Rafael Nadal

It’s safe to say that at this point tennis fans have run out of analogies, comparisons and superlatives to describe Rafael Nadal’s career-long success at Roland Garros, home of the French Open. Now they have one more triumphant episode to contend with. On June 9, the 27-year-old Spaniard defeated countryman David Ferrer 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 to win a record eighth championship.

Nadal’s performance on the outskirts of Paris has been unparalleled since his first French Open in 2005, when he was 19. He holds a lifetime record of 59-1 on the fabled red clay: his lone loss came in 2009 against Robin Soderling while he was battling knee ailments that have plagued him for much of his career.

This year his legend grew even larger when he defeated Novak Djokovic, the top-ranked player in men’s tennis, in an epic five-set semifinal that has been widely praised as the greatest match in French Open history. Despite the loss, Djokovic will keep his No. 1 ranking, but there’s no question that Nadal once again reigns as the undisputed King of Clay.