Rafael Nadal wins eighth French Open

Rafael Nadal beat David Ferrer in the French Open final to become the first man in tennis history to win the same Grand Slam event eight times.
Nadal defeated his friend and fellow Spaniard 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 on a cold, rainy day on the main Court Philippe Chatrier at Roland Garros in Paris. The second set was interrupted twice by protesters at the main court. The players stopped when people seated high in the stands started chanting, then a man with a flare attempted to get onto court. Security was able to tackle him and drag him away before he could reach Nadal.
The Spaniard’s 12th Grand Slam championship comes only four months after he returned to the men’s tour following a long injury break. After a shock second-round loss at Wimbledon, the 27-year-old left-hander was sidelined with a partially torn patella tendon and inflammation in his left knee that forced him to miss the London Olympics, U.S. Open and Australian Open.
“It’s one of the most special ones,” Nadal said when asked what it meant to win Roland Garros again after the injury break. “Especially last year, we had some low moments. If my family and my team were not with me every day, I would not be here today.”
Reaching the final in Paris after seven months away from the tour had been “a miracle,” Toni Nadal, his uncle and long- time coach, said three days ago.
Singles Titles
No other man has claimed eight singles titles at the same Grand Slam. Only seven men have won seven major championships at one event. These include Roger Federer and Pete Sampras at Wimbledon in the last two decades, Bill Tilden at what was then called the U.S. Championships in the 1920s and William Renshaw at Wimbledon in the 1880s. Before today, Nadal and Chris Evert had been the only players to hold seven Roland Garros championships.
“I never dreamt about his kind of thing,” Nadal said. It’s been “a lot of work since I was a kid.”
Watched from the presidential box by Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt — who was handed a blanket shortly before the start of play — Ferrer held to love in the opening game. After breaking for a 2-1 lead on three errors by Ferrer, Nadal then dropped his own serve as he dumped a backhand in the net following a long baseline rally. Putting Ferrer under pressure with his forehand, Nadal broke for the second time to go up 4-3. Having been handed two set points with a double fault, Nadal took the first set 6-3 on Ferrer’s 12th unforced error.
Protests
Nadal took the first three games of the second set as his forehand found its range. As rain started to fall and umbrellas went up, the crowd shouted “Ole” after Nadal won a point in the fourth game with a backhand drop shot.
Serving at 3-1, Nadal fended off four breakpoints, one with a backhand winner after the longest rally of the match. The match was briefly stopped at 4-1 by the protesters, with Ferrer losing his serve.
Another man wearing a mask holding a flare was grabbed by security guards as he tried to get onto the court right behind Nadal’s bench as he was about to serve for the second set at 5- 1. Nadal, who jumped away as guards took hold of the man, seemed shaken as he promptly lost his serve. Ferrer then dropped his serve and the set on three double faults in a row.

In the third set, Nadal held in the opening game before both dropped serve again. Struggling to regain his composure, Ferrer handed Nadal another break for 5-3. Serving for the title, Nadal fell on his back on the clay as he won his 12th major with a forehand winner.
Losing Record
It was his 35th winner of the match. Ferrer had 22 winners. Nadal made 25 unforced errors, 10 fewer than his Davis Cup teammate.
The 31-year-old Ferrer has now lost 20 of 24 matches against Nadal. He did beat him on clay once, in their first match in Stuttgart in 2004. Ferrer, who had reached the final without dropping a set, will climb one spot in the ATP World Tour rankings tomorrow to No. 4 while Nadal drops one place to No. 5.
“I enjoy a lot these two weeks,” Ferrer said. “I will try to do my best to have another chance to win a Grand Slam. I know it’s going to be difficult, but I will fight to be here in another final again.”
Nadal’s path to title No. 8 in Paris had not been easy. He had his worst start to the tournament during the first week, dropping two sets against unseeded players amid cold weather and frequent rain delays. As the weather warmed up in the second week, he regained his form. In the semifinal against top seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia he fought back from a break down in the final set to win in four hours, 37 minutes.

Source: http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/Rafael+Nadal+wins+eighth+French+Open/8500493/story.html