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For the second year in a row, Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem are competing for the title at Roland Garros. Nadal leads by two sets to one after a 6-1 series. Despite his first set at Thiem in four games at Roland Garros, he has a lead of 6-3, 5-7, 6-1.
Nadal enters the final with an 8-4 lead in his FedEx ATP Head2Head series and looks for an unprecedented 12th title in Paris. He lost only one set by entering the match, having won the top 10 consecutive against Kei Nishikori and Roger Federer to reach the championship on Sunday. With his victory, he would get an 18th major title and would be within two points of Federer's record in the Grand Slam.
For Thiem, this marks the second final appearance of the Austrian Grand Slam. Despite falling to Nadal in the 2018 title match, the fourth favorite will have great confidence in his semifinal win in Barcelona in April before winning the title. Thiem has prevented Nadal from winning a 12th title on his hunting ground, and the 25-year-old hopes that history will be repeated on Sunday at Roland-Garros.
It was in this clash in Barcelona that Thiem beat Nadal to his own game, using his forehand to open the pitch and create space for his final shots. His depth has allowed him to find the sharpest angles and to use a very aggressive game plan.
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After winning his semifinal win over Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals on Saturday afternoon in five sets, it is the fourth consecutive day of Thiem. But the 25-year-old has dispelled any notion of fatigue as the game began under a radiant sky at Court Philippe Chatrier. Assimilating Nadal at the intensity of the first ball, he tried his shots and would have deserved the initial break for the 3-2 win. Running around his back, he sent a forehand into the yard to make his way.
Thiem continued his fierce defense as the filming progressed, but Nadal reacted in the same way, striking his forehand with conviction to go back. It was a high level opening, with both players exchanging fierce shots on the baseline and demonstrating their skill in touching the goal. In the first seven games, they produced 21 exchanges on nine shots. After 54 minutes of play, Nadal tried to break a second time in top gear and grabbed the first set (his 10th win against Thiem).
Nadal had just started. His service would reach highs at the start of the second set and the defending champion enjoyed a sequence of 16 consecutive points earned on his delivery. In fact, no player would earn more than two points in a return match in the first 11 games.
But it is in the 12th part that Thiem has jumped. Nadal, a restless man, committed a pair of unforced errors and the Austrian finally won his first set against the Spaniard on four occasions at Roland Garros. Feeling his chance to return to a tie, he composed the attack, forcing a backhand error to seal the game 7-5.
As quickly as Thiem turned the tables, Nadal returned to his corner after letting the second run escape him. He took advantage of a drop in concentration of Thiem at the beginning of the third set. The world No. 2 consolidated a break to love to open the game while Thiem's forehand flew long, bringing back 11 points without a break.
A hundred per cent intensity is needed to remain competitive against Nadal on clay, and Thiem would fight from the beginning of the third. He conceded two breaks in a row and was unable to recover, while Nadal had a two-set lead to one in one.
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