and truly in the doldrums, it'a a possibility again.

Good job Roger pipped Rafa at the Aussie Open earlier this year. That gave him the extra cushion no one ever thought he would have.

[stroke]

Rafa could now well surpass Roger in the slams department if he stays healthy, Djokovic was always going to prevent Rafa ever catching Roger's grand slam tally, but with Novak well and truly in the doldrums, it'a a possibility again.

Good job Roger pipped Rafa at the Aussie Open earlier this year. That gave him the extra cushion no one ever thought he would have.

That last 20 or 25 minutes of the Australian Open final, when Roger came back from down 1-3 in the 5th to defeat Rafa, I think is the best quality tennis and maybe most important 20 minute stretch in tennis history. It put up Roger 18-14 over Rafa instead of 17-15. To me the 2 best players of all time. Novak certainly in the mix to have won 12 playing against those 2.