Filed under: Tennis, French Open
Rafael Nadal showed why he is the undisputed king of clay, battling past Roger Federer and moving level with Bjorn Borg's record of six French Open titles.The 25-year-old can sometimes appear invincible on his favourite surface and the 7-5 7-6 5-7 6-1 victory means he keeps hold on his place at the top of the world rankings. But he was made to fight all the way against Federer, who had the crowd on his side willing him on.
During his career Nadal has only lost once at Roland Garros and in this clash he eventually powered past Federer, who kept scrapping back and tried to find answers.
There were flashes of Federer's brilliance and plenty of resilience but he could not grab opportunities when half-chances arose and his hopes of a 17th Grand Slam singles title eventually slipped away.
Federer produced his best to see off Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals and he started where he left off when play got started at Court Philippe Chatrier.
Nadal was broken immediately and his Swiss opponent raced into a 5-2 lead before momentum switched. The No. 1 seed took five games in a row to seal the opening set.
When Federer had his serve broken at the start of the second set, it looked like Nadal would swiftly wrap up victory, but it was now the third seed's time to fight back.
But once Federer looked like seizing the initiative, Nadal broke back and found himself serving for the set.
A short rain interruption did not help Nadal, who had passed up set points and was then broken. It went to a tie-break, which Nadal took comfortably 7/2.
With a 10th Grand Slam title in his sights, Nadal kept digging himself out of trouble every time Federer thought he could see a way back into the match. But Federer refused to go away, and from 4-2 down he took the third set.
A big moment came when Nadal saved three break points at the start of the fourth, then powered through 6-1 for victory.
REACTION:
Nadal described his victory as a special moment in his career:
"To win this kind of title is always satisfying. But sometimes when you fight a lot to win, when you try your best in every moment to change the situation, it makes the title more special."
On his form through the tournament:
"I think I played better than ever, but I finished the tournament and I didn't feel that I won Roland Garros because I won in three sets every round."
On Federer's performance:
"He was a little bit unlucky in the first set, and after that he came back fantastically well in the second. In the third I had 4-2 but I think he played very, very well from that moment to the beginning of the fourth. When Roger plays like this, the opponent cannot do anything sometimes."
Federer was impressed with the way Nadal battled:
"I thought Rafa played well. I think he dug deep to come back in the first set and get himself into the match. And also the second set."
On the level of tennis in the final:
"It was tough all the way through. I thought we played at a very high level and I was pretty happy with the way I played today. I don't have huge complaints but obviously there were some missed opportunities, because you'll always have plenty against him on clay. So if you lose, you always look at those."
On his tournament:
"Overall I'm very happy about the tournament. Obviously you should be disappointed after losing in a grand slam final. I feel that a little bit today."
WHAT IT MEANS:
Nadal takes this victory into the grass-court season. He was not at his best throughout the entire tournament but peaked at the right time. Federer will also be pleased with his performances as he was not considered one of the favourites at the start.
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