Paris: Rafael Nadal won his record seventh French Open title, returning to Roland Garros on Monday to defeat Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 in a match that was halted the night before because of rain.

When play resumed, second-seeded Nadal promptly broke top-seeded Djokovic's serve to pull even at 2-2. The rain started falling again, and with Nadal leading 5-4 in the fourth, it looked as if play might be halted once more.

But the players waited it out for a few minutes under umbrellas, and Nadal returned to the court. Each man held serve, then Nadal broke again, winning match point on Djokovic's double fault.

Djokovic failed in his quest to become the first winner of four straight major titles in 43 years.