PARIS, KOMPAS.com - Petenis asal Spanyol, Rafael Nadal , meraih gelar ke-11 di turnamen Grand Slam Perancis Terbuka atau lebih dikenal dengan Roland Garros .
Gelar ke-11 Rafael Nadal diraih setelah pada laga final Perancis Terbuka 2018 menang 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 atas petenis Austria, Dominic Thiem, Minggu (10/6/2018).
Bagi Nadal, ini adalah gelar ke-11 atau undecima di Roland Garros. Sebelumnya, dia sukses menjadi kampiun pada 2005 hingga 2008 dan 2010 hingga 2014.
"Luar biasa. Saya tak bisa menggambarkan perasaan saya saat ini," kata Rafael Nadal seusai pertandingan sepert dikutip dari akun Twitter resmi Roland Garros.
Baca juga: Sudah Raih Titel Grand Slam, Simona Halep Gelar Pesta Besar
Rafael Clay-dal. #RG18 pic.twitter.com/ga5k6OVODK
"Saya bahkan tak perah bermimpi bisa juara 11 kali di sini. Adalah hal mustahil memikirkan hal tersebut," tutur petenis berusia 32 tahun itu.
Secara keseluruhan, Nadal telah mengoleksi 17 gelar Grand Slam. Dia hanya berjarak tiga gelar dengan petenis tunggal putra kolektor terbanyak, Roger Federer.
He was asked what he thought, really thought, in the locker room after the victory, and he explained that there were so many obligations — hands to shake, questions to answer — that it was hard to have much time to think. But he gave it a shot.
“Well, the answer is quite simple,” he said. “I think probably the same as you. That in the end — and I don’t like to say it myself — but it’s something that is really unique, something that you can’t dream of, winning 11 times the same tournament. But it happened, and as always I would like to thank life for giving me this opportunity. Many people work as much as I do or even more and haven’t had my luck. That being said, yes, winning 11 times here is a lot.
“I can’t tell you any more than that.”
It is all in that answer, really: the humility, the reluctant realism. There has been some luck: Who could have imagined that Novak Djokovic, who seemed to have Nadal’s number on clay for good in 2015 and 2016, would fade from prominence so quickly? But without Nadal’s humility and internal drive, he would never have been able to keep pushing himself; to keep doing the unglamorous work to recover from physical setbacks, most recently the psoas muscle problem that forced him to retire in the middle of the Australian Open in January and then kept him from playing another tournament until early April.
“A lot of months with problems,” Nadal said. “So coming back and having the chance to win in Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome, and now especially here, it’s very emotional for me.”
He cried during the awards ceremony, which he has done before here. But these tears came as he held the trophy and received an extended ovation from the crowd that felt more like an extended recognition of his staying power.
It has rarely been a love affair. The French like their underdogs, and Nadal has too often drained the suspense out of their tournament. Both he and his uncle Toni Nadal resented the way the crowd cheered against him in the fourth round in 2009 as he lost to Robin Soderling, the Swedish outsider who is one of only two men to have beaten Nadal at Roland Garros.
There also have been insinuations and suspicions, reflected in the comment in 2016 by Roselyne Bachelot, a former French minister for health and sport, on French television that Nadal’s seven-month injury layoff in 2012 was “probably due to a positive doping test.”
Rafael Nadal won his 11th French Open title against Dominic Thiem
French Open 2018 Venue: Roland Garros, Paris Dates: 27 May-10 June Coverage: Daily live radio and text commentaries on BBC Radio 5 live, the BBC Sport website and app.
Rafael Nadal would love to surpass Roger Federer's men's record of 20 Grand Slam titles but says he is not "crazy" about catching his great rival.
World number one Nadal won his 17th major by lifting his 11th French Open title on Sunday, beating seventh seed Dominic Thiem 6-4 6-3 6-2.
"Of course I have ambition. But I can't always be thinking of more," he said.
Nadal, 32, is second behind Federer in the list of all-time Grand Slam titles, three clear of Pete Sampras in third.
Veteran pair Nadal and Federer have won the past six Grand Slams as their younger rivals struggle to dislodge them at the pinnacle of the game.
Federer, 36, skipped the clay-court season for the second successive year, but will return for the grass-court season which culminates at Wimbledon next month.
"You can't be frustrated if somebody has more money than you, if somebody has a bigger house than you, if somebody has more Grand Slams than you," said Nadal, who will be top seed at Wimbledon.
"I've never been crazy about this kind of stuff. You can't live with that feeling. You have to do your way.
"I'd love to have 20 like Roger in the future or more, but it is not something in my mind. I know I've had an amazing career so I want to keep fighting for these things."
'Tough times make this win special'
Nadal was emotional when he picked up his 11th French Open trophy
In a rare show of emotion, Nadal looked close to tears as he collected the Coupe des Mousquetaires again after beating Austrian Thiem.
He said it was because he had started the clay-court season with "some doubts" before going on to win a record-extending 11th title at Roland Garros.
Nadal did not play for more than two months after the Australian Open in January - where he withdrew from his quarter-final against Marin Cilic because of a hip injury.
He pulled out of planned appearances in Acapulco, Indian Wells and Miami before returning at the start of April for Spain's Davis Cup tie against Germany.
It was his only appearance before winning the Masters title in Monte Carlo in April, backing that up with victory at the Barcelona Open and another Masters title in Rome.
"I had a lot of months with injury problems, so coming back to win is very special," he said.
"I came back from five months without playing a full tournament.
"So coming back and having the chance to win in Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome, and now especially here, it's very emotional for me.
"I arrived so-so, with some doubts about this clay-court season."
Thiem optimistic of final return
Dominic Thiem was playing in his first Grand Slam final
Thiem says he is "confident" his first appearance in a Grand Slam final will not be his last.
The 24-year-old finally reached the Roland Garros showpiece after losing in the semi-finals in 2016 and 2017.
"That's my biggest goal, to get into the next one and then to do it better than today," he said.
"Of course it's going to be easier, a little bit, because it's not going to be the first time anymore."
Thiem is the only player to have beaten Nadal on clay in the past two years - winning in best-of-three set matches in Rome and Madrid.
However, he fell to a third successive straight-set defeat by the Spaniard at the French Open.
Thiem lost to Nadal in the second round on his Roland Garros debut in 2014, then again in last year's semi-finals.
"I think it was the first time against him here in Roland Garros where it was a fight," said Thiem, who told Nadal he remembered being 11 years old and watching the Spaniard win his first title in 2005.
"Honestly, I never expected that one day I would play the finals here so I am still really happy.
"Winning 11 times is definitely one of the best things somebody ever achieved in sport."
How social media reacted to Nadal's victory
Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar was among those to praise Rafael Nadal's victory on Twitter
American 12-time Grand Slam singles champion Billie Jean King: Incredible! Congratulations, Rafael Nadal #champion
German six-time Grand Slam winner Boris Becker: The legend continues... Rafael Nadal @rolandgarros #11
American seven-time French Open winner Chris Evert: Two warriors won at Roland Garros this year... fighters, grinders, with heart and passion...congratulations Simona Halep and Rafael Nadal
American former player Pam Shriver: Bingo legs eleven Rafael Nadal. Chasing RF!
Ex-Real Madrid and Portugal footballer Luis Figo: Congratulations!! Enhorabuena 11x winner Roland Garros. Amazing!!! One of the best sportsman of all times.
Spanish golfer and 2017 Masters champion Sergio Garcia: 11 @rolandgarros for Rafael Nadal!!! Amazing!! What a machine!! Enorme Rafa!!
