Rafael Nadal denied Roger Federer a place in the history books after maintaining his dominance of the world number one in the French Open final.

Federer, hoping to join Don Budge and Rod Laver as the only men to have held all four Grand Slam crowns at one time, saw his record against the Spanish star drop to one win in seven meetings as Nadal extended his winning run on clay to 60 matches.

The Swiss started in blistering fashion but could not maintain it as Nadal eventually found his range to seal a 1-6 6-1 6-4 7-6 (7/4) triumph in just over three hours in blistering conditions at Roland Garros.

Federer won Wimbledon and the US Open last year and started 2006 by triumphing in Melbourne at the Australian Open.

But, bidding to become the first man to hold all four majors since 1969 when Laver achieved the feat for the second time, Federer fell short.

He was magnanimous in defeat and insisted reaching the French Open final for the first time represented a degree of success.

"I really want to congratulate Rafael," he said. "He is so strong on clay and played a really good match. He is so hard to beat on this surface.

"He's performed a great season on clay and during the fortnight. He truly deserves to win.

"The tournament was good for me too, though.

"It is the first time I have got to the final so I am happy with that even though I couldn't win it. I will try again next year."

Nadal, who turned 20 earlier in the tournament, has held the Indian sign over 24-year-old Federer this year.

The Spaniard prevailed in the final in Dubai on a hardcourt and then followed it up with claycourt wins in the Monte Carlo and Rome finals.

His win on Sunday was never in doubt once he rode out Federer's explosive start.

"This is a fantastic victory and an incredible moment in my career as a tennis player," said Nadal.

"Federer is the best player in history, no other player has ever had such quality."

For the first set, Federer showed all those qualities, romping through it in 37 minutes as his groundstrokes pounded the lines.

But Nadal, as expected, battled back and quickly established a 3-0 lead in the second. He broke again to wrap up the set and level the match.

Federer's game was uncharacteristically littered with errors, especially from his potent forehand and Nadal was not about to pass up the opportunity of maintaining the momentum.

The Spaniard rode his luck by staving off four break points at the start of the third but then struck by claiming the Federer delivery.

He served out the set as Federer put another groundstroke wide.

Nadal added another nail into Federer's coffin at the start of the fourth set when he took his serve with a winning forehand.

The Spaniard held on to his advantage to later take a 5-3 lead but showed a few nerves when serving for the match and Federer broke back when Nadal made a rare mistake from the back of the court.

In the tie-break, Nadal took a 3-2 lead after Federer missed a drop-shot and a forehand when the Swiss was serving on the back of an early mini-break.

Federer fought back to make it 5-4 with a great volley but a powerful serve from Nadal earned him a match point which he converted with a forehand volley.