Roger Federer defeated world number one Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-4 to win the Madrid Masters yesterday and strike a timely blow in his campaign to lift an elusive French Open.
Roger Federer defeated world number one Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-4 to win the Madrid Masters yesterday and strike a timely blow in his campaign to lift an elusive French Open.
His win ended a five-match, 18-month losing streak against the Spaniard, a run which included three Grand Slam finals - the 2008 French Open and Wimbledon, as well as this year's Australian Open.
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It also halted Nadal's 33-match winning streak on clay, a sequence stretching back over a year to the Rome second round in 2008.
Federer now heads into the French Open, which starts next Sunday, with a huge confidence boost after finally defeating the man who stripped him of his Wimbledon title last summer.
"Clearly I'm very happy to win," said Federer. "I played well you have to against Rafa on clay. There are no easy ways to beat him. I mixed it up well, served well and was dangerous on the return game.
"I took all the right decisions. In the end it looked very comfortable, it was a perfect win.
"It's not like a relief, I was so close to him at Melbourne and Wimbledon. But I always kept the belief that I could beat him again. That's what you need on this kind of surface, I stayed positive.
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"I've had some bad losses this year but everything is starting to fall into place, it's the right time to get a victory like this."
Safina makes it two in a row
world number one Dinara Safina claimed her second major clay title in a row yesterday as she outclassed Danish teenager Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-4 to win the Madrid Masters.
The 23-year-old Russian who lost the 2008 Roland Garros final to Ana Ivanovic showed she is on track as a serious title contender when the French Open gets underway in a week.
"I was getting a bit tired by the end," said Safina. "But I dominated at the crucial times."
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