Nadal wins 12th French Open title

Roger Federer is left looking over his shoulder after Rafael Nadal took an astounding 12th French Open title yesterday at Roland Garros.

The Spaniard closed to within two Grand Slam victories of the 37-year-old Swiss when he saw off the game challenge of Dominic Thiem 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 in three hours and one minute of ferocious combat at Roland Garros.

At 33 Nadal now has 18 Majors to Federer’s 20 and his most reliable supply of these precious commodities shows no sign of slowing up. 

The king of Court Philippe-Chatrier was at his most unforgiving, bar one slip late in the second set when Thiem had the impudence to make it less than a cakewalk.

The Austrian deserves great credit for his efforts this fortnight, and can at least say that this was an improvement on last year’s final, when he managed only nine games.

Meanwhile, Australian Ashleigh Barty defeated Czech teenager Marketa Vondrousova in the women French Open final to win her first Grand Slam singles title and complete a fairytale return to the sport.

The eighth seed won 6-1 6-3 against 19-year-old Vondrousova on the Paris clay.

Barty, 23, quit tennis to play professional cricket in 2014, but returned to the sport 17 months later.

Now she is the first Australian to win a singles titles at Roland Garros since Margaret Court in 1973. -Mailonline