Rafael Nadal's rise to his 12th Roland Garros crown has major historical significance, says Uncle Toni Nadal.
Toni Nadal said his nephew's 18th Grand Slam title, which came a day after Dominic Thiem snapped Novak Djokovic's 26-match major winning streak, was vital to widen his nephew's lead over 15-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic in the all-time race behind 20-time Grand Slam king Roger Federer.
Watch: Nadal Tops Thiem, Rolls to 12th RG Title
For that reason, Thiem's two-day semifinal win over the top-seeded Serbian was celebrated by Nadal's camp, Toni Nadal wrote in his column for El Pais.
"Let's not fool ourselves," Toni Nadal wrote in his column for El Pais. "The elimination of Novak Djokovic in this last edition of Roland Garros by Dominic Thiem in the semifinals gave us a small happiness. And it's not because the Austrian's tennis is less scary than the Serbian's, but because a defeat with Novak would have been more painful for Rafael.
"The reasons, I think they are obvious. Novak is on the heels of my nephew, therefore, the fact that he approaches him, or that he moves away from the other, it is evident that it is very important for both."
The fourth-seeded Thiem, along with Djokovic are the only active players with four clay-court wins over Nadal.
Toni Nadal said a major key to victory came off court: When Rafa Nadal took a bathroom break to reset mentally after dropping the second set to Thiem in Sunday's final.
"The second key moment of the match, in my opinion, was when after losing the second set, Rafael asked permission to go to the bathroom," Toni Nadal said. "According to what he told me after the match, he took advantage of this little moment to reflect, to think with some calmness, what was going wrong.
"When he returned to open the third set, he had come up with a clear idea of exchanging powerful punches and playing (with) more height, which could, to some extent, cancel the power of his opponent and could enter the court to make winning shots. From this moment, his game regained the order he had lost in the second set and could channel it towards the courses that suited him."