Rafael Nadal's place in the history books has long been assured but yesterday the Spaniard set a mark that may never be matched as he won an eighth French Open title in typically ebullient style.

The 27-year-old's 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 victory over compatriot David Ferrer made him the first man to win one of the four grand-slam events eight times.

Nadal's 12th grand slam title puts him third on the all-time list, alongside the Australian Roy Emerson, just two behind Pete Sampras. Even Roger Federer's record tally of 17 may not be beyond his reach.

"This is a very special win, a very emotional win," said Nadal, whose toughest moment yesterday was arguably when a protester, wearing a mask and carrying a flare, made it on to court before being wrestled to the ground by security staff.

"Nobody of my team dreamed about a comeback like this because we thought that was going to be impossible," Nadal said, of his seven-month absence from the tour with a left knee injury. "But here we are today, and that's really fantastic and incredible. I'm very, very happy."

Ten people were later arrested in connection with the protest, which was accompanied by others at Roland Garros, against the French government's plans to legalise same-sex marriage. Nadal admitted he was a little taken aback. "I was a little scared because I didn't really see it, I was just turning," he said, "but the security people were very fast."

Having beaten world No.1 Novak Djokovic in a breathtaking semi-final on Friday, nothing seemed likely to stop Nadal from winning here for the eighth time in nine years.

As his final forehand, hit off the back foot and with his weight moving backwards, flew for a winner, Nadal threw himself on his back, basking in the glory of his seventh victory in nine events since beginning his comeback in February.

Ferrer, in his first grand-slam final, played well but even though the cooler conditions negated some of Nadal's spin, he was always second best. An early break of serve was cancelled out by a few uncharacteristic errors but Nadal rifled a backhand pass to break for 4-3, then broke two games later to take the set.

With his tail up, Nadal broke for 2-0 with three straight winners and then saved four break points in the fifth game and, despite dropping his own serve at 5-2 after the protester incident, broke immediately when Ferrer twice double-faulted.

The pair traded breaks early in the third set as Ferrer tried to become more aggressive but, at 4-3, another double fault handed Nadal the vital break. After moving to double match point on his own serve, Nadal hit a forehand into the forehand corner of Ferrer, before collapsing on to his back in familiar style.

In the stands, his uncle and long-time coach Toni Nadal punched the air.

"I am very happy for him because I know what he has been through," Toni said. "For all the bad moments and when he was in pain all the time, I think this is special.

A quirk of the ranking system means Nadal will actually drop to No.5 today, behind Ferrer, but with no points to defend for the rest of the year there is a good chance he could end 2013 as the world No.1 again.

"That is not my goal, but I know I am in a very good position," he said. "I can be a little bit more relaxed. Everything went much better than I thought. If I'm still doing things the right way, I will have my chance to finish the year in a very good position."

For the 31-year-old Ferrer, the experience of a first grand-slam final was a good one.

"This match was closer than you might think if you only look at the score," he said. "But I was not consistent enough if you compare this match with others I played. Rafael played better than me, he served better; he played very aggressively with his forehand and didn't make mistakes."

Nadal will now take a few days off before travelling to London to begin his preparations for Wimbledon, where will be seeded fifth, which means that one side of the draw will contain three of the top four.

Last year, his second-round defeat by Lukas Rosol was his last match before his injury-enforced break. This time, he said his left knee is holding up. "It is resisting tough matches like against Djokovic the other day and yesterday I didn't have a terrible feeling, so that's very positive," he said. "I will check everything after here. All my life I played one tournament before Wimbledon and my not playing before Wimbledon means I have many uncertainties in preparing for the next grand slam. Whether Wimbledon turns out good for me or not, my ranking will still be good. My goal is I want to feel good, to feel competitive. I achieved that already."