Rafael Nadal's final shot at the French Open was a typically ferocious fallaway forehand, and when it landed for a winner, his momentum and emotions sent him splaying backward onto the clay he loves.
The champion quickly bounded to his feet and headed for the net at a trot. It was time to collect his latest Roland Garros trophy.
Nadal became the first man to win eight titles at the same Grand Slam tournament when he beat fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in Sunday's final, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3. The King of Clay broke the men's record for match wins at Roland Garros, where he improved to 59-1, with his lone defeat against Robin Soderling in the fourth round in 2009.
For fans enthralled by Nadal's semifinal victory over top-ranked Novak Djokovic, the final may have seemed anticlimactic. But not for the champion. Nadal's path to the Roland Garros title was more arduous than usual. He fell behind in each of his first three matches and needed a fifth-set comeback to beat Djokovic. And the latest title was especially sweet for the Mallorcan because of his comeback after a seven-month layoff due to knee trouble. Since returning in February, he's 43-2 with seven titles in nine tournaments, and he has won his past 22 matches.
With his 12th Grand Slam title, Nadal moved into a tie for third place with Roy Emerson behind Roger Federer's 17 and Pete Sampras' 14. Nadal came into the final with a 16-match winning streak on clay against Ferrer, who as a result was a big underdog playing in his first major final at age 31. Ferrer had a few chances to make Nadal uneasy but converted only three of 12 break points and double-faulted five times.
As a result, Nadal was in control throughout, although he did wear a quizzical expression when protesters tried to delay the match in the second set. One man jumped onto the court near Nadal with a fiery flare spurting white smoke, and security personnel pushed the protester to the ground and quickly dragged him away.
Other protesters also brandishing red flares climbed to the top of nearby Court Suzanne lenglen and unfurled a banner calling for the resignation of French President Francois Hollande. The interruptions were brief, and there was no stopping Nadal. He has lost a total of 16 sets in nine years at Roland Garros and was never in danger of doing so against Ferrer.
Trophy presenter Usain Bolt, the world's fastest man, watched from the front row wearing sunglasses, even though the day was gray with occasional drizzle. Both finalists grinded away from the baseline, with one rally lasting so long fans began to buzz, then started to shush each other.
Ferrer often wins points by extending them with his dogged defense. But Nadal matched his retrieving skills, and the torque on his groundstrokes eventually had Ferrer reeling. Nadal misfired more than usual in the early going, perhaps adjusting to slow conditions and feeling the effects of his 4½-hour win over Djokovic. He gave back an early service break and had to erase two other break points in the opening set.
It was the first set Ferrer had lost in the tournament, and at that point, he knew he faced a daunting task. Nadal is 146-3 when he wins the first set in Grand Slam tournaments. Nadal broke again early in the second set, and then came Ferrer's best chance to reverse the course of the match. At 3-1 he had four break points, but Nadal erased them all, the last with a backhand winner to end a 31-shot rally, longest of the match.
In the final set, Ferrer double-faulted to lose serve and fall behind 5-3, and Nadal needed only five more points to close out the victory. Nadal broke the record for most men's victories at Roland Garros he had shared with Federer and Guillermo Vilas, and he improved to 20-4 against Ferrer.
Bryanswin men's doubles title
Ten years ago Bob and Mike Bryan were still desperate to win a Grand Slam, living cheap in Paris and sleeping on the floor. Their lives changed for good when they won their first major title in 2003 at the French Open. On Saturday, the top-ranked American twins clinched their record 14th Grand Slam title by defeating Michael llodra and Nicolas Mahut of France 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (4) in the French Open men's doubles final.
"This is the first one we won back in the day and kind of launched our career," Mike said. "This is the toughest Slam to win, I think. Clay is an equalizer and makes a lot of teams better." The Bryans still remember from a decade ago when they could afford to stay in Paris in what was practically only a hole in a wall.
"It was just kind of a creepy roach motel," Bob said. Added Mike: "The beds were horrendous. We put everything on the floor." They didn't have much luck either when they went to a nearby restaurant for a meal. "I think we lost like 10 pounds each because the food was so bad," Bob said. "We were getting so skinny and losing power on our shots. We had nothing left."
Now the Bryans are married and sleep in comfortable rooms costing 700 euros a night. When they won the Australian Open this year, they broke a tie for most doubles majors with Australian greats John Newcombe and Tony Roche. "We're still feeling great," Mike said. "I think 35, I'd probably say right now we're at the peak of our career. Not slowing down yet."
In the tiebreaker, the Bryans rallied from 4-2 down to clinch the victory when Mahut sent a forehand wide. Bob fell to his knees before sharing a hug with Mike, while Mahut broke in tears on his chair.
Makarova, Vesnina win women's doubles
Fourth-seeded Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina of Russia won their first Grand Slam title together by defeating defending champions Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci of Italy 7-5, 6-2 in the women's doubles final.