MONTE CARLO - Rafael Nadal turned on the power to retain his Monte Carlo Masters tennis title with a pulsating 6-2 6-7 6-3 7-6 win over world No 1 Roger Federer today.
World No 2 Nadal, 19, is the only man to have beaten Federer this season and also beat
the Swiss in the Dubai final last month.
The Spaniard, who improved his record against Federer to 4-1, again proved too tough for his gifted opponent.
"To beat Roger is always special," said Nadal.
"Every match is different. This one was easy at first and then became really tough."
The combative teenager has now scored 42 consecutive wins on clay which puts him third on the all-time list behind Guillermo Vilas, who won 53, and Bjorn Borg, 46.
By winning the first highlight of the claycourt season, Nadal made clear he would be a favourite to retain his crown at the French Open starting on May 28.
Federer, who had never gone past the quarterfinals in Monte Carlo before, confirmed this week that he could shine on the slow surface before falling to the ultimate specialist.
"This is my first tournament of the season on clay and I'm happy to have reached the final," Federer said.
"I am not disappointed nor frustrated but I'm exhausted. It was close and it could have been a different story if I had levelled the match at two sets all. I think it's wrong to say that he's better than me on clay."
Playing close to perfection, Nadal opened up a 4-0 lead in the first set, which he wrapped up in 42 minutes by winning his last service game to love.
The second set was a lot closer, Federer fighting back to 5-5 from a break down.
The Swiss levelled the match after taking the tiebreak 7-2 with an ace on set point.
Nadal dropped his serve in the opening game of the third set but he broke back immediately and again in the eighth game. The Spaniard served for the set and took it with a superb forehand winner.
Nadal won the first three games of the fourth before Federer recovered to level the set and force another tiebreak.
Although Federer went 3-0 up, Nadal underlined his battling instincts to take it 7-5. A forehand winner on his first match point sealed victory after three hours and 49 minutes of thrilling tennis.
- REUTERS
MONTE CARLO - Rafael Nadal turned on the power to retain his Monte Carlo Masters tennis title with a pulsating 6-2 6-7 6-3 7-6 win over world No 1 Roger Federer today.
World No 2 Nadal, 19, is the only man to have beaten Federer this season and also beat
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