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Nadal's Fifth Symphony

Rafael Nadal is now just one Roland Garros title short of tying Bjorn Borg's all-time mark of six crowns, and if he stays healthy, keeps improving and is as determined as he was in crushing this years field without dropping a set, he is a near lock to pull off the feat in 2011.

While it appeared that a few of the elite players had a chance to upset Nadal when Roland Garros began, in reality the tournament was the Spaniard's to determine, which was clear in his 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 destruction of the powerful Robin Soderling in the final.

Putting aside his loss to the Swede in the fourth round in 2009 when he was playing on battered knees, Nadal has been absolutely dominant on the surface. After his knees began to feel better in the early spring, he began a long, hard and brilliant march to the top of the red clay mountain again, winning 22 consecutive matches and burying the fields at Monte Carlo, Rome, Madrid and now the premier of all tournaments played on red dirt, Roland Garros.

"It was one of the most important victories in my career," said Nadal, who nevertheless did not drop a set in the tournament. "It was a difficult year for me the last year and I worked a lot to be here. I was very nervous during all the tournament, because I knew that I was ready to try to win another time, and I saw the chances. But the very positive thing is today I was ready to play with calm and to try my best and to enjoy the match. I did, and was a very special day."

It was an emotional journey for Nadal, who after injuring his knees in late May 2009 and going down to Soderling, was forced to pull out of Wimbledon (where he was the defending champion). Even when he returned to hard court play in August, he was unsure of himself, lacking confidence that he could push off quickly on his legs and had lost all rhythm.

He failed to win a title in between May 2009 (Rome) and April 2010 (Monte Carlo) and while he continued to say that he could regain his dominant form, he did have his doubters. He was also slightly doubting himself and whether he could return to his once stellar form, which is one of the reasons why he heaved sobs after winning the match.

"Some moments were difficult to accept the injuries, moments you don't know if you are ready another time to compete, you are 100%," he said. "At the same time, sometimes is a big frustration when you are in US Open and you broke your abdominal one week before, and you are in Australia and have to retire during the quarter-finals. So all these moments are difficult to accept. For me, the important thing is Roland Garros. But for me the biggest thing is the personal satisfaction to be here, to be here another time and to be at the top level."

Nadal was unable to contain his emotions in between the final point and the trophy ceremony, for a number of reasons. He has tough time accepting his parents' divorce last year and last week, a longtime friend and doctor within the Spanish Tennis Federation Asun Astruch died. So went he slid to the ground after the victory, it all came pouring out.

"Relief, joy, it was a great personal satisfaction, because my family, my team, myself, all those who supported me and helped me be back," he said. "It's true that I played this tournament with more anxiety. I went through difficult moments because I couldn't find my momentum on the court. Then it was very emotional, winning, and last week, Asun died. I couldn't attend the funeral, and this was a delightful woman. We miss her, and that was very sad for me."

Nadal ran faster than he did at any time in the tournament, chasing down one huge Soderling blast after another, frequently changing the direction of his shots, spotting his serve well and hammering both his forehand and backhand. Soderling tried time and time again to hit him off the court but it proved impossible, as Nadal managed to drive most of his groundstrokes high and deep, had an excellent read on the Swede's second serve and played every big point as if it was his last, as he was never broken in the tournament.

Now , after capturing his seventh Grand Slam title in the past five years, who is doubt that he can become a dominant player again? He stopped Roger Federer's total weeks at No. 1 at 285, one shy of Pete Sampras' record of 286, and he's guaranteed to hold on to the top spot through Wimbledon. He says that his sore knees feel great and now that's he has joined John McEnroe and Mats Wilander in the Slam record books with his seventh major at the tender age of 24, who is to say that he cannot continue to rack up majors and some day maybe threaten Federer's record 16 major titles?

As Nadal says, it all depends on his health because in terms of form, he is at his peak. Soderling for one seems to be convinced the Spaniard is in the driver's seat for the long haul.

"He definitely has the chance to be No.1 for a long time if he plays like this," the Swede said after the match. "On clay especially he's real difficult to beat. He's moving so well and gets everything back. He's a great defensive player, but also has a great offensive game, as well. He can really change defence to offense really quick. That's why he's so good."