French Open winner Horacio Zeballos opened up about the lasting memories of facing Rafael Nadal on Court Philippe-Chatrier immediately after clinching his first Grand Slam. At the combined age of 79, the 40-year-old and his doubles partner Marcel Granollers won their first major titles together on June 7 at Roland-Garros.

It was Zeballos and Granollers' fourth Grand Slam final together but their first at the clay-court venue, where they defeated British duo Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski 6-0, 6-7 (5), 7-5. The fifth seeds had finished as runners up at the US Open in 2019 and Wimbledon in 2021 and 2023. After finally achieving his lifelong dream of winning a Grand Slam, Argentine veteran Zeballos harkened back to his only other appearance on Roland-Garros' main court - a defeat to the 'King of Clay' himself back in 2010.

Despite the outcome of that second round singles encounter with Nadal 15 years ago, he spoke after his triumph earlier this month about it as one of the highlights of his career, which no doubt would have fuelled his motivation this time around.

He explained how both of his matches at Court Philippe-Chatrier would be tales to tell his children, saying: "I've played twice on this court. Once in 2010 against Rafa (Nadal).

"You can imagine how that ended; he won, obviously, and today. Imagine how beautiful it will be to tell my children about the wonderful moments I experienced on this court."

He had begun by saying: "This is going to be very difficult. I don't know where to start, but I want to thank you for your words (to his British rivals), and congratulate you for being an impressive team. If there was a team I didn't want to face in a final, it was you.

"I have to thank my partner (Granollers); we've been playing together for a long time, having fun and trying to bring out the best in each other every day. Also, to our entire team, you are incredible and have the hardest job dealing with us every day.

"Thank you very much; I take away one of the best moments of my career. Thanks to all my family and friends in Argentina, the people who support me every day. See you next year and let's go."

Zeballos was just one of countless hopefuls dispatched by Nadal across his 115 French Open matches. The Spaniard won an extraordinary 14 of his 22 titles on Court Philippe-Chatrier, including nine out of 10 between 2005 and 2014.

While Zeballos is still going strong at 40, Nadal retired aged 38 after representing Spain at the Davis Cup Finals last November.

And he returned to his old stomping ground in Paris to a standing ovation for his 50-minute farewell ceremony last month, where he was celebrated as the greatest player the tournament has ever seen.