A ruthless warrior on his way to the French Open title, Rafael Nadal exposed a softer side on Sunday after becoming the first man in 23 years to win at Roland Garros on his debut.
All muscles, fist-pumps and yells during his 6-7, 6-3, 6-1, 7-5 win over Argentine Mariano Puerta, the 19-year-old Spaniard blinked away tears after the climax of an amazing campaign.
After completing the longest winning streak by a teenager in the professional era with his 24th consecutive victory, Nadal went to salute the King of Spain, Juan Carlos, who rarely misses watching one of his compatriots in a Paris final.
Nadal then climbed over a barrier and into the stands to hug his family who cut short a holiday in China to witness his triumph.
"It's always been my dream to win a Grand Slam, and Roland Garros in particular," said Nadal, overwhelmed by emotion after becoming the youngest Grand Slam champion since Michael Chang won the French Open in 1989.
"All Spanish players dream of that," the burly Spaniard added after emulating Swede Mats Wilander who lifted the Musketeers' Cup on his first visit to Roland Garros in 1982.
The trophy was then presented to him by French soccer great Zinedine Zidane, a fitting choice for Nadal who once thought about imitating his uncle Miguel Angel Nadal, the former Barcelona and Spain soccer player, before concentrating on tennis.
Zidane plays for Real Madrid, the club Nadal supports despite his uncle's allegiance to their fierce rivals.
Miguel Angel Nadal had been anxiously watching from the stands and so had another uncle of the Spanish prodigy, Toni, who has coached 'Rafa' since he picked up a racket for the first time.
KIND WORDS
"I want to thank my family, who have always supported me, and particularly my uncle [Toni], who has accompanied me and helped me since I was little," Nadal told the 15,000-strong Parisian crowd giving him a standing ovation.
Nadal also had kind words for Puerta.
"Congratulations to Mariano, who has had a great season and played a great match," he said.
Before facing Puerta on a cloudy day, Nadal had destroyed everything standing between him and the title, holding his nerve whatever the circumstances.
The gifted left-hander with the devastating forehand had kept his cool when a hostile Parisian crow halted his fourth-round match against Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean for nearly 10 minutes to protest against a line call.
Playing in the semi-finals on his 19th birthday, he showed maturity beyond his years to ruin world number one Roger Federer's hopes of a first title here.
Nadal will climb up to third when the latest ATP rankings are released on Monday but Puerta feels he deserves a higher spot.
"I lost to an excellent player, probably the best in the world," Puerta said.
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