Rafael Nadal: French Open win more important than reclaiming No 1 spot

French Open champion Rafael Nadal has returned to No 1 in the ATP rankings 11 months after relinquising it to Roger Federer, but the Spaniard insists winning his seventh grand slam means more to him.

Rafael Nadal's fifth title at the French Open — a year after he was upset in the fourth round — gave him enough rankings points to move up from second place.

He was ranked No 1 for 46 weeks previously, but was overtaken by Roger Federer in July 2009.

"Believe me, I am very happy" about getting back to the top, Nadal said after beating Robin Soderling 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 in Sunday's French Open final. But the 24-year-old Spaniard also made perfectly clear that he was more excited about winning his seventh Grand Slam title than his new ranking.

"When I was crying after the match," he said, "the last thing I was thinking (about was) No1."

Toni Nadal, Rafael's uncle and coach, agreed.

"Being No 1 is nice after the tournament," Toni Nadal said, "but the most important thing is the trophy."

Nadal's promotion to the top spot brings and end to Federer's campaign of tying Pete Sampras' career record of 286 weeks at No 1 - the Swiss player was just one week off the achievement.

Federer won last year's French Open, but he lost to Soderling in the quarterfinals last week.

Soderling's second consecutive runner-up finish at Roland Garros — he also was the player who stunned Nadal in 2009 — allowed him to rise one place to a career-high No 6.

"This was very, very important for the rest of the season, to build a little bit of confidence and to be able to play better and better for every match." said Soderling's coach, Magnus Norman.

"Because he was tense going in. The last couple of weeks before the French, he was talking a lot about how many (rankings) points he has to defend."

Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Nikolay Davydenko complete the top five.

The French Open also saw Andy Roddick climb one spot to seventh and reigning US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro slide two notches to eighth. He missed the French Open due to injury.

Men's rankings as of Monday June 7:

• 1. Rafael Nadal (ESP) 8700 pts (+1)
• 2. Roger Federer (SUI) 8390 (-1)
• 3. Novak Djokovic (SRB) 6675
• 4. Andy Murray (GBR) 5385
• 5. Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) 4785
• 6. Robin Soderling (SWE) 4755 (+1)
• 7. Andy Roddick (USA) 4510 (+1)
• 8. Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) 4395 (-2)
• 9. Fernando Verdasco (ESP) 3645
• 10. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) 3185
• 11. David Ferrer (ESP) 3010
• 12. Marin Cilic (CRO) 2945
• 13. Tomas Berdych (CZE) 2825 (+4)
• 14. Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) 2690
• 15. Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) 2215 (+1)
• 16. J|rgen Melzer (AUT) 2125 (+11)
• 17. Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) 2095 (+1)
• 18. Nicolas Almagro (ESP) 1960 (+3)
• 19. John Isner (USA) 1925
• 20. Gael Monfils (FRA) 1905 (-5)

French Open: King of Clay Rafael Nadal claims fifth Roland Garros title

RAFAEL NADAL saw off Sweden's Robin Soderling yesterday to land his fifth French Open title and reclaim his crown as the King of Clay.
The Spanish star saved his best performance of the tournament for the final with the emphatic 6-4 6-2 6-4 victory earning Nadal sweet revenge on the only man who has ever beaten him on the clay courts at Roland Garros.
And as Soderling's final shot landed in the net, Nadal slid on to his back on the red clay and screamed with delight.
Nadal is now just the second man to win the French Open five times and next year he'll have a chance to match Bjorn Borg's record of six titles.
He has now won 38 matches at Roland Garros and only lost one with his sole defeat coming against Soderling in the fourth round a year ago.
His latest Grand Slam victory sees Nadal reclaim the world No.1 spot from Roger Federer and represents a remarkable turnaround for the player who endured a horror 2009.
Not only did the 24-year-old lose his clay court crown in Paris last year but he had to deal with the separation of his parents and a serious knee injury that contributed to a prolonged slump.
Nadal, who began to cry when he returned to his seat at the end of the match, said: "It's the most emotional day in my career.
"It was a difficult year for me last year. It was difficult to accept the injuries and everything. It was a really emotional moment for me. After you win this big title you lose your tension."
The second seed had not lost a set all tournament and he blew the on-form Sorderling away with some blistering tennis.
Nad a l w o n s e v en consecutive games at one point, held every serve and saved al l eight break points he faced. The Spaniard showed his knee problem is well behind him as he raced around the court. He skidded across the clay and lunged to dig shots out of the corners, repeatedly extending point s unt i l Soderling finally misfired.
The 25-year-old Swede - who upset top seed Roger Federer in the quarter-finals, tried to win points quickly and sometimes did, but most of the long rallies went Nadal's way.
Before the first set ended, the fifth seed was panting between points. To compound his woes, he had an off day with his serve, his biggest weapon.
He managed only seven aces, the same number as Nadal. During the other six rounds on his route to the final, Soderling had 75 aces and Nadal 12.
The world No.7 said: "I didn't play as well as I did against him last year and didn't serve as well. I wasn't hitting the ball as clean. It was tough."
Soderling has yet to win a major title and it was the second year in a row he had finished runner-up in Paris after losing the 2009 final to Federer.
But he said: "I love this tournament. I will come back next year and hope it will be third time lucky."
Nadal's victory saw him improve his record to 22-0 this year on clay. It was also the second time he had won all 21 sets on his way to the title. Only two other men in the Open era have won the title without losing a set - Borg and Ilie Nastase.
Nada l , who now switches to grass where he'l l seek a second Wimbledon title after missing last year's event due to injury, said: "I'd been nervous during the tournament but today I was calm. It was a very special day."