Nadal Wins Steamy 9th French Open

Rafael Nadal won the French Open title for the ninth time, and the fifth time in a row, by beating Novak Djokovic 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 today in the final. Nadal improved his record at Roland Garros to 66-1, and stretched his winning streak at the clay-court major to 35 straight. But it didn't look too good at the start for the top-seeded Spaniard. Djokovic won the first set and looked to be in control of nearly every point.

The combination of Nadal finding his range and the heat, however, started to take its toll on the second-seeded Serb. Both players used ice-filled towels to cool themselves during changeovers, but Djokovic also looked like he vomited a bit as he was heading for the first changeover in the fourth set. Meanwhile, Maria Sharapova overcame some shaky serving yesterday to win the women's contest. (More French Open stories.)