backhand slice and doublefaulting to drop his serve and trail 1-3.

However Nadal returned to executing aggressive topspin groundstrokes to win the final eleven games of the match; hitting a down the line backhand winner on match point; his 37th winner of the match.

Nadal holds a 112-3 career Roland Garros record which includes 14 singles titles. Nadal is 14-0 in Roland Garros finals and has won 22 singles grand slam titles, the most in men's tennis history.

And with his Australian Open victory in January, Nadal is halfway towards winning the elusive Grand Slam (winning all four of tennis' biggest tournaments: the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open in one calendar year.)

The Grand Slam was last won by Steffi Graf of Germany in 1988. Graf possessed a powerful forehand and serve and with her athleticism dominated women's tennis with no real rival for years.

Graf was a teenager at 19 years old when she won the Grand Slam in 1988. Nadal at age 36 will find it more difficult physically to win Wimbledon and the US Open this year to complete his Grand Slam.

The tennis competitions and tennis draws are also more difficult presently than in 1988.

In 2009 the American Serena Williams lost at the US Open in the semifinals after winning the first three grand slam tournaments of that year.

More recently the world number one Novak Djokovic of Serbia last year took titles at the first three grand slams before losing in the final of the US Open.

Nadal won Wimbledon in 2008 and 2010.

Wimbledon begins on Monday, June 27th and ends with the men's final on Sunday, July 10th.