Rain or shine, clay or mud, Sunday or Monday, Rafael Nadal rules Roland Garros. The man they call "Rafa" won his record seventh French Open title Monday, returning a day after getting rained out to put the finishing touches on a 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 victory over Novak Djokovic. He denied Djokovic in his own run at history — the quest for the "Novak Slam." The match ended on Djokovic's double-fault, a fittingly awkward conclusion to a final that had plenty of stops and starts, including a brief delay during the fourth set Monday while — what else? — a rain shower passed over the stadium. It was a 3 hour, 50 minute match spread over two days filled with momentum swings, outbursts, testy exchanges with the officials and then, finally, a familiar closing act: Nadal, the second-seeded Spaniard, down on his knees, celebrating a title at a place that feels like home. "I suffered," Nadal said, "but I enjoyed." Wrapping up the match a few minutes after the brief rain shower ended, Nadal broke the record he shared with Bjorn Borg, improved to 52-1 at the French Open and beat the man who had defeated him in the last three Grand Slam finals. "I don't know if I am the best or not," Nadal said. " I am not the right one to say that. The only thing is, I have probably one of the best results ever, probably in this kind of surface, and for me (that) is great." After serving his fourth double-fault of the match, the top-seeded Djokovic dropped his head, slumped his shoulders and walked slowly toward the net — a two-day adventure complete, and not with the result he wanted. He was trying to become the first man since Rod Laver, 43 years ago, to win four straight major titles. He came up short just as Roger Federer twice did in seeking four in a row — his pursuit also halted by Nadal at Roland Garros in 2006 and 2007. Nadal won his 11th overall Grand Slam title, tying him with Borg and Laver for fourth among the all-time leaders. Next up on Nadal's list: Chris Evert? Yes. Evert won seven titles at Roland Garros — before Monday, the only player, man or woman, to achieve that.