adminsame Grand Slam tournament eight times.
His knees letting him down for the first time, the excitement of the moment understandably turning them to jelly, the Spaniard crashed to his back for the customary celebration.
Then, his clay stained shirt hidden by tracksuit top, he lifted the Coupe Des Mousquetaires and took the familiar bite from the handle.
Familiar scenes, remarkably the eighth time we’ve seen all this at Roland Garros, and eight titles in one place having just turned 27 is incredible.
Defeat by Robin Soderling in 2009 remains the single blemish and bookies have sliced the odds to 8/1 on him remaining undefeated for the rest of his French Open career.
This was all the more remarkable considering it was his first Grand Slam tournament since Wimbledon last summer.
After dramatically losing to Lukas Rosol, on that famous night on Centre Court, Rafa took seven months out to get straight physically, missing the US Open and the Australian Open.
So when he returned at the relatively low-key Vina Del Mar, Chile, in February, and especially when he moved to the hard courts at Indian Wells in March, there was plenty of apprehension.
How would the dodgy knee react to the California concrete? What about the busy sequence of back-to-back clay court tournaments in the spring? And what about at the next Grand Slam when tested by the world number one, over four and a half hours, a break down in the final set?
Nadal says he felt a lot of pain in the knee in that first tournament in February and in Barcelona, in April, said he felt very negative. But things were better here. “The knee is resisting tough matches,” he confirmed.
An ongoing recovery process is clearly being taken day by day, week by week. He just happens to be winning tennis matches at a startling rate in the process.
Nadal won’t entertain any substantial forward planning. He intends to prepare for Wimbledon and get in the best possible shape for the grass but it will be tricky — he’s pulled out of the Halle tournament in Germany – and knows it will be only a second outing away from the clay in 12 months. — BBC Sport.
Online Reporter