Reliving Rafael Nadal’s 5 greatest wins in French Open finals

Nadal's first French Open title

In the 2005 final, Nadal was playing his maiden Roland Garros and reached the finale. The then 19-year-old was up against unseeded Mariano Puerta. Nadal won the contest, 6-7, 6-3, 6-1, 7-5, after losing the opening set to clinch his maiden French Open title. 

(Photograph:AFP)

Nadal gets the better of Federer in 2008

In the 2008 final, Nadal got the better of Roger Federer at the Roland Garros. Federer was the reigning Wimbledon and US Open champion at the time, however, the Swiss maestro lost the previous two French Open finals to Nadal, in 2006 and 2007. While many believed Federer would finally use his experience and rectify his past mistakes versus the Spaniard, it wasn't meant to be. This was the most impressive defence by the Spanish player as he beat Federer 6-1, 6-3, 6-0.

(Photograph:AFP)

Nadal's dominant win in 2009 final

After missing out on winning the 2009 edition, being eliminated by Robin Soderling in the fourth-round, Nadal entered the summit clash in 2010 without dropping a set. He beat fifth-seed Soderling in straight sets to win his fifth Roland-Garros title during the 2010 final, winning 6-4, 6-2, 6-4. This also became the second instance of Nadal winning the Roland Garros without dropping a set. As a result, he began his second reign as world No.1.

(Photograph:AFP)

Nadal vs Djokovic in 2012

It was an eventful final in 2012. Back then, Nadal was gunning to become the first man to win seven Roland Garros titles, and also surpass Bjorn Borg and equal all-time record holder Chris Evert. In the finale, he was up against fierce rival Novak Djokovic, who was also running high on confidence after beating Federer in the semifinals. Moreover, Djokovic had won the last three consecutive Grand Slam titles and, hence, he was not going to be an easy opponent for Nadal.

Nadal claimed the first two sets but Djokovic made an impressive return to win the third set. During this time, rain made its presence felt and pushed the finale to another day. It enabled Nadal to regroup and the Spaniard eventually won to win a record seventh Roland Garros title.

(Photograph:AFP)

Big win over Stan Wawrinka in 2017

Ahead of the 2017 French Open final, Nadal was in an unusual space. He had not won a Grand Slam in the past three years. He faced Stan Wawrinka, who had beaten him in the 2015 final at the clay-court tournament. However, the script changed drastically this time around as Nadal was in dominant form and rode past Wawrinka, the Swiss player, to win 6-2 6-3 6-1 (becoming his tenth title at the Roland Garros). 

(Photograph:AFP)