Sixth French Open title is the sweetest of all for Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal believes his sixth French Open title was the most special of them all because of the trials and tribulations he had to go through to claim it.

The Spaniard defeated Roger Federer 7-5, 7-6 (7/3), 5-7, 6-1 to equal Bjorn Borg's record of Roland Garros crowns and ensure he will be the world No 1 going into Wimbledon.

Nadal won last year's tournament without dropping a set but it was very different from the start this time as he battled back from two sets to one down against John Isner in round one and struggled through the rest of the first week.

The 25-year-old found his game when he needed to but was given a stern examination by great rival Federer, who showed he is far from a fading force.

Nadal, who arrives in London today for the AEGON Championships at Queen's Club, said: "To win this kind of title is always satisfying but sometimes when you fight a lot to win, when you try your best in every moment to change the situation, it makes the title more special.

"For example, in 2008 I think I played better than ever, but I finished the tournament and I didn't feel that I won Roland Garros because I won in three sets every round."

Federer had lost three previous finals to Nadal at Roland Garros but his performance against Novak Djokovic on Friday was one of his best ever on clay and he came out fighting.

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Nadal looked nervy and in no time Federer was 5-2 in front. He even had a set point but narrowly missed with a drop shot, and Nadal pounced, taking five games in a row to win the set.

The second set was a classic as Federer carried the disappointment into the early stages and had to fight for all he was worth not to trail by two breaks.

After a rain delay at 4-4 in the second set, it went to a tie-break, with Nadal winning the first four points and going on to take it comfortably.

Federer dug deep in the third to come from a break down to take it and had chances to break at the start of the fourth but players do not come mentally stronger than Nadal, and that would prove to be third seed Federer's last chance.

Nadal felt the start of the fourth set was the key moment, saying: "He was a little bit unlucky in the first set, and after that he came back fantastically well in the second. In the third I had 4-2 but I think he played very, very well from that moment to the beginning of the fourth. When Roger plays like this, the opponent cannot do anything sometimes.

"I just waited for my moment, tried to be there all the time, tried to put him in difficult situations. Saving the 0-40 was very important for me."That was a big turning point of the match."

Federer was back in a grand slam final for the first time since the Australian Open last year, and he was pleased with his display, although he knew the chances had been there for it to be so much better.

He said: "It was tough all the way through. I thought we played at a very high level and I was pretty happy with the way I played today.

Andy Murray, who lost to Nadal in the semi-finals had still to make a decision last night on playing at Queen's Club because of an ankle injury.

The second seed, who has a first-round bye, has been cautious to commit to the grass-court tournament with Wimbledon only two weeks away.