Nadal, Federer fight ‘the watch,’ keep winning slams

PARIS (AP) — Rafael Nadal was trying to make the point that time stops for no man.

“You can’t fight against the age,” he said, “and you can’t fight against the watch. The watch keeps going, always.”

No arguing against that sentiment.

Still, it is rather remarkable how Nadal, a French Open champion yet again a week past his 32nd birthday, and Federer, who turns 37 in less than two months, seem to stay forever young. Nadal’s 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Dominic Thiem, who’s 24, in Sunday’s final gave the Spaniard an 11th title — yes, 11th — at Roland Garros and 17th Grand Slam trophy overall.