Winning the hard way increases Nadal’s pleasure as he draws alongside Bjorg in Paris pantheon

The Spaniard defeated Roger Federer 7-5 7-6 (7/3) 5-7 6-1 yesterday to equal Bjorn Borg’s record tally of Roland Garros crowns and ensure he will be the world No 1 going into Wimbledon.

Nadal won last year’s tournament without dropping a set but it was very different from the start this time as he battled back from two sets to one down against John Isner in round one and struggled through the rest of the first week.

The 25-year-old found his game when he needed to but was given a stern examination by great rival Federer, who showed he is far from a fading force.

Nadal, who will head to London today for the AEGON Championships at Queen’s Club, said: “To win this kind of title is always satisfying. But sometimes when you fight a lot to win, when you try your best in every moment to change the situation, it makes the title more special.

“For example, in 2008 I think I played better than ever, but I finished the tournament and I didn’t feel that I won Roland Garros because I won in three sets every round.”

Federer had lost three previous finals to Nadal at Roland Garros, the last of which in 2008 saw him win only four games, but his performance against Novak Djokovic on Friday was one of his best on clay and he came out fighting yesterday.

Nadal looked nervy and in no time Federer was 5-2 in front. He even had a set point but narrowly missed with a drop shot, and that was the opening his opponent needed.

The Spaniard rallied magnificently to take the set 7-5, and added the second in a tie-break following a rain-delay, but lost the third.

Nadal felt the start of the fourth set was the key moment, saying: “He was a little bit unlucky in the first set, and after that he came back fantastically well in the second.

“In the third I had 4-2 but I think he played very, very well from that moment to the beginning of the fourth. When Roger plays like this, the opponent cannot do anything sometimes.

“I just waited for my moment, tried to be there all the time, tried to put him in difficult situations. Saving the 0-40 was very important for me. That was a big turning point of the match.”

Federer was in a grand slam final for the first time since the Australian Open last year, and he was pleased with his display, although he knew the chances had been there for it to be so much better.

He said: “I’m the one that’s playing with smaller margins, so obviously I’m always going to go through a few more ups and downs, whereas Rafa is content doing the one thing for the entire time.

“So it’s always me who’s going to dictate play and decide how the outcome is going to be. If I play well, I will most likely win, if I’m not playing so well, that’s when he wins. But I thought Rafa played well. I think he dug deep to come back in the first set and get himself into the match. And also the second set.

“It was tough all the way through. I thought we played at a very high level and I was pretty happy with the way I played.

“I don’t have huge complaints but obviously there were some missed opportunities, because you’ll always have plenty against him on clay. So if you lose, you always look at those.

“Overall I’m very happy about the tournament. Obviously you should be disappointed after losing in a grand slam final. I feel that a little bit.”