Austrian Dominic Thiem’s rise to the top continued when he ended unheralded Italian Marco Cecchinato’s run to reach the final of the French Open with a 7-5 7-6(10) 6-1 win.
The seventh seed is the first Austrian man to reach a Grand Slam final since Thomas Muster triumphed at Roland Garros in 1995.
Cecchinato, the world number 72, played fearlessly but he came up short against the only player to beat Nadal on his favourite surface this season.
Next up for the Austrian is familiar foe Rafa Nadal who steamrolled Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro 6-4 6-1 6-2. Del Potro playing in his first French Open semi final initially surprised the 10-time champ with his powerful ground strokes. However, Rafa quickly adjusted his game and frustrated the big man with well placed dropped shots and flat shots to his opponent's back hand.
After claiming the 1st set with a break of the final service game, Rafa switched gears and won five games in a row in the 2nd. The wheels came off for Del Potro as he barely put up a fight in the final set, meekly surrendering at 6-2.
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