Nadal earned his 10th Grand Slam championship with the 7-5, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-1 victory Sunday, dropping to his knees and covering his face after Federer sent a forehand long on match point.
The top-ranked Nadal improved his record at Roland Garros to 45-1, and to 17-8 against Federer. In Grand Slam finals, Nadal is 6-2 against his main rival.
Nadal was playing to Federer's backhand on Court Philippe Chatrier, but even the 16-time Grand Slam champion's forehand was off. He committed 56 unforced errors, while Nadal had 27.
Nadal is the second youngest man to reach 10 major titles. Only Borg was younger.
He's also about 6 months younger than Federer was when he won his 10th.