Paris ends as it should have ended, with Rafael Nadal in triumph, embracing the Musketeers Cup which he made his own for the twelfth time, destroying the valiant Dominic Thiem in a substantially dominated final. But it also ends very well for the Italians, who this morning officially have a player again in the top 10 in the world.

It is Fabio Fognini who, with the knockout rounds at Roland Garros, fills an epochal 40-year void. It was Corrado Barazzutti, in fact, the last Italian top 10 in January 1979. But let us return to the umpteenth undertaking by Rafael Nadal who once again proved unbeatable in Paris.

14 years have passed since his first success at Roland Garros and in all these years only two players have had the strength to beat him: Robin Soderling in the 2009 round of 16 and Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals of 2015. The other 93 games he played in Paris, Rafa won them all, using only the fifth set on two occasions: against John Isner in the first round of 2011 and against Novak Djokovic in the semifinals in 2013.

And next year he will be able to point to the only record he misses in this tournament and wins 15 years later, a feat that at the moment succeeded only to Ken Rosewall, first in 1953 as an amateur and then in 1968 as a professional.

In addition to voicing Bjorn Borg's 6 successes, Rafa Nadal moved even closer to Roger Federer, always first with 20 Slams (6 Australian Open, 8 Wimbledon, 5 US Open and a Roland Garros). Nadal chases at 18 with 12 Roland Garros, 2 Wimbledon, 3 US Open and an Australian Open). Third is Djokovic with 15 titles (7 Australian Open, 4 Wimbledon, 3 US Open and one Roland Garros) and fourth Pete Sampras with 14 (2 Australian Open, 7 Wimbledon and 5 US Open). Rafa's success was the result of the enormous progress made by the Majorcan with the backhand, the service and the flight game, necessary (given the advancing age) to shorten the exchanges. But it must also be said that his opponents, all, starting with Nishikori.

Wimbledon will start in three weeks and it would be unnatural not to consider Rafa as the number 1 favorite. Finally, let's go back to Fognini. The blue, which we remember champion in the Masters 1000 of Monte Carlo, is this morning number 10 of the world with a small margin of advantage over Isner and with an equally small delay from the number 9 which is Karen Khachanov. But from a Wimbledon perspective, Fabio will have to defend the third round of last year, while Kevin Anderson, who is number 8 in the world, even 1200 points for the final, Karen Khachanov the knockout round, John Isner the semifinal, Del Potro the quarters, Medevedv the third round. It is therefore very likely that at the end of Wimbledon Fabio may even be in a better position.

2005- beats Puerta (Arg) 6-7 6-3 6-1 7-5. At the debut in Paris he eliminated Federer in the semifinals and played the first Slam final against the left-handed Mariano Puerta. The Argentine serves 5-4 on the fourth set, but he spoils 3 set points.

2006 - beats Federer (Svi) 1-6 6-1 6-4 7-6. It is the first of nine Slam finals played against Roger Federer. Nadal closes 7-5 in the fourth set after serving for the match at 5-4. Only Borg had won 2 titles before the age of 20.

2007- beats Federer (Svi) 6-3 4-6 6-3 6-4. Second final in a row against Federer, the only one able to get him a set. The Spaniard plays a stellar match by canceling 16 Swiss break balls out of 17 for a historic three of a kind.

2008- beats Federer (Svi) 6-1 6-3 6-0. Rafa drops poker and becomes the third to win without losing a set after Nastase (1973) and Borg (1978 and 1980). Of all the Parisian finals in Rafa this is the shortest (1h48m)

2010 - beats Soderling (Swe) 6-4 6-2 6-4. Twelve months after the first defeat in Paris in the round of 16 against Soderling, Rafa retaliates by beating the Swede in the final and winning the title again without losing set.

2011 - beats Federer (Svi) 7-5 7-6 5-7 6-1. Sixth title at Roland Garros for Rafa that equals the six centers of Bjorn Borg winning the tenth career Grand Slam with the fourth final victory over Roger Federer. beat Djokovic (Ser) 6-4 6-3 2-6 7-5. Seventh seal for a final of 3h50m (the longest for Nadal) spread between Sunday and Monday. At the suspension Rafa is ahead 2 sets at 1, but back a break at the fourth (2-1 Nole). beats Ferrer (Spa) 6-3 6-2 6-3. After beating Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, 9-7 in the fifth in 4 hours and 37 minutes, Rafa gets on the roller coaster and destroys compatriot David Ferrer in the final 2h16m.

2014 - beat Djokovic (Ser) 3-6 7-5 6-2 6-4. It is the number 9 success in Paris, the number 14 in the Slams in 20 final played. To reward Rafa, after 3h30m of battle, is Bjorn Borg, 40 years after the first title of 1974. he beats Wawrinka (Svi) 6-2 6-3 6-1. The tenth victory (15th Grand Slam) is also the third without losing set: 35 games sold in 7 matches (32 those left by Borg in 1978). No one takes more than 4 games per set.

2018- beat Thiem (Aut) 6-4 6-3 6-2. The eleventh Cup of the Musketeers coincides with the No. 17 Slam. Rafa crushes Thiem, Schwartzman is the only one to steal a set, Bolelli and Marterer to drag him to the tie break.

2019- beat Thiem (Aut) 6-3 5-7 6-1 6-1. The hunt for Federer's 20 Slams is back with the 12th place at Roland Garros. Rafa crashes the Swiss into seeds and destroys Thiem after 2 hours of high-level play.