… wins first title of 2009
MADRID, Spain (Reuters) – Roger Federer inflicted a rare claycourt defeat on his great rival Rafael Nadal yesterday when he stunned the world number one 6-4, 6-4 in the Madrid Open final to win his first title of the season.
Nadal was bidding to become the first man to win all three claycourt Masters events in one year after his victories in Monte Carlo and Rome but slipped to only his fifth loss on his favoured surface in 155 matches since 2005.
Federer has lost to Nadal in the final of the French Open the past three years and his victory yesterday will boost the Swiss world number two’s hopes he can win a 14th grand slam singles title at Roland Garros starting later this month.
Nadal had come through the longest three-set match in a Masters Series event on Saturday, saving three match points and taking more than four hours to beat Novak Djokovic, but he started brightly in the new Magic Box stadium.
Federer had to fend off break points in the second and sixth games of the first set but then grabbed a crucial break in game nine before serving out the set to love.
A delicate drop shot that even the athletic Spaniard could not chase down gave him another opportunity in the fifth game of the second set and Nadal netted a backhand to fall 3-2 behind.
The Swiss slipped to 15-40 when serving for the match but fought back to deuce and powered an ace down the middle on his second championship point before raising his arms in triumph.
BAD LOSSES
“I thought I took all the right decisions today and in the end it looked pretty comfortable so it was a perfect win for me,” Federer told a news conference.
“I’m very, very happy that I stayed positive and I got the win I needed badly because I’ve had some rather bad losses this year,” he added. “It’s very satisfying.”
Federer and Nadal have played 20 times going back to the Miami Masters in 2004 and the Swiss had won only one match on clay against the French Open champion in 10 previous attempts, the final of the Hamburg Masters in 2007.
They have now faced each other in 16 finals, with Nadal winning 11, including three Roland Garros crowns and titles at Wimbledon and the Australian Open.
