Rafael Nadal made history by winning a record eight French Open titles while the American Serena Williams claimed her second French crown. There is no doubt that Spain's Nadal is now in a class of his own after winning his eighth French Open title on Sunday at Roland Garros, becoming the only man in tennis history to win the same Grand Slam eight times. Nadal is now an astonishing 59-1 at the French Open, winning eight of the last nine championships in Paris and doing it in a style that says he isn't going anywhere soon. In an all-Spanish final, Nadal beat his compatriot David Ferrer 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 in a thrilling and epic five-set match. Ferrer was a formidable opponent in the sense that games lasted longer than one might expect, but it was just too much power from Nadal on this surface for a man that was making his first appearance in a Grand Slam final. Nadal hit 35 winners to his 25 unforced errors, a stat almost mirrored by Ferrer who had 22 winners to his 35 unforced. Nadal is now third all time in Grand Slam wins, tying Roy Emerson and sitting just two behind Pete Sampras and five behind the great Roger Federer. His play at this event has been incredible over the years, but his return to the tennis scene this season has been a surprise even to experts who have watched him play over the years. Injuries kept him out of the 2012 US Open and this year's Australian Open, and some were worried he'd never come back full strength. He did, and his eighth French title is a pretty good reward for a return for one of the greatest tennis players in the history of the game. Meantime, the two biggest stars on the women's side of the draw met in the finals of the French Open. Williams, who won her sole French Open title heading into Saturday at Roland Garros 11 years ago to the day, had been dominating opponents the last two weeks, dropping just a single set. That continued in her matchup with Maria Sharapova as she took out the defending champion 6-4, 6-4. Serena hit 10 aces in two sets and winning not only 69 per cent of her first serves, but 77 per cent of her second serves. Her start was a bit surprising, going down 0-2 in the first set, but Sharapova couldn't get any rhythm with her serve as Williams continued to jump on anything that was hit her way. At one point in the match, Sharapova hit her hardest serve of the match only to see it pounded back past her feet for a Serena winner. Williams has now won 16 Grand Slams including two French Open titles and became the oldest player since tennis turned professional to reign supreme at this event. Clay has never been the preferred surface of Williams, but new coach Patrick Mouratoglou, a Frenchman himself, has helped improve her overall game and it showed at Roland Garros. Serena now can realistically think of catching and passing Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert on the Grand Slam titles list as she only needs two more majors to tie their 18 and three to pass them, and as long as she stays healthy it seems she can definitely contend at any slam for the next two or three years.
