SEVENTH HEAVEN: HOW RAFA MATCHES GREATS
Rafael Nadal’s seventh French Open victory enabled him to bypass Bjorn Borg’s (right) record of six titles at Roland Garros. The Spaniard also equalled Chris Evert’s record of winning the women’s tournament seven times
The Spaniard’s feat also equalled the best performance of any man at a single grand slam: Pete Sampras’s seven titles at Wimbledon
Nadal’s seventh French Open title takes his personal tally of grand slams to 11, which puts him joint fourth with Rod Laver and Borg in the all-time grand slam winners list. Roger Federer tops the list with 16 Major wins, with Sampras on 14 and Roy Emerson 12. Novak Djokovic has five
Nadal now has as many Roland Garros titles as John McEnroe has grand slams and more French Open titles than Stefan Edberg and Boris Becker have Major titles
However, Nadal has not beaten the women’s record for victories at a single tournament as Martina Navratilova (above) has won Wimbledon nine times
Away from tennis, Jack Nicklaus has won golf’s Masters at Augusta six times and Harry Vardon has won the Open Championship six times.
In Snooker, Stephen Hendry has been world champion seven times, although the record is 15, held by Joe Davis
Phil Taylor has won the PDC World Darts Championship 13 times, including eight titles in a row between 1995 and 2002
Formula One great Michael Schumacher (right) has won the drivers’ world championship a record seven times, including five consecutive titles between 2000 and 2004