As Rafael Nadal dropped to his knees on Phillipe Chatrier on Sunday afternoon, the Spaniard knew his legacy had been marked forever.

After a three-year barren spell at Roland Garros, ravaged by injuries and loss of confidence, he had crushed Stan Wawrinka 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 to finally complete a ‘La Decima’ at the French Open and become the first man in the Open Era to win the same Grand Slam event ten times.

Last season, before his third-round match, Nadal was forced to pull out with a wrist injury. The 31-year-old was said to have left Paris in tears, distraught, that his quest for a tenth title in the French capital was over for another 12 months.

At that time, many wondered whether he would ever return to Paris as a champion again. With nagging injuries beginning to take hold on an aging and creaking body, Nadal’s decline looked to be in full flow. However, like we saw with Roger Federer in Australia, you should never doubt the resilience of a historic champion and their ability to make the impossible, possible.

In a sun-drenched Roland Garros, Nadal wore down his opponent and forced him into submission. Wawrinka had reason to be optimistic heading into the final, coming off the back of a great victory over Andy Murray in the semi-finals and with his unbeaten record in Grand Slam finals (3-0).

However, any kind of buoyancy he held was quickly demolished by Nadal, who produced a vintage performance, dropping only six games in a final which, in the end, became a formality. The Mallorca man was at his ultimate best. Perhaps even better than in his previous nine finals at the French Open.

Wawrinka tried everything to gain a foothold. Drop shots, net rushes, crosscourt backhands. You name it. He tried it. But nothing worked as Nadal was always ready and equipped to deal with whatever the Swiss threw at him.

As every rally went by, Wawrinka’s head shook more and more. At championship point, he eventually succumbed like all the other nine finalists to face the peerless Nadal at the French Open, and hit a weak backhand into the net. The Raging Bull looked up to the skies, with the utmost contentment that he was the champion of Roland Garros once again.

“The feeling that I have here is impossible to describe, impossible to compare to other places,” said Nadal afterward, with a tear in his eye. “The adrenaline and nerves I feel on this court I can't describe. This is the most important event in my career, without a doubt.”

This was an impressive display which makes you think that Nadal’s rule in Paris could very well continue into the next two to three years. Hence, if he can stay injury free, there are no limits as to what this peerless legend could now achieve on clay.