Rafael Nadal continued his domination on clay as he shunted away the challenge posed by Dominic Theim to clinch his record 12th Roland Garros title. Nadal was stretched on few occasions in the match, but he never went away and kept bouncing back to take down Theim 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 in three straight sets.
The 33-year-old Spaniard becomes the first player to win the same Grand Slam 12 times after seeing off a brave challenge from a weary Thiem in a repeat of the 2018 final. He is now just two behind Roger Federer's all-time record of 20 Grand Slams and three ahead of Novak Djokovic who was knocked out by Thiem in the semi-finals.
Theim gave it all but there was little the 25-year-old Austrian could do to stop an absolutely magnificent Nadal from clinching the match in exactly three hours on Court Philippe Chatrier, although he tried all the way to the end.
"The first thing I want to say is congrats to Dominic. I feel sorry because he deserves it here too and I hope he wins here in the future. He is a very hard worker. I want to wish him all the best for the future. It is incredible. I can't explain what I have achieved and how I feel. It was a dream to play here for the first time in 2005. I never thought in 2019 I'd still be here. It's an incredible moment and very special for me," the champion said after the match.
Here is how Twitter reacted to this historic achievement:
