Rafael Nadal swept to a 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Gaston Gaudio in the final yesterday to land his eighth claycourt title of the year and extend his winning run on the surface to 34 matches.
The 19-year-old Spaniard confirmed his status as the best claycourt player in the worldand sealed a place in the lucrative season-ending Masters Cup with a commanding win over the third-seeded Argentine.
The French Open champion recovered from losing his opening service game to take the first set in 54 minutes, broke twice in the second and ran Gaudio ragged as he completed victory in two hours and 41 minutes.
Nadal, already assured of climbing to second in the world behind Roger Federer in the new Entry System rankings, scooped the first prize of 104,400 ($188,311) and a luxury car, although the fact that he has no driving licence means he will be unable to make much use of it.
Nadal had not lost a set going into a final he was heavily favoured to win and after a slightly nervous start he maintained that record with few worries.
Gaudio, a claycourt specialist himself and the man Nadal replaced as French Open champion, started with a clear game plan to mix up his shots and try to prevent Nadal finding any rhythm.
The tactic worked up to a point, as Nadal found himself scurrying forward every other point to pick up drop shots and angled slices.
Gaudio let himself down, however, by firing off a series of unforced errors.
