The victory means that Rafael Nadal has won a record 22 Grand Slams, two more than his old rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer who sit on 20.

It also the first time that Nadal has won the Australian Open and the Paris Slam in the same year.

Reflecting on Rafael Nadal’s historic victory, former world number one John McEnroe heaped praise upon the Spaniard’s record win, stating that Nadal’s impressive tally “will never ever happen again.”

Speaking to Eurosport, McEnroe said, “It’s beyond belief. It took a player – [Pete] Sampras – 35 years to catch Roy Emerson. We were thinking it would be another 30 years [before the record was broken again], and now it’s one, two, three guys.

“Most of us thought it would be Novak [Djokovic], but then there was that horrible debacle in Australia. I don’t think Novak thought that Rafa would go and win [the Australian Open].

“Djokovic came [to Roland-Garros] thinking ‘I’ve got to catch this guy’, and then Rafa stepped up to the plate again. If anyone comes close to this, I will stand on my head and do an entire telecast – if Eurosport invites me back in 15 years and Casper Ruud has just won his 14th straight French Open – I will stand on my head the entire telecast.

“This will never, ever, ever happen again in our sport, that one male – or female – will win as many of these events, so enjoy it while we can. [Rafa] has been giving signs that maybe he might not play anymore, possibly. I don’t know if that’s true, but it sounds conceivable that it’s going to be his last match.

“He’s talked about not playing Wimbledon… why would he not play Wimbledon if he’s won the Australian and the French? He could win the Grand Slam, so we’ll see.”