French Open 2018: Rafael Nadal vs Dominic Thiem final telecast, live streaming, date, start time and where to watch online

2018 French Open - Day Thirteen — Rafael Nadal aims for an unprecedented 11th title at Roland Garros

(1) Rafael Nadal (WR #1) vs (7) Dominic Thiem (WR #8)

Overall head-to-head: Nadal leads 6-3

Head-to-head on clay: Nadal leads 6-3

Last meeting: Thiem def Nadal 7-5, 6-3 at the 2018 Madrid Masters quarter-finals

The 2018 French Open couldn't have a better final. The two current best claycourters meet in what has been billed as the clash between the 'King of Clay' and the 'Prince of Clay'.

Of course, it is not difficult to guess who is the king and who is the prince in this eagerly awaited face-off. By winning an unprecedented 11th title on Court Philippe-Chatrier, Nadal could create yet more history than he has already done. He has already achieved a double 'Undecima' with triumphs at Monte Carlo and Barcelona and is going for a third at Roland Garros, showing shades of his triple Decima last season.

But there is one more similarity between the two seasons. Just like 2017, even this year Dominic Thiem turned out to be the only man who prevented from what was going to be an unblemished clay sweep for Nadal.

The young Austrian had stopped him in the tracks at Rome last year and he repeated that feat at Madrid this season. He certainly can get a lot going for him if he can find his loopy aggressive forehands, especially the inside-out ones. By maintaining the depth on those shots, he kept Rafa on the run and pulled off those wins.

Having said that, one must point out the two losses suffered by Thiem, sandwiched between those two big victories.

Thiem collapsed in straight sets at both the 2017 French Open semi-finals and the 2018 Monte Carlo quarter-finals. The pretty one sided 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 win in Paris for Nadal in a highly hyped up clash between the two, indicates for the umpteenth time that the southpaw is simply a beast in five sets.

The 16-time Grand Slam champion has never lost a final at the claycourt Major and has never been stretched to the distance in any final at this particular Slam. If anything, it only highlights how much poised and determined Rafa remains in a best-of-five match on clay.

As for the Austrian, this is the first time in his career that he has reached a Slam final. There could be nerves at play and that won't be good news for him against somebody as formidable as Nadal.

Besides, fatigue might also rear its ugly head. This is the fifth consecutive week that Thiem is in action, and that could take a toll on his body if the going gets tough.

Putting Nadal under pressure is not an entirely impossible task for the 24-year-old, though. He does possess the ability to snatch a set from the World No. 1. However, doing that thrice over the course of the match seems implausible, given Nadal's history on this court, his uncompromising attitude and his ability to lift his game at the crunch moments.