A tearful Rafael Nadal acknowledged that winning his fifth French Open yesterday had helped to make up for the year of hell with injury and family problems.
The Spaniard had struggled with a knee injury that forced him to pull out of Wimbledon last year and had left him below-par for much of the past 12 months.
But that was forgotten yesterday as he regained the Roland Garros title by beating Robin Soderling, the man who had knocked him out in the fourth round last year, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.
Nadal, who had broken down and cried on court after sealing his victory, said in his post-match press conference: "It was a very difficult match. Last year it was a difficult final but this time I could play longer, move him out wide and my movement was much better.
"It was a difficult year in 2009 because of my knee problems and my parents divorced. This year is very different." "I was a little bit down, but now I want to enjoy this. It's a very emotional day."
Nadal broke twice in the opening set, then survived four break points in the fourth game of the second game to take that, before he cruised the third to ensure he went through the tournament without losing a set - the second time he has achieved that feat.
Soderling, a beaten finalist at Roland Garros for the second successive year, was left to reflect on the break points he squandered in the first and second sets that could have put a different complextion on proceedings had he taken any of them.
"Today wasn't my best match, but he played so well," he said. "Rafa always plays kind of the same. He has one game, but he does it so well.
"In the beginning I was unlucky and had a few break chances and didn't take them, but I don't think it would have changed anything. He definitely has the chance to stay number one for a long time if he continues to play like this."
* Agencies
Rafael Nadal became the second man to win the French Open at least five times yesterday and next year has the chance to match Bjorn Borg's record of six titles.
The straight-sets victory over Robin Soderling ended Nadal's longest grand slam drought since winning his first major title at Roland Garros in 2005. His last Grand Slam title before Sunday's victory was at the 2009 Australian Open.
"It's really impressive," Soderling told Nadal. "If you continue like this, you will sure have the chance to win many more."
Nadal will also reclaim the No. 1 ranking today, replacing Roger Federer.
"I played my best match against you," an emotional Nadal told Soderling during the trophy ceremony. "If not, it's going to be impossible to beat you."
Nadal won seven consecutive games midway through the match and held every serve, saving all eight break points he faced.
Soderling finished as the runner-up for the second year in a row. In 2009 he lost in the final to Roger Federer.
"I love this tournament," Soderling said. "I will come back next year, and I hope I'll be third time lucky then."
When Soderling's final shot landed in the net, Nadal slid onto his back, threw up his fists and rose, shaking from his hair the clay he loves. When he sat down, he began to cry.
"I faced in the final an extremely tough opponent," Nadal said. "We played at a high level. Now I'm very happy."
"It's the most emotional day in my career," Nadal told the crowd in French during the trophy ceremony. "
His bad memories of 2009 included not only the loss to Soderling, but the separation of his parents and knee tendinitis that contributed to a slump.
For the second time in three years, Nadal won all 21 sets en route to the Roland Garros title. Only two other men in the Open era have won the title without losing a set, Borg and Ilie Nastase.
* Agencies
Company%20profile
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SPECS
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Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
RESULT
Fifth ODI, at Headingley
England 351/9
Pakistan 297
England win by 54 runs (win series 4-0)
KLOPP%20AT%20LIVERPOOL
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Results
2.30pm: Dubai Creek Tower – Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (Dirt) 1,200m; Winner: Marmara Xm, Gary Sanchez (jockey), Abdelkhir Adam (trainer)
3pm: Al Yasmeen – Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m; Winner: AS Hajez, Jesus Rosales, Khalifa Al Neyadi
3.30pm: Al Ferdous – Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m; Winner: Soukainah, Sebastien Martino, Jean-Claude Pecout
4pm: The Crown Prince Of Sharjah – Prestige (PA) Dh200,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: AF Thayer, Ray Dawson, Ernst Oertel
4.30pm: Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Cup – Handicap (TB) Dh200,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: George Villiers, Antonio Fresu, Bhupat Seemar
5pm: Palma Spring – Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Es Abu Mousa, Antonio Fresu, Abubakar Daud
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
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Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
Profile Periscope Media
Founder: Smeetha Ghosh, one co-founder (anonymous)
Launch year: 2020
Employees: four – plans to add another 10 by July 2021
Financing stage: $250,000 bootstrap funding, approaching VC firms this year
Investors: Co-founders
UAE%20SQUAD
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Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
The%20Roundup
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
AIDA%20RETURNS
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MATCH INFO
AC Milan v Inter, Sunday, 6pm (UAE), match live on BeIN Sports
Company%20Profile
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Know your cyber adversaries
Cryptojacking: Compromises a device or network to mine cryptocurrencies without an organisation's knowledge.
Distributed denial-of-service: Floods systems, servers or networks with information, effectively blocking them.
Man-in-the-middle attack: Intercepts two-way communication to obtain information, spy on participants or alter the outcome.
Malware: Installs itself in a network when a user clicks on a compromised link or email attachment.
Phishing: Aims to secure personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.
Ransomware: Encrypts user data, denying access and demands a payment to decrypt it.
Spyware: Collects information without the user's knowledge, which is then passed on to bad actors.
Trojans: Create a backdoor into systems, which becomes a point of entry for an attack.
Viruses: Infect applications in a system and replicate themselves as they go, just like their biological counterparts.
Worms: Send copies of themselves to other users or contacts. They don't attack the system, but they overload it.
Zero-day exploit: Exploits a vulnerability in software before a fix is found.