Timeline: Rafael Nadal's journey to a men's record 22 Grand Slam titles

Rafael Nadal beat Casper Ruud in the French Open final on Sunday to win a men's record-extending 22nd Grand Slam title. The following is a timeline charting how Nadal, playing in what is considered to be the greatest era of men's tennis, surpassed the haul of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. 2003: Federer became the newest entrant into the Grand Slam club with the first of his eight Wimbledon titles, beating Mark Philippoussis in the final.

Tally: Federer 1 2004: The Swiss flexed his muscles by winning three majors -- the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. Tally: Federer 4 2005: While Federer defended his Wimbledon and U.S.

Open titles, Nadal burst on to the scene with his first French Open title beating Mariano Puerta in the final. Tally: Federer 6; Nadal 1 2006: Federer's domination continued as he won three majors, including beating Nadal in the Wimbledon final, but Nadal laid the foundation for his claycourt reign with his second French Open title. Tally: Federer 9; Nadal 2 2007: The seemingly unstoppable Federer repeated his feat from the previous year but the French Open title continued to elude him as Nadal thwarted him in the final for a second straight year.

Tally: Federer 12; Nadal 3 2008: Djokovic hit the big time with his maiden major, beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Australian Open final. After his French Open triumph, Nadal stunned Federer in the Wimbledon final but the Swiss responded by winning the US Open. Tally: Federer 13; Nadal 5; Djokovic 1 2009: Nadal won his first hardcourt Grand Slam title, edging out Federer in five sets in the Australian Open final.