The match ended on Djokovic's double-fault, a fittingly awkward conclusion to a final that had plenty of stops and starts, including a brief delay during the fourth set Monday while – what else? – a rain shower passed over the stadium.
It was a 3 hour, 50 minute match spread over two days filled with momentum swings, outbursts, testy exchanges with the officials and then, finally, a familiar closing act: Nadal, the second-seeded Spaniard, down on his knees, celebrating a title at a place that feels like home.
"I suffered," Nadal said, "but I enjoyed."
Wrapping up the match a few minutes after the brief rain shower ended, Nadal 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.
"I don't know if I am the best or not," Nadal said. " I am not the right one to say that. The only thing is, I have probably one of the best results ever, probably in this kind of surface, and for me (that) is great."
After serving his fourth double-fault of the match, the top-seeded Djokovic dropped his head, slumped his shoulders and walked slowly toward the net – a two-day adventure complete, and not with the result he wanted.
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