The clay court behemoth Rafael Nadal clinched his record seventh title at Roland Garros on Monday by outplaying Novak Djokovic of Serbia by 6-4 6-3 2-6 7-5.
The French Open 2012 Final, which was suspended on Sunday after wet weather conditions, put a full-stop on the tennis action at Roland Garros.
When the match was stopped on Sunday, Rafael Nadal, who is the King of Clay, was leading the French Open 2012 Final against Novak Djokovic by two sets to one with the Serb leading by 2-1 in the fourth set.
The match seemed to be slipping away from the clutches of the Spaniard as Novak Djokovic, who was looking to become the first man in 43 years to win four straight grand slam titles, had regained his rhythm and form after taking measure of his opponent.
However, Rafael Nadal rediscovered his magical touch at his home court, Roland Garros, on Monday as he raced to victory in no time as a double fault by Novak Djokovic brought about his downfall with Nadal winning the fourth set 7-5 to achieve the unprecedented feat in the history of French Open.
Rafael Nadal broke Novak Djokovic’s serve early on Monday to equalize the fourth set at 2-2. However, rain started pouring down again but the two top tennis players in the world kept playing.
With Rafael Nadal leading at 5-4, the rain became so thick that it looked like the game headed for yet another break. The two participants did wait for a few minutes alongside the court under umbrellas before Nadal led the two back into the court.
The match restarted with both champion players holding on their serve before Rafael Nadal received a valuable gift by Novak Djokovic with the Serb committing the double fault which put an end to his resilience in the French Open 2012 Final.
With his victory in the French Open 2012, Rafael Nadal broke Bjorn Borg’s record of winning six titles at Roland Garros and also took his revenge of losing to Novak Djokovic in three Grand Slam Finals for the last year or so.
The French Open 2012 title has taken Rafael Nadal among the ranks of legendary Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg as the three have won 11 Grand Slam titles.
Rafael Nadal is now fourth in the list of players with maximum Grand Slam titles. The list is led by Roger Federer of Switzerland who has won 16 grand slam titles, followed by Pete Sampras of United States with 14 titles and Roy Emerson with 12 titles.
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Rafael Nadal‘s Grand Slams
| Outcome | Year | Championshimp | Surface | Opponent in final | Score in final |
| Winner | 2005 | Roland Garros | Clay | Mariano Puerta | 6–7(6), 6–3, 6–1, 7–5 |
| Winner | 2006 | Roland Garros | Clay | Roger Federer | 1–6, 6–1, 6–4, 7–6(4) |
| Runner-up | 2006 | Wimbledon | Grass | Roger Federer | 0–6, 6–7(5), 7–6(2), 3–6 |
| Winner | 2007 | Roland Garros | Clay | Roger Federer | 6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
| Runner-up | 2007 | Wimbledon | Grass | Roger Federer | 6–7(7), 6–4, 6–7(3), 6–2, 2–6 |
| Winner | 2008 | Roland Garros | Clay | Roger Federer | 6–1, 6–3, 6–0 |
| Winner | 2008 | Wimbledon | Grass | Roger Federer | 7-6( 7 ), 4-6, 7-6( 3 ), 2-6, 6-2 |
| Winner | 2009 | Australian Open | Hard | Roger Federer | 7–5, 3–6, 7–6(3), 3–6, 6–2 |
| Winner | 2010 | Roland Garros | Clay | Robin Soderling | 6–4, 6–2, 6–4 |
| Winner | 2010 | Wimbledon | Grass | Tomas Berdych | 6–3, 7–5, 6–4 |
| Winner | 2010 | US Open | Hard | Novak Djokovic | 6–4, 5–7, 6–4, 6–2 |
| Winner | 2011 | Roland Garros | Clay | Roger Federer | 7–5, 7–6(7–3), 5–7, 6–1 |
| Runner-up | 2011 | Wimbledon | Grass | Novak Djokovic | 4–6, 1–6, 6–1, 3–6 |
| Runner-up | 2011 | US Open | Hard | Novak Djokovic | 2–6, 4–6, 7–6(3), 1–6 |
| Runner-up | 2012 | Australian Open | Hard | Novak Djokovic | 7–5, 4–6, 2–6, 7–6(5), 5–7 |
| Winner | 2012 | Roland Garros | Clay | Novak Djokovic | 6–4, 6–3, 2–6, 7–5 |