Rafael Nadal had one shaky moment in Paris yesterday. It came not when he was ripping Stan Wawrinka limb from limb on Court Philippe Chatrier, but when he took possession of a special replica trophy to mark “La Decima”: his tenth French Open title.

Underestimating the weight of his very own Coupe des Mousquetaires, Nadal let it slip halfway out of his grasp. But his reflexes, razor-sharp all the way through this tournament, were quick enough to save him. He snatched up the cup before it hit the ground, and then embraced the man who had made the presentation – his uncle, Toni Nadal, who will step down from his day-to-day coaching team at the end of the season.

The formalities and statistics ended up overshadowing the match itself, which proved disappointingly one-sided. With his 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 victory, Nadal became the first player to land the same Grand Slam more than nine times in the Open era.

Admittedly, Margaret Court won 11 Australian Opens, but most of them came in the 1960s, when you barely needed an overarm serve to participate.

In terms of sporting dynasties, this is an outlier. In squash, Jahangir Khan went unbeaten between the spring of 1981 and the winter of 1986. The 400m hurdler Ed Moses overcame all-comers for just under a decade, starting in August 1977. But to achieve Nadal’s level of dominance in tennis, the most global of sports, is mind-boggling.