French Open 2018 Men's Finals: Results, Stats for Nadal vs. Thiem

Top seed Rafael Nadal added to his considerable French Open legacy on Sunday, beating Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 in the 2018 Roland-Garros final to win the tournament for a record 11th time.

As shared by SI Tennis, the win moved him one step closer to Roger Federer's all-time Grand Slam record, which stands at 20:

The 32-year-old retained his title in dominant fashion, beating the man who many saw as his biggest threat going into the tournament. Thiem beat him on clay earlier this year in a two-set triumph in Madrid.

But he had almost no chance against the clay-court specialist on Sunday. The ATP shared the official match stats on its website, and they painted a one-sided picture. Nadal faced just three break points, compared to 17 for Thiem, and the Spaniard won over 80 per cent of his first-serve points.

The win shouldn't have come as a major surprise going off both men's records on clay entering the match:

Nadal grew up on the clay courts of Mallorca, creating a baseline-heavy style of play that doesn't rely on an overpowering serve. He didn't hit a single ace in the final―Thiem finished with seven―but he didn't have to, as he dominated in the rallies.

The enormous amounts of spin he was able to generate gave his opponent all kinds of trouble, especially early in the rallies.

Christopher Clarey of the New York Times shared this breakdown of the rallies, showing a significant difference between the mid-range and longer points:

The final score was a little unkind on Thiem, however, as the Austrian put up a better fight than those numbers might suggest. He wound up winning 43 per cent of all points, a respectable number against the French Open's top player.

The 24-year-old's biggest issue was his serve, and especially his second serve. He won just 35 per cent of points on his second serve and hit five double faults over the course of the final.

Thiem continues to improve on clay―the majority of his titles have come on the surface―and his strong showing in the return game is a reason for optimism with an eye on the future. Nadal won't be around forever, and Thiem could well become the strongest man on clay on the ATP Tour in the future.

But as long as Nadal continues to play at such a remarkable level, it will be nearly impossible to beat the Spaniard on his favourite surface―especially in Paris, where he has no equal.