Rafael Nadal won his 11th Grand Slam title on Tuesday, June 12th winning the men's French Open final against World No. 1 Novak Djokovic. Until now, Rafa has lost just one match to Robin Soderling in the fourth round in 2009 since he made his debut way back in 2005.

Djokovic as he tried to kindle his hopes of winning an historic fourth consecutive Grand Slam, but after a span of nearly 24 hours, he handed a 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 victory to a tearful Rafael Nadal and, with it, a record seventh Roland Garros title at 26, overtaking the total of Bjorn Borg.

The double fault he served when facing a first match point in the French Open final was a horrible full stop, the last way you would think such a great competitor would cede what may prove a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

There was little luck involved, of course. There never is with Nadal on clay. In victory, he ran his record at Roland Garros to 52-1 and provided more evidence for the argument that he is the greatest clay-court player ever.

While it remains difficult to compare players from different eras, even those who believe Bjorn Borg deserves the mythical clay championship belt must now concede that Nadal has won more French Opens (seven and counting, to six). This gives Nadal a statistical edge, if nothing else. Of course, Borg retired at 26, the age Nadal turned last week.

"He's definitely the best player in history on this surface, and the results are showing he is one of the best ever players that played this game," Djokovic said.