Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka looks dejected during the final against Spain's Rafael Nadal at French Open in Roland Garros, Paris on June 11, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

"He puts this doubt in your head when you play against him," said Wawrinka, who had been 3-0 in Grand Slam finals, including a victory over Nadal at the 2014 Australian Open.

After netting a forehand in the second set, Wawrinka pounded his racket on his head several times. Later, he spiked that piece of equipment, then mangled it, breaking it over his knee.

Nadal has that way of wearing down opponents. On this day, he was terrific. He won all 12 service games, made a mere 12 unforced errors and won 94 total points to Wawrinka's 57.

One area of significant improvement for Nadal is his serve. Once passable, it is now potent. Confronted with the match's first break point, 10 minutes in, he solved the predicament this way: service winner at 107 mph (173 kph), ace at 117 mph (189 kph), service winner at 120 mph (194 kph). That would be Wawrinka's lone break chance.

When the ball was in play, Nadal barely missed at all. His groundstrokes were delivered with loud, long grunts, echoing in the otherwise mostly silent Court Philippe Chatrier, filled with 15,000 or so souls too rapt to speak. They did let out a burst of claps and roars in the second set on one particularly exquisite display: Nadal sprinted to his left to chase Wawrinka's cross-court backhand wide of the doubles alley and whipped a forehand that curved around the net post and landed near a line for a winner.

Even Wawrinka applauded that one.

"Nothing to say about today," Wawrinka told Nadal during the trophy ceremony. "You were too good."Indeed. Good as ever.

AP