Nadal's best French win yet

Rafael Nadal was overjoyed after winning his sixth French Open

Rafael Nadal sank to his knees in joy. He had just secured a sixth French Open title but celebrated as though it was his first.

He knew this was the toughest of those six wins.

From his marathon five-setter in the first round against John Isner to the brutal final against Roger Federer, this was a real battle.

Doubts persisted over whether he was fully fit and critics proclaimed he was not playing well, but at the end of the tournament the Spaniard still walked away with the trophy.

By winning his sixth French Open, he further wrote his name into history by equalling Bjorn Borg's record of six titles at Roland Garros in the open era. That's six titles in seven attempts.

He is now widely regarded as the best clay court player of all-time and at just 25, with 10 Grand Slam titles to his name, he has plenty of time to become the best tennis player ever.

On the clay of Paris, Nadal winning the title is almost an inevitability before the tournament begins. 45 wins from 46 matches there tells you why.

His one loss, in 2009 to Robin Soderling can be attributed to severe tendonitis in his knee and rumoured personal problems (although Nadal would never admit this). In normal circumstances, Nadal is simply unbeatable there.

His invincibility on clay was called into question in the lead-up to this year's tournament though.

Novak Djokovic had just beaten him in two consecutive clay court finals and went into the French Open on a long winning streak (which ended on 43 matches in the semi-final).

The rivalry between Djokovic (left) and Nadal is a growing one

In Nadal's opening matches in Paris, it appeared he was distracted by the form of Djokovic.

It is very rare for Nadal to so much as lose a set there, but he lost two in the first round against Isner and was nowhere near his best.

He then laboured to a win over Pablo Andujar, comfortably saw off Antonio Veic and struggled but beat Ivan Ljubicic. Nadal did not lose a set in those three matches but the Andujar and Ljubicic games were real grinds and it was not until his quarter-final against Soderling he really hit his stride.

He then saw off Andy Murray in the semi-final in straight sets, although Murray played better than the scoreline suggested.

Surprisingly, Nadal went into his semi-final as second-favourite for the title, the bookies convinced Djokovic's winning run was set to continue.

Nadal's two clay court final defeats to the Serbian had seemingly taken a mental toll on him, and that is why Djokovic's semi-final defeat to Federer was perhaps the most important result of this tournament for Nadal.

Nadal simply did not want to face Djokovic as he knew he possessed all the qualities needed to beat him on clay. Federer, of course, is perhaps the greatest player of all-time but Nadal knew he had the beating of him, especially on clay.

Federer had played extraordinarily well to beat Djokovic though and was therefore a serious threat for a seemingly under-par Nadal.

Federer played stunning tennis against Djokovic and in much of the final

This was further underlined in the first set of the final, with Federer demonstrating why he has won 16 major titles with some stunning play, racing into a 5-2 lead.

He then had set point on Nadal's serve, but missed out after a backhand drop shot bounced narrowly wide. That was the turning point of the set and indeed the match.

Nadal went on a winning run of seven straight games to seal the first set 7-5 and race into a second set lead, with the momentum completely changed.

The Spaniard was now in full flow and Federer was beginning to miss, particularly with his backhand. Nadal's tennis was now at the level we have come to expect of him on a clay court.

He had more chances to break Federer and take an almost unassailable second set lead, but the Swiss somehow held on. However, with Nadal serving at 5-4 up, it seemed there was nothing Federer could do to prevent himself going two sets down.

It seemed inevitable Nadal would hold serve but Federer took him to deuce before the heavens opened. It was the worst possible time from Nadal's point of view for a rain delay and after a ten-minute stoppage Federer secured the break to pile the pressure on the Spaniard.

The set eventually went to a tie-break, which Nadal won convincingly, seemingly finishing the match off.

Nadal then broke Federer to lead 4-2 in the third, but more inspiration from Federer levelled the set. He then broke Nadal again to take the set 7-5 and seemingly battle his way back into contention.

Nadal was having none of that though.

Nadal looks completely at home on the clay

He returned to his blistering best while Federer appeared to run out of steam, with Nadal breaking twice to take the fourth set 6-1 and secure the title.

