• French Open, Day 15

Nadal claims fifth French Open title

Rafael Nadal will overtake Roger Federer as the world No. 1 following his victory in Paris © Getty Images

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Men's French Open final in pictures

Rafael Nadal confirmed his status as the King of Clay to win the French Open for the fifth time in six years, beating Robin Soderling in the final at Roland Garros.

Nadal, who will replace Roger Federer as world No. 1 when the world rankings are published on Monday, produced a solid, if not spectacular display to beat the Swede 6-4 6-2 6-4.

Soderling boasts the impressive claim of being the only man to beat Nadal at Roland Garros, but the Spaniard was too strong as he enjoyed a comfortable victory.

With the weather cooler than it had been earlier in the week, the conditions favoured Soderling, and it was the No. 5 seed who had the early chance, forging a break point opportunity on the Nadal serve. But he failed to make the most of his opportunity, and Nadal left his opponent wondering what might have been as he broke to take a 3-2 lead.

Nadal had the chance to take a stranglehold of the set, with the chance to break to go 5-2 up, but Soderling dug deep as Nadal was made to work for the opening set.

Nadal, who has not dropped a set in Paris this week, has been markedly more aggressive than when he won two years ago, and he dictated play from the early stages, forcing Soderling to make the errors. As Soderling desperately looked for a way past his opponent, he played a risky brand of tennis, making 45 unforced errors to Nadal's 16.

In the end it was a case of too many mistakes and failure to take the most of his chances for Soderling, who let eight break points pass him by, as Nadal confirmed his status as one the greatest players to step onto a clay-court.

Collecting the Coupe des Mousquetaires, Nadal admitted he had needed to up his game in the final against the only man to have beaten him at Roland Garros.

"Sorry about today but I played my best match and if not it would have been impossible to beat you," he said.

Soderling paid tribute to Nadal's impressive record at Roland Garros, becoming the second most successful man in the tournament's history behind Bjorn Borg, who won six titles in Paris.

"Congratulations to Rafa for another victory, a fifth victory here, it's really impressive and if you continue to play like this you will have the chance to win many more," Soderling said at the presentation ceremony on Court Philippe Chatrier. "I will come back next year and I hope it will be third time lucky!"

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