Posted on 05/16/2010 7:27:39 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer 6-4 7-6 (7-5) to win the Madrid Open and make himself hot favourite for the French Open, which starts next week.
It was the first match between the arch rivals since last year's Masters Series final in Madrid, which Federer won.
Both players dropped serve early in the first set before the second-seeded Nadal broke decisively to lead 4-3.
In the second set, Nadal won a tightly contested tie-breaker after two breaks of serve each.
It was a record-breaking 18th Masters crown for the Spaniard and his victory extended his unbeaten run on clay to 15 matches this season.
Nadal, the four-time French Open champion, has now won 168 of 174 matches on clay since 2005.
He will return to number two in the world, behind Federer and above Novak Djokovic, in Monday's rankings after also winning in Monte Carlo and Rome.
"Winning here at home is a dream," said Nadal. "Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would win all three of these big events."
World number one Federer, who has won 16 Grand Slam titles, took advantage of Nadal's fourth-round exit last year to clinch his first French Open crown.
"The clay court season will not be judged here but in Paris," he said.
"We will see what happens in three weeks. I feel I'm ready for Paris. I felt a major improvement in my game compared to last week when I came here from Estoril.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
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