Rafael Nadal kept his iron grip on the Coupe des Mousquetaires by beating Dominic Thiem in four sets to win a 12th French Open title.
It was a repeat of last year's final and, although Thiem managed to win a set this time, he was unable to join Robin Soderling and Novak Djokovic as the only men to beat Nadal at Roland Garros, going down 6-3 5-7 6-1 6-1.
Nadal now stands on his own as the most successful singles player, male or female, at a single grand slam having moved clear of the 11 titles won by Margaret Court at the Australian Open. Re-live the action below:
Hello and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of today's French Open men's final!
Kieran Jackson will be taking the reins from 1pm so make sure to tune in as he takes you through what should be a thrilling clash between Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem
Well, the end is nigh.
After what has been a thrilling two weeks of tennis in Paris, it all concludes this afternoon with the men's singles final between Austrian Dominic Thiem and 11-time champion Rafael Nadal, in a repeat of last year's final.
The match is due to start at 2pm (BST), and I'm pleased to report the weather is due to be overcast with an UNLIKELY chance of rain, so hopefully we'll start on time unlike the women's final yesterday, which was delayed due to Thiem's semi-final against Novak Djokovic overrunning... by a day.
Although, understandably, Nadal is the heavy favourite this afternoon, Thiem did actually win their last encounter, on the clay in Barcelona six weeks ago - 6-4 6-4.
The Spaniard is ahead in the overall H2H though (8-4), with their last clash in a major coming at last year's US Open: a thrilling match which Nadal won in a fifth set tiebreak.
In last year's final, Nadal had too much for Thiem, coming through 6-4 6-3 6-2.
A reminder that Nadal has had an extra 24 hours rest - he outplayed Roger Federer on Friday afternoon, yet Thiem only emerged the victor against Novak Djokovic yesterday afternoon.
Could that prove crucial today, especially if the match goes deep into a deciding set?
Interesting...
Here's Dominic Thiem's road to the final:
R1 - bt Tommy Paul 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2
R2 - bt Alexander Bublik 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3, 7-5
R3 - bt Pablo Cuevas 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5
R4 - bt Gael Monfils 6-4, 6-4, 6-2
QF - bt Karen Khachanov 6-2 6-4 6-2
SF - bt Novak Djokovic 6-2, 3-6, 7-5, 5-7, 7-5
Rafael Nadal's road to the final:
R1 - bt Yannick Hanfmann 6-2, 6-1, 6-3
R2 - bt Yannick Maden 6-1, 6-2, 6-4
R3 - bt David Goffin 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
R4 - bt Juan Ignacio Londero 6-2, 6-3, 6-3
QF - bt Kei Nishikori 6-1, 6-1, 6-3
SF - bt Roger Federer 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
Less than 15 minutes until the players are due on Court Philippe Chatrier!
The players have just been introduced to the crowd, and the pre-match warm-up is imminent!
A few stats ahead of this clash:
- Rafael Nadal is chasing his 18th Grand Slam title, and 12th at Roland Garros.
- Dominic Thiem is looking to become the first Austrian to win a Grand Slam since Thomas Muster won in Paris in 1995. If he did win, he would only be the second-ever Austrian winner of a major.
- In their 12 previous clashes, only once (at last year's US Open) has the first-set loser gone onto win the match.
We're all ready to go here!
Nadal will begin on serve...
Thiem 0-0 Nadal (15-15)
A point apiece to begin, and play is delayed as a crying baby puts the players off - Rafa refusing to serve.
Fair enough - very distracting.
Thiem 0-0 Nadal* (30-30)
A Nadal backhand drifts wide and Thiem has an opening at 15-30, before going long with a forehand in the next rally. 30-30.
*Thiem 0-1 Nadal
Thiem misses a backhand winner by inches on the sideline, and then goes long on his return - Nadal secures the opening game.
Already, the quality of the hitting from both players is top notch.
*Thiem 0-1 Nadal (30-30)
Brilliant point at 30-15 - Nadal chases down an exquisite Thiem drop shot, and then anticipates the passing shot and times a drop volley. Two points apiece.
Thiem 1-1 Nadal*
I know it's early on, but that already feels like an important hold for Thiem.
An error on each Nadal wing into the net hands the game to the Austrian.
Thiem 1-1 Nadal* (40-30)
Rafa looks to be holding comfortably to 15, but Thiem does brilliantly to stay in the point, and then out-powers Nadal with his backhand crosscourt.
Eyebrows raised by Mr Nadal - can he escape with the game?
Thiem 1-1 Nadal* (40-40)
Not yet, anyway.
Nadal finds himself in no man's land approaching the net, and nets a half-volley.
First deuce game of the match...
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