PARIS — Rafael Nadal admits that his desire to clinch an 11^th French Open title on Sunday is fired by his growing realization that the end of his career may not be too far away.
The 32-year-old Spaniard, with 16 majors to his name, will play his 24^th Grand Slam final at Roland Garros against Dominic Thiem who is in his first.
Victory on Sunday will give Nadal an 11^th title in Paris and equal Margaret Court’s all-time record for wins at the same Slam event — in her case, the Australian Open from 1960 and 1973
Nadal still trails great rival Roger Federer by four major titles although the Swiss star is more than four years older.
“For me, the motivation to play here always is high, high as possible,” said Nadal after breezing past Juan Martin del Potro 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 in Friday’s semifinals in what was his 85^th win in Paris against just two defeats.
“But for me, I believe that there are limited chances in your career.
“I have lost a lot of opportunities through injuries, and I know the years are going quick. So there is not 10 more chances to keep playing here.”
The statistics illustrate Nadal’s concerns — he has missed at least eight Slam tournaments in his career through a legacy of wrist and knee problems.
Such is his motivation to win his 17^th Grand Slam on Sunday, that the task facing Austrian 24-year-old Thiem was described as “almost impossible” by Del Potro.
“It is almost impossible to beat Rafa,” said Del Potro who had his chances in the semifinal but failed to convert any of his seven break points before his challenge petered out into weary hopelessness.
Nadal raced away with 14 of the last 17 games.
“He’s too strong. He’s improving his backhand a lot. That’s why he’s the No. 1 and beating all the guys.
‘HE IS FRESH, HEALTHY. EVERYTHING IS PERFECT’
“He looks fresh. He is healthy. And the strength that he has and the mentality, everything is perfect, works perfect for him playing on clay.”
There have, however, appeared to be one or two chinks in Nadal’s armor at Roland Garros this year.
On Friday, Del Potro was by far the better player in the first set while, in the quarterfinals, Diego Schwartzman won the first set.
It was the first time in three years that Nadal had dropped a set in Paris.
“You can win a set, but not a match against Rafa,” said Del Potro keen not to over-egg any hint of weakness in Nadal’s game.
At least Thiem has in the past found the key to unravelling the Nadal clay court enigma.
He is the only man to beat the world number one on clay in the last two years — in Madrid this spring and in Rome last year.
In Madrid, Thiem thrived in the quicker, higher altitude conditions to win their quarterfinal in straight sets.
But that was only after Nadal had allowed him just two games in a last-eight mauling in Monte Carlo.
In Madrid, Thiem said the key was to be positive against Nadal.
“If I want to beat him, I have to play that way like I did in Rome and in Madrid. But I’m also aware that here it’s tougher,” said Thiem, the first Austrian in a major final since Thomas Muster won in Paris in 1995.
“He likes the conditions more here than in Madrid, for sure. Best of five is also a different story.
“But I have a plan.”
Nadal and Thiem have met nine times — all of them on clay.
Thiem also defeated his rival in Buenos Aires in 2016, joining Novak Djokovic and Gaston Gaudio as the only men to have beaten Nadal three times on clay.
However, Nadal has won both their clashes at Roland Garros — in 2014 and in last year’s semifinals by a comfortable 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 margin.
“I’m facing Rafa so I’m not the one who has the pressure,” said Thiem.
Robin Soderling, who famously inflicted Nadal’s first defeat at the French Open in 2009, insists Thiem has to take the initiative from the start.
“To beat him in five sets on clay is difficult. It has to be a player that plays extremely well,” said the Swede.
“To beat him on clay, I would say the only chance for any player now is to be really aggressive.” — AFP

LONDON — Karpatalja won the alternative CONIFA World Football Cup 2018 on Saturday in a remarkable triumph for a side drafted in as a last-minute replacement shortly before the tournament kicked off.
The team, representing ethnic Hungarians living in modern-day Ukraine, beat Northern Cyprus 3-2 on penalties after a goalless draw to win the biennial competition for football’s unrecognized nations and other outsiders.
The 16-team tournament was staged at non-league grounds around London and the final at Donkey Lane drew thousands of spectators, including flare-firing hardcore Hungarian football fans.
The 10-day competition has proved a colorful, more grassroots counterpart to the FIFA World Cup, which starts in Russia next week.
Karpatalja were a late replacement for another side representing Hungarians living beyond the country’s modern-day borders.
