Rafael Nadal has won his eighth French Open title with a 6-3 6-2 6-3 victory over fellow Spaniard David Ferrer at Roland Garros on Sunday.
It was Nadal who secured the first break of serve at 1-1, but Ferrer, who had not dropped a set in the build-up to the final, broke back immediately to leave the match level at 2-2 after a pulsating opening.
The former world number one continued to dominate from the baseline, however, with two more breaks in the latter stages of the set moving Nadal into a one-set lead.
Ferrer's form from earlier in the competition deserted him in the early stages of the second when he was broken before Nadal served his way into a 3-0 lead.
Rain threatened to stop the play in the early stages of the second set, but it did nothing to dampen the spirit of Nadal, who continued to meet every ball from his compatriot. Ferrer did manage to hold at 0-3, however, to move onto the board.
Nadal's frustration began to show in his next service game as rain continued to fall, but the Spaniard did manage to stave off four break points to move 4-1 ahead in the second. Another break of serve for Nadal followed, before Ferrer broke straight back, but another break allowed Nadal to move into a two-set advantage.
Ferrer's challenge dropped in the early stages of the third when Nadal held serve before breaking once more, but he could not move 3-0 ahead as another break of serve occurred between the two Spaniards.
Rain did interrupt play moments later, but it did not interrupt Ferrer's response as he held serve to move level at 3-3. The number four seed had a chance to break Nadal in his next service game, but the number three held to move two games away from the title.
The challenge just moved away from Ferrer in the final moments as Nadal broke at 3-4 before serving his way to record-breaking eighth French Open title.
Matt Law
