Rafael Nadal has been labeled as "the pride of our country" by Spain boss Luis Enrique following his latest French Open triumph.
Nadal made it 13 Roland Garros titles with a straight-sets victory over Novak Djokovic on Sunday, taking him level with Roger Federer on 20 grand slams.
It was his 100th match win at the event in Paris at a major he has dominated, losing only twice.
Nadal's supremacy in his 6-0 6-2 7-5 win against the world number one on Philippe Chatrier was underlined by the fact he made just 14 unforced errors to his opponent's 52.
And Luis Enrique, whose side face Ukraine in the Nations League on Tuesday, heaped praise on his 34-year-old compatriot.
"I want to congratulate him on behalf of the [Spanish Football] Federation," he said.
"I remember his way of facing failures and his respect for his opponents.
"He is the pride of our country. He offers us a lesson in life."
Nadal has now moved to 999 career wins across all tournaments, with 201 defeats, and has captured 86 titles.
In the titles reckoning, he sits fourth in the Open Era (behind Jimmy Connors' 109, Roger Federer's 103 and Ivan Lendl's 94). A startling 60 of those titles from Nadal have come on clay.
