Last year the Spaniard cruised to a straight sets win against the Austrian but he did not have it all his own way on court Philippe-Chatrier.

In a nervy first set Thiem was the first to show his teeth as he broke Nadal for a 3-2 lead.

Nadal did what he does best, though, and broke the Austrian straight back, before racing away with the set at 6-3 thanks to four consecutive games.

While many would have bowed to Nadal's greatness at that point, Thiem fought back and leveled the match with a crucial break at 6-5 in the second set.

It was just the second set Nadal had lost at this year's tournament - the other coming in his four set win against Belgium's David Goffin in the third round.

As if angered at Thiem's audacity, Nadal raised his level and ran away with the match for a 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 victory.

The 33-year-old Nadal has now amassed a staggering 93 wins from 95 career singles matches at Roland Garros.

His only losses on the Parisian clay remain against Swede Robin Söderling in 2009 and Novak Djokovic in 2015.

The 12th title from 12 finals secures an 18th Grand Slam title for Nadal, putting him just two slam victories behind great rival Roger Federer, who has 20.

In the women's doubles final there was home delight for Kristina Mladenovic and her Hungarian partner Tímea Babos.

The second seeds enjoyed a straight sets 6-2, 6-3, win against Chinese pair Duan Yingying and Zheng Saisai.