A teenage Nadal was among the favourites as he went into his first French Open on the back of a 17-match winning streak. He had already won five titles on the ATP Tour that year and was ranked fifth in the world at the start of the tournament. He beat Xavier Malisse, Richard Gasquet and David Ferrer in straight sets en route to a semifinal against world number one and career Grand Slam-chasing Roger Federer. Nadal had lost a five-set thriller to the Swiss in Miami in April but was triumphant on his 19th birthday to book a place in the final, where he dispatched of the unseeded Mariano Puerta 6-7 (6-8), 6-3, 6-1, 7-5.
The year got off to a frustrating start for Nadal as a foot injury ruled him out of the Australian Open, but he once more arrived at Roland Garros on the back of a 17-match winning streak. Included in that run were Monte Carlo and Rome final victories over Federer, who he also beat in Dubai in March, and the pair went head to head again in the French Open final. Federer took the opening set 6-1 but Nadal rallied back impressively to retain his crown with a 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) triumph. The long-haired Spaniard had denied the Swiss the chance to hold all four grand slams at the same time.
After being handed his first taste of defeat at Roland Garros following 31 successive wins by Robin Soderling amid the start of persistent knee issues in 2009, a result that enabled Federer to end his long wait to claim the Coupe des Mousquetaires for the first time in his career, Nadal provided the most emphatic of responses. This time he did not have to come up against Federer; instead he faced the Swiss' conqueror and the man who had dumped him out a year prior - Soderling. Nadal did not err against the world number seven, taking the title without dropping a set for the second time after a 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 win in the final. It was the first of three straight major wins for the Spaniard, whose Grand Slam was completed with victory in the US Open of that year.
Nadal began the year with defeat to Wawrinka in the Australian Open final, but his performance in Melbourne had been hampered by a back problem tweaked in the warm up. The Spaniard went to Roland Garros with just one clay-court title under his belt that year - the Madrid Open - and having gone down to Djokovic in Rome. However, he made history with his fifth straight French Open title outstripping the four in succession claimed by the legendary Bjorn Borg. Nadal comfortably overcame Andy Murray in the semifinals and fought from a set down to beat Djokovic 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 in the final, but it would be, by his own stunning standards, a long wait for his next taste of grand slam glory.
With Nadal having entered his 30s and injury problems continuing to plague him - a wrist injury forced him to curtail his 2016 season in October - questions were asked as to whether he would add to his haul of 14 grand slams. There were promising signs at the Australian Open but Federer, himself having overcome knee and back issues, was too good in the Melbourne final. Nadal was at home on the clay, though. After winning his 10th titles in Monte Carlo and Barcelona - a feat no other man has achieved in a single event in the Open Era - he completed 'La Decima' at Roland Garros with an imperious 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 victory over Wawrinka. His place in history guaranteed for years to come with an achievement it seems unlikely will be matched.
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