World No.1 tennis player Rafael Nadal won his record ninth men's singles title at the French Open by beating second-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic in four sets at Court Philippe Chatrier here Sunday.
The top-seeded Spaniard clinched the final 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 in three hours and 31 minutes to become the first man in history to win five consecutive Roland Garros crowns.
The 28-year-old also drew level with American legend Pete Sampras at No.2 in the Grand Slam title-leaders' list with 14 crowns, three behind Swiss star Roger Federer with 17.
With the win, Nadal extended his win-loss record to 23-19 against the Serb but this is the Spaniard's first victory over Djokovic in five meetings. Nadal also guaranteed the World No.1 ranking as he will start his 139th week at the top spot Monday.
The Spaniard received a 1,650,000-euro prize cheque after he became the first man in tennis history to win nine titles at a single major championship.
Djokovic had been attempting to complete a career Grand Slam with his first French Open crown. He also finished runners-up to Nadal in the 2012 title match.
With the win, the 'King of Clay' also extended his win-loss record to 66-1 on the famous clay courts of Paris where he is on a 35-match unbeaten streak. His only loss came against Swede Robin Soderling in the 2009 fourth round.
