Tennis

Nadal says winning 12th French Open 'very special' after injury

June 10, 2019 11:00 am

Rafael Nadal won his record-extending 12th French Open title with a four-set win over Dominic Thiem [Source: BBC]

Rafael Nadal says winning his 12th French Open is extra special after a turbulent year where he considered taking an extended break because of injury problems.

The 33-year-old played just three events this year prior to the clay-court season.

But it ended with a 6-3 5-7 6-1 6-1 win over Austrian fourth seed Dominic Thiem in this morning’s final at Roland Garros.

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World number two Nadal has been hampered by injury problems over the past two seasons, pulling out of 10 tournaments last year because of a combination of hip, knee, stomach and ankle problems.

After retiring from his US Open semi-final against Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro in September with a knee problem, Nadal did not play for the rest of the year.