Rafael Nadal, Madrid Open
Tennis - ATP 1000 Masters - Madrid Open - Men's Singles Final - Dominic Thiem of Austria v Rafael Nadal of Spain - Madrid, Spain - 14/5/17 - Nadal reacts after posing with ball boys and girls after his match. Reuters / Susana Vera

Rafael Nadal made history Sunday with his record-tying 30th ATP Masters 1000 title after defeating Austria's Dominic Thiem 7-6(8), 6-4 in the finals of the Mutua Madrid Open. With his fifth Madrid Masters title, Nadal received 1,000 points and rose to World No. 4 in the ATP rankings after starting the new season with a cloud of uncertainty hanging over his future.

With his career 52nd clay-court title, Nadal also extended his recent winning streak to 15-0 after breezing to victories at Monte-Carlo, Barcelona and now Madrid. Nadal will now enter the Italian Open, the last stop before the 2017 French Open.

Nadal was put to the test by World No. 9 Thiem, who broke the Spaniard's service early and pushed the first set to a tie-breaker. A little less than two weeks ago, Nadal had beaten the 23-year-old Austrian in the finals of the Barcelona Open. This battle was a lot closer as Thiem saved two Championship points at 5-4 in the second set until the veteran Nadal closed the match out.

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. "To play here and win here means a lot to me. I am always very nervous and emotional to play a final in Madrid," a relieved Nadal said after Sunday's win, via Yahoo Sports.

Here all the stats that matter:

52: The number of career clay-court titles

By capturing his 5th Madrid Masters title, Nadal took his tally of career clay-court tournaments to 52, leading the 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 52-8 in all clay-court finals.

72: Nadal's tally of career titles

With Sunday's victory, Nadal increased his career title count to 72 which includes 52 wins on clay, four on grass and 16 championships on hard courts. Nadal is currently sixth on the all-time 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 ATP Masters 1000 titles every calendar year

Nadal has now won at least one ATP title every year since 2004. The 2017 Monte Carlo Masters was 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.

30: The number of ATP Masters 1000 titles

The victory also marked Nadal's 30th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title. He is now only one shy of record-holder World No.2 Novak Djokovic (29). If Nadal were to prevail in the Italian Open next week, he will set a new record with 31 ATP Masters 1000 titles. Novak Djokovic (30), Roger Federer (26), Andre Agassi (17), Andy Murray (14) and Pete Sampras (11) will be behind Nadal in the all-time list.