Nadal prevailed, but Roger Federer's performance confirmed he is still more than capable of winning Grand Slams.

With the grass court season now imminent, Federer is likely to launch a major challenge to win Wimbledon. Nadal had to raise his game to beat him on clay so the Swiss will be confident of winning on his favourite surface.

This was the fourth time the two had met in a French Open final and the closest of those games. Federer is back and hungry for more titles.

Federer should not be too disheartened by his defeat

Never before has Nadal been so tested at Roland Garros (except for his defeat to Soderling in 2009). That is what makes this victory his best ever there.

He faced stern tests in most of the rounds he played and could easily have been taken to five sets in the final, but he still came out with the trophy. His tennis improved as the tournament progressed and he played an almost perfect final against a revitalised Federer.

Many observers predict Nadal will win at least 10 French Open titles

None of his other wins in Paris can have been as sweet as this, as he proved that no matter how off his game he may be in earlier rounds and how inspired his opponents are, he will still come away with the title.

Djokovic is lurking in the background, but the real rivalry of tennis remains between Nadal and Federer. It is surely the best rivalry the sport has ever seen.

Federer is widely regarded as the best player of all-time, yet he has now lost 17 of his 25 matches against Nadal. A lot of Nadal's victories have been on clay, but the fact Federer can seemingly not beat the best player of his time has led many to suggest he may not be the best ever.

This rivalry still has a long way to go yet though.

Federer was reduced to tears after Nadal beat him in the 2009 Australian Open final

Although Federer will turn 30 this summer, he has now returned to form and seems determined to stretch his record of winning the most Grand Slams in the open era.

He has 16 major titles to Nadal's 10, but he knows Nadal has time on his side to overtake his record and that is a crown Federer will not want to lose.

He cannot rely on Nadal not winning more majors because, injury permitting, he certainly will.

The only way Federer can stop Nadal is by beating him himself.

By pushing Nadal on clay, he has proved he has more than enough left in the tank to win more majors and he will see this coming Wimbledon as a major chance.

It would be hard to bet against Federer and Nadal meeting in more major finals in the future.

They have faced each other a record eight times in Grand Slam finals, with Nadal winning six of them, and this rivalry has now gone beyond the sport of tennis. It is arguably the greatest individual sporting rivalry of all-time.

The fact they share a good friendship makes the rivalry even better if possible.

Nadal and Federer's friendship has grown over the years

John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors infamously had a mutual loathing for each other, but Nadal and Federer's relationship shows they realise tennis is just a game which is played competitively on court, with off court hatred completely unnecessary.

They are two great sportsmen who treat victory and defeat just the same, the perfect duo to demonstrate Kipling's quote which appears above the player's entrance to Wimbledon's Centre Court.

They are great role models to anyone looking to play the game and the perfect examples for fellow professionals to follow.

They slug it out on the court, though, and Federer will be looking to set the record straight at SW19.

He saw Nadal lift the trophy last year after he was knocked out by Tomas Berdych in the quarter-final and that is something he will not want to experience again.

Djokovic is an added complication and Andy Murray could provide a challenge at Wimbledon, but Nadal and Federer are undoubtedly still the stars of the game.

Nadal, Murray, Djokovic and Federer appear likely to launch major challenges to win Wimbledon this year

Nadal, as the undisputed King of Clay, will now want to further prove his dominance on grass and secure a third Wimbledon title.

He will arrive there in the best possible frame of mind after perhaps his most satisfying win in France but he knows his old rivalry with Federer is very much back on the agenda.

This Wimbledon is shaping up to be a classic.

On a separate note, it was nice to see China's Li Na win the women's title in Paris.

Li beat Francesca Schiavone in straight sets in the final

She is the first Asian woman to win a Grand Slam and her victory could prove the catalyst for a generation of new players from the continent.

She is an inspiration to them all and she deserves her success.

She always comes across very warm and good-humoured in interviews and the women's game needs characters like her.

Li may be 29 (she is the fifth-oldest first-time women's Grand Slam winner of all-time), but you get the feeling she is only just getting started.

She has now reached two consecutive major finals and she has achieved relative success at Wimbledon before, so expect her to be in the mix at SW19 this year.