Nadal is widely considered to be the "King of Clay". (Yann Caradec, Creative Commons)

The 27-year-old has won the French Open in eight out of his nine attempts, accumulating a 59-1 all-time record at Roland Garros over that span. Nadal became the first man to win eight singles titles at one Grand Slam tournament. He also holds the record for the most career match victories at the French Open. 

Nadal has also moved into fourth all-time for most grand slam championships among men after winning his 12th overall, trailing only Roger Federer, Pete Sampras and Roy Emerson.

The match also had a bizarre moment when a man in a mask carrying a lit red flare came onto the court. Security escorted the intruder off the court immediately after wrestling him down. Interestingly enough, in the 2009 French Open, a different intruder jumped onto the court and approached Roger Federer trying to put a red hat on his head. 

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Before playing Ferrer in the championship, Nadal played his rival and top-seeded Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals in what was the match of the tournament. Nadal outlasted Djokovic on that Friday afternoon 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7 (3), 9-7. 

In a weird twist, Nadal's world ranking will actually drop one spot because of weird rules in the ATP World Tour ranking system. While Nadal drops from four to five, Ferrer, who lost to Nadal in the championship, will take the fourth overall seed from him. 

The next Grand Slam tournament is Wimbledon, which will commence on June 24.

Reach Executive Producer Max Meyer by email.

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