Nadal's first French Open win set him on a path to untold dominance. Here's how it unfolded, according to those that lived it.

Few athletes have become more synonymous with a single event than Rafael Nadal and the French Open. The Spaniard won a record 14 titles at the grand slam in his career and Roland Garros gave its champion one final goodbye on Sunday.

Rafael Nadal stepped out into Court Philippe-Chatrier on Sunday to the sort of unending adulation, thunderous applause and chants of his nickname, “Rafa,” that greeted him for years as he accumulated a record 14 French Open championships,

It is unusual to think of Novak Djokovic as not being the favorite to win a French Open semifinal, given that his greatest clay-court rival Rafael Nadal has retired. After all, Djokovic has won three titles at Roland-Garros among his men's record 24 Grand Slams.

French Open may go down as the official starting point for a new era of men's tennis. It will be the first meeting in a grand slam final between the sport's two ascendent stars: Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.