Nadal wins 6th French Open Title.......

Rafael Nadal defeated Roger Federer 7-5, 7-6 (7-3), 5-7, 6-1 to win the men’s singles French Open title at Paris on Sunday.

Nadal came back from behind after being 2-5 down in the first set against torrid opposition early on. The resilience from Federer was also on ample display in the third set where the Swiss looked like staging a massive comeback. It was not meant to be however as Nadal again showed why he is called the ‘King of clay.’

Nadal, who has now won 10 Grand Slam titles in total, also ensured he will remain at the top of the rankings ahead of Novak Djokovic.

In a thrilling encounter, the Majorcan withstood a Federer fightback after failing to capitalise when two sets and break in front.

Federer, 29, had begun in the same flowing form that ended Djokovic’s 43-match unbeaten run in the semi-finals, pressuring the five-time champion with his forehand and breaking at the first opportunity.

Nadal appeared nervous and the first set was heading to Federer when the Swiss dominated on set point at 5-3, running around his forehand and creating space for a drop shot, only to see it land a fraction wide.

A cross-court backhand got Nadal out of trouble and began a stunning turnaround as the Spaniard suddenly found the depth and vicious spin off his groundstrokes that have helped him dominate at Roland Garros.

Federer could only find the net with a volley when Nadal fired a forehand down the line on break -back point in game nine, and two equally blistering forehands and a magical lob volley helped the champion moved ahead at 6-5.

When Nadal whipped a forehand across Federer to take the set it must have been a shattering blow for the former world number one, and he played a poor game at the start of the second to fall further behind, Nadal breaking with a mid-court forehand steered down the line.

The Federer backhand was starting to leak points now and he had to rely on some great serving to fight off three more break points in game five, but he clung on to a rampant Nadal and surprisingly drew level at 4-4 when the Spaniard mishit a backhand.

There seemed little prospect of a second lifeline in the set for Federer but it came, as Nadal served at 5-4, through the widely predicted rain that had held off for almost two hours.

A first set point for the Spaniard slipped by in the confusion as umbrellas went up around Court Philippe Chatrier, and when play resumed 10 minutes later with the score at 5-4, 40-40, it was Federer who responded much the better.

The burst of Federer form shuddered to a halt, however, with the errors returning under pressure from Nadal, and after moving 4-0 clear the world number one hit a screaming cross-court backhand to set up four more set points, a forehand ripped into the corner completing the job.Serving for a sixth title, Nadal sank to his knees when Federer fired a forehand over the baseline on match point, securing another mark in tennis history for the incredible 25-year-old.