Monday, June 11, 2012

Rafael Nadal's Glorious Monday

(Photo: AFP/Getty Images)
At the tender age of 26, with dozens of tennis tournaments in his future, Rafael Nadal has won on Monday his seventh title at Roland Garros, surpassing the previous record of Bjorn Borg. He has now 11 Grand Slam titles, and can chase the only three men to have more majors - Roger Federer with 16, Pete Sampras, 14 and Roy Emerson on 12.

After the match, Rafa spoke with Spanish newspaper Marca and said that winning seven times at the French Open never crossed his mind, not even in his "wildest dreams". He also confessed he was "really nervous" and that it was a "very hard" match for him. It was certainly his toughest French final yet. Thus all the emotion that surrounded the match and Nadal's glory moment. "The emotion was huge. Losing three Grand Slam finals in a row to Djokovic affected me, so to be able to win this one was really emotional".

The Spanish star has rewritten history books, stealing for good the title of King of Clay that belonged to Borg. BBC’s chief sports writer Tom Fordyce said Today that "Borg, his predecessor as the king of clay, was a fitting icon of his era - long hair, tiny shorts, a laconic rock star pin-up for playboy times. Nadal is equally symbolic of our own age: a player at hyperspeed in a non-stop world, physique carved by obsession, a dominance built on power and ruthless application of superior strength." We couldn't find a better description!

We leave you with images that are worth a thousand words. Nadal's Glorious Monday!

Before the final, Nadal had six victories (AP Photo)
Nadal crying after the match point (AP Photo)
(AP Photo)
Nadal's coach and uncle, Toni Nadal couldn't hold the tears (Image: FFT/R.Garros)
Two remarkable champions (Image: FFT/R.Garros)
Uncle and nephew share an emotional hug (Image: FFT/Roland Garros)
Mother Ana Maria Parera and sister Isabel Nadal kiss the champion (AFP Photo)
A kiss from girlfriend Xisca (AFP Photo)
(Image: FFT/Roland Garros)
(AP Photo)

Roland Garros staff with Rafa (AP Photo)
Rafa with the Ball Boys and Girls (AP Photo)
(Image: FFT/Roland Garros)
With John McEnroe (AP Photo)
That tip of the trophy has the marks of Nadal's teeth :) (Image: FFT/R.Garros)
His7ory! (AP Photo)

(FFT/Roland Garros pictures taken by photographers Sindy Thomas, Corinne Dubreuil and Christophe Saidi)

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