Rafael Nadal, 2017 French Open
Tennis - Italy Open Men's Singles Quarterfinal match - Novak Djokovic of Serbia v Rafael Nadal of Spain - Rome, Italy - 13/5/16. Nadal serves the ball. Reuters / Alessandro Bianchi

Rafael Nadal made history Sunday by becoming the most successful clay-court player since the start of the Open Era (1968 onwards). Nadal breezed past fellow Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-1, 6-3 to capture the Monte Carlo Masters, his first ATP Masters 1000 title of the year following finals defeats at the Australian Open, Mexican Open and Miami Open.

50: The number of career clay-court titles

By capturing his 10th Monte Carlo Masters title, Nadal took his tally of career clay-court tournaments to 50, eclipsing the previous record held by Argentine legend Guillermo Vilas. Former Austria's Thomas Moster, the former World No. 1, is next on the list with 40 career titles on clay-court tournaments. Nadal is now 50-8 in all clay-court finals. His only loss at Monte Carlo came in 2013 when he fell to Novak Djokovic.

10: Only player to win an event on ten occasions

The 30-year-old star also became the first player in Open Era history to win 10 titles at the same tournament, a special feat that has been dubbed "La Decima." Roger Federer (8 at Halle, Germany) and Guillermo Vilas (8, Buenos Aires) are the players with the next highest number of singles titles at the same event.

The 14-time Grand Slam champion is the overwhelming favourite heading into this year's French Open (May 22-June 11). If Nadal were to prevail at Roland Garros, he will become the first player in history to win a Grand Slam tournament on ten occasions. In fact, he is also primed to win his 10th Barcelona Open title (ATP Masters 500 event) next week as the clay-court season rolls on.

70: Nadal's tally of career titles

With Sunday's victory, Nadal increased his career title count to 70 which includes 50 wins on clay, four on grass and 16 championships on hard courts. Nadal is currently sixth on the list behind Jimmy Connors (109), Ivan Lendl (94), Roger Federer (91), John McEnroe (77) and Rod Laver (74). With 14 Grand Slam titles, Nadal is tied second on the all-time list behind Roger Federer (18).

14: The streak of titles every calendar year

Nadal has now won at least one ATP title every year since 2004. The 2017 Monte Carlo Masters is his first title victory since Apr. 2016 when he beat Kei Nishikori in the finals at Barcelona. Roger Federer (15 titles between 2001 and 2015) holds the record for most consecutive seasons with at least one singles titles. Ivan Lendl (14, 1980-93) and Jimmy Connors (13, 1972-84) are next on the list. Nadal's streak is still the longest active streak. There's every possibility that he equals Federer's streak next year.

29: The number of ATP Masters 1000 titles

The victory also marked Nadal's 29th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title. He is now only one shy of record-holder World No.2 Novak Djokovic (29).

“It has been an amazing week on one of the most important events on the tour. I played well here, which helps me a lot to start the clay court season with confidence,” Nadal said during the presentation ceremony. Nadal will now continue his clay-court season at the Barcelona Open (April 24-30), Madrid Open (May 7-14) and the Italian Open (May 14-21) before the French Open kicks off in the last week of May.