To think that at one point in the build-up his teenage compatriot Carlos Alcaraz was the bookies' favourite, partly a result of Nadal's downbeat assessment of his left foot. Probably the best match of the entire fortnight came in the round before when he beat Felix Auger-Aliassime. He had done the hard work in reaching the final, in particular by defeating Djokovic in the quarter-final. This year he utterly dominated the event in the sense that the few memorable contests in a generally underwhelming tournament usually involved its central character.
The playing record of Nadal is 112-3 at Roland Garros, a venue where he already has a statue. His hair may be thinning but nothing is fading about the way he can manipulate the ball around a clay court. Incredibly Nadal is halfway to completing a calendar Grand Slam, despite the bone condition which forced him to miss the second half of last season and travel to Australia having barely played. His domination of this event remains a phenomenon in modern sport and is the biggest contributor to him leading Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer with 22 Grand Slam titles to 20.
Sunday made him the oldest male champion in French Open history, its longest-serving monarch. So there remains the prospect of Nadal returning to Roland Garros, where he has been so successful you half expect him to one day celebrate a Platinum Jubilee here.
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