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."
