How Rafael Nadal Won The 2019 French Open Men’s Singles Title

King of Clay Rafael Nadal remains on his throne at Roland Garros as he takes home the men’s singles title at the 2019 French Open.

Rafael Nadal wins the 2019 French Open, making it three straight years as the men’s singles champion at Roland Garros. The King of Clay now also has a total of 12 wins at the clay court slam. Just how exactly did Rafa do it this year?

The path to a title at any tournament, let alone a Grand Slam, is not an easy one. Even for the greatest player on clay, Nadal had to battle some of the best in the sport in order to make history. Let’s start at the beginning.

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Nadal opened his time in Paris against German tennis veteran Yannick Maden. Entering the field as a qualifier, Maden was coming off of three qualifying match wins followed by a round of 128 win. Nadal, however, look readier than ever in his opener. He defeats Maden 6-1 6-2 6-4.

Up next for Rafa came a massive challenge in the round of 32 when he faced David Goffin of Belgium. Goffin gave Nadal something of a test by taking one of the just two sets Nadal would drop throughout his entire run. Rafa wins again though, going 6-1 6-3 4-6 6-3.

Argentina’s Juan Ignacio Londero took on Nadal in the round 16. Despite three impressive wins up to that point, the King of Clay stopped Londero in his tracks, winning 6-2 6-3 6-3.

Rafa would go up against Japanese tennis star Kei Nishikori next in a highly anticipated matchup. Nishikori is one of the best men’s singles players today without a Grand Slam title to his name. This year marked Nishikori’s third time reaching the quarterfinals at the French Open. Nadal, however, made sure he would not make his first ever semifinals debut. In another straight set victory, Rafa defeats Nishikori 6-1 6-1 6-3. Just amazing.

We then of course saw Nadal take on Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer in the semifinals. These two are among the greatest tennis players ever. Federer is not known for his clay court play but he is a former champion at Roland Garros. It is Nadal who reasserts his title as King of Clay though, defeating Federer 6-3 6-4 6-2.

We all know what happens next. Dominic Thiem made it back to the finals for a rematch with Rafael Nadal at the French Open. Thiem did take just the second set Rafa dropped throughout his title-run but it was too little too late. Nadal had all of the momentum and roared to a victory following Thiem’s lone set win. Nadal is your 2019 French Open champion in men’s singles, defeating his young Austrian challenger 6-3 5-7 6-1 6-1.