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French Open 2012: Rafael Nadal Prevails To Win Seventh Title At Roland Garros

The rain couldn't wash away the inevitable at Roland Garros: Rafael Nadal is the king of clay. The Spaniard cemented his claim to be considered the greatest clay-court player ever, capturing his seventh title at Roland Garros by defeating Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 in the 2012 French Open.

As much as Nadal's dominance, the rain became a key narrative throughout this Open, especially in key moments, some seemingly aimed at Djokovic. After Nadal led by two sets, Djokovic was able to break through momentarily, winning eight straight games after trailing at a break to take the third set, and briefly lead the fourth by a 2-1 mark.

A delay of 34 minutes in the second set seemed to hurt Djokovic, down 3-5 at the time. He'd come back to lose his serve and the set. Conversely, the delay that moved the action to Monday paused Djokovic's 2-1 lead in the fourth set, which Nadal came back and won.

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Photographs by coka_koehler used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.