Nadal Beats Djokovic, Grabs Record 7th French Open Title

Rafael Nadal of Spain returns to Novak Djokovic of Serbia during their final match for the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 11 June 2012 EPA/BGNES

Rafael Nadal has won his record seventh French Open title Monday, scoring a 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 victory over Novak Djokovic.

Nadat has thus denied Djokovic in his own run at history - the quest for the ''Novak Slam.''

Nadal wound up as he has for seven of the past eight years: down on the ground, celebrating a title at a place that feels like home.

He broke the record he shared with Bjorn Borg, improved to 52-1 at the French Open and beat the man who had defeated him in the last three Grand Slam finals.

''This tournament is, for me, the most special tournament of the world,'' Nadal said, as cited by Yahoo! Sports.

After serving his fourth double-fault of the match, the top-seeded Djokovic dropped his head and slumped his shoulders, an emotional two-day adventure complete, and not with the result he wanted.

He was trying to become the first man in 43 years to win four straight major titles. He came up short and joined Roger Federer, who twice came up one match short of four in a row - his pursuit also halted by Nadal at Roland Garros in 2006 and 2007.

Nadal won his 11th overall Grand Slam title, tying him with Borg and Rod Laver on the all-time list.

''It was a very difficult match against the best player in the world,'' Nadal said. ''I lost three Grand Slam finals - Wimbledon, the U.S. Open last year, and the Australian Open this year. I'm very happy, very emotional.''

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