Nadal wins 5th French Open

Hours ago, with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 win over Robin Soderling, Rafael Nadal won his fifth French Open singles title. The finals matchup was a rematch of the epic encounter in the fourth round of the French Open last year, where Soderling defeated Nadal and shocked the tennis world. However, today was a much different story. Soderling's forehand and serve that he relied on to beat Nadal failed him today. His serve was landing in at a high percentage, however he lacked the firepower with it that he usually possesses. His forehand was also very erratic, allowing Nadal to take full advantage and move on the offensive. Nadal used his trademark heavy topspin strokes to perfection in forcing errors and difficult returns. The first set was close, but once Nadal gained the lead, he never looked back in his quest to regain the French Open crown. After saving four break points when down 0-1 in the second set, Nadal was in full command the rest of the match. With the title, Nadal has won his seventh Grand Slam singles title, tying him with John McEnroe and Mats Wilander. Nadal has also won five out of the last six French Opens, and trails only Bjorn Borg in French Open titles. Nadal is also an unfathomable 38-1 when playing on the red clay of Roland Garros. It is very difficult to think of a player that has been as dominant on a surface as Rafael Nadal has been on clay. Nadal was 22-0 on clay this season as he once again asserts himself as the best clay-court player in the world. Nadal will also recapture the number one world ranking with his win at Roland Garros. This is the second time that Rafael Nadal will hold the number one ranking. He previously was on top of the tennis world after winning the French Open and Wimbledon in 2008. Now that he has the French Open title once again, one wonders if he can win Wimbledon again. Regardless of whether he can win at the All England Club in a few weeks, Rafael Nadal still has many more trophies to collect. Sources Used: tennis.com, espn.com