Felvidek, now part of Slovakia, pulled out just a few weeks before the tournament began.
“We were planning a holiday for everybody and they called us to say we could come here,” midfielder Alex Svedjuk, who scored Karpatalja’s third penalty, told AFP.
“It was like a holiday present and that we have won is so excellent.
“We didn’t expect this but we are very happy.”
Carpathian Ruthenia, in the far west of Ukraine, was mostly in Hungary before World War I. It is home to around 150,000 ethnic Hungarians.
“I hope it puts Karpatalja on the map. Now people will know where Karpatalja is,” said Svedjuk.
TIBET TO TUVALU
CONIFA, the Confederation of Independent Football Associations, is the nonprofit, volunteer-run federation for teams outside FIFA, the sport’s world governing body.
With a wider interpretation of international identity, its 47 members include sovereign states, nations, minorities, isolated dependencies and cultural regions.
Among the teams taking part in London 2018 were reigning champions Abkhazia, wildcards Tibet, Sri Lanka’s Tamil Eelam, Somali exiles Barawa, Pacific sovereign state Tuvalu and the crowd-funded Matabeleland of Zimbabwe.
Northern Italy side Padania came third, beating Szekely Land, representing Hungarians in Romania, 5-4 on penalties after another goalless draw in the earlier bronze medal match.
Turkish Cypriots streamed to Donkey Lane from their nearby heartland in north London, while a double-header of games featuring Hungarian sides drew crowds of impassioned Magyar expats, who celebrated on the pitch with the winners.
The match was refereed by former English Premier League official Mark Clattenburg, who oversaw the 2016 Champions League and European Championships finals.
But I think early successes built up the team for the final. It was great teamwork. “It’s a very great thing for Karpatalja because we are really small. — AFP

CLEVELAND — Kevin Durant says he will stay, Stephen Curry is enjoying the success and the Golden State Warriors appear set for a solid run next year at their fourth NBA crown in five seasons.
The Warriors completed an NBA Finals sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday, their 108-85 rout delivering a 4-0 blanking in the best-of-seven championship series for back-to-back titles and a third crown in four years.
Durant won his second title and second NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award, the power forward scoring a career playoff high 43 points in game three.
“I’ve just got to keep getting better,” Durant said. “I think I’ve got a lot more to go. So I’m just trying to prove to myself that I could just stay in it for the long haul, and hopefully I continue to have some success.”
Durant signed as a free agent with the Warriors in 2016 for less money than he could have made elsewhere to help the Warriors afford to bring him aboard and still be able to keep versatile forward Draymond Green and key guard Klay Thompson alongside 3-point sharpshooter Curry.
Now Durant says he only needs to hammer out final details on a rich deal to remain with the Warriors, which would keep them as the team to beat next season.
Durant is already curious about how young teammates progress next season.
“I want to see Jordan Bell come back a better player. I want to see Quinn Cook come back a better player. I’m excited to see how they come back next year,” Durant said. “I know the veterans are going to come back and do exactly what they need to do.
“Looking forward just to different tricks that we use throughout the season next year. I can’t wait.”
There is some history motivation for next season. Only the 1960s Boston Celtics dynasty reached five NBA finals in a row. And the only teams to win four crowns in five years were that Boston squad and the 1950s Minneapolis Lakers in the NBA’s infancy.
“I haven’t really thought about it,” Curry said of how long the Warriors might reign. “Any question that kind of talks about the future and whatnot, you don’t want to cheat the moment.
“We’ll have plenty of time over the summer to talk about what next year’s going to look like and what it’s going to take for us to get back to this stage next year.
“I really just am happy to be a champ again. If I get another opportunity next year to come back into the finals, I’m going to have the same attitude about winning a championship and whatever happens, happens.”
‘NEXT YEAR EVEN TOUGHER’
Durant staying sets up another off-season of “superteam” building by rivals when dealmaking begins in July, as Houston and Boston assembled top talent last year and each was one win from the finals.
Cleveland star LeBron James could join NBA scoring champion James Harden and Chris Paul in Houston or unite with young talent in Philadelphia to better challenge the Warriors. And the Magic Johnson-guided Los Angeles Lakers are also expected to make free agent moves.
“Next year, we’ll think about that later,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “It really is such a long haul to win an NBA championship. It’s a nine-month grind… going through this four years in a row, it’s a major grind.
“This year was the toughest. Next year will be even tougher.” — AFP