June 11, 2012: Spain's Rafael Nadal returns the ball to Serbia's Novak Djokovic during their men's final match in the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris. (AP)
PARIS – Rain or shine, clay or mud, Sunday or Monday, Rafael Nadal rules Roland Garros.
The man they call "Rafa" won his record seventh French Open title Monday, returning a day after getting rained out to put the finishing touches on a 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 victory over Novak Djokovic. He denied Djokovic in his own quest for history -- the "Novak Slam."
The match ended on a Djokovic 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.
They waited it out and 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 and improved to 52-1 at the French Open.
After serving his fourth double-fault of the match, 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.
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