Rafael Nadal continued his dominance at the French Open, winning the men's singles title for the 11th time Sunday, ESPN reported.
Nadal defeated Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 to capture his 17th Grand Slam title, second only among men to the 20 won by Roger Federer.
Nadal overcame a problem with his left middle finger during the third set to defeat the No. 7 seed from Austria. The Spaniard was leading 2-1 when he stopped serving because he could not straighten his finger, ESPN reported. After receiving a salt pill and an arm massage by his trainer, Nadal resumed play and closed out the match.
Nadal’s 11 French Open men’s titles are a record at Roland Garros. He won his first title in 2005, and all of his championships have occurred during the Open era. He owns an 86-2 record at the French Open.
Max Decugis won eight French titles between 1903 and 1914; in the Open era, Bjorn Borg won six men’s crowns between 1974 and 1981.
Nadal matched the all-time record of most singles titles won at the same Grand Slam event, set by Margaret Court at the Australian Open in the 1960s and '70s, Reuters reported.
