Nadal the new Madrid Master
Rafael Nadal reversed the result of the 2009 Madrid final as he clinched a record-breaking 18th Masters title on Sunday by defeating old rival Roger Federer 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) in the Madrid final. It was a first head to head match between the defending champion Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal since last year. He has become the first man to complete a clean sweep of the three clay-court masters 1000 titles.
This victory has also given him the 18th Masters trophy, one more than Andre Agassi while two ahead of Roger Federer. He will now head towards Paris with all guns blazing after wiping out the loss in the Caja Magica final, which was held last year against Federer. The Spaniard has been unbeaten during this clay season with 15 consecutive victories. Nadal leads Federer 14-7 in career meetings till now, bagging 39 titles to his name.
After being injured in 2009 and having gone for 11 months without a title, he has been the subject of a thousand and one questions with respect to his troublesome knees. But undoubtedly, Rafael Nadal is back. The significance of this result will become crystal clear after three weeks when the identity of the French Open will be known. Nadal could not have wished for more as he will return to the number two spot in the World rankings after beating Federer for the 14th time.
Due to early breaks, it was a seesaw battle between the two players from the very start. Nadal was striking the ball more sweetly with viciously top-spun forehands. He got a second break to lead 4-3 due to a backhand, which crashed, into the net. On the other hand, Federer missed out his chances repeatedly in the final. Federer in the opening game of the second set played aggressively, breaking back immediately to level at 4-4 with an effective drops shot.
Although Federer led 4-2 in the tiebreak, Nadal won four straight points to lead 6-4, snatching victory with a horrible bounce off the line that took the ball beyond the racket of the Swiss maestro. It was nice to see both of them playing against each other in a big match and living up to expectations. Both the players exhibited good performances.
Rafa won the 2010 Madrid Open in front of an enthusiastic Spanish crowd. The win maintains his undefeated record on clay during the 2010 season. He has also become the first player in history to win all three ATP World Tour Masters 1000 clay court tournaments in the same year at the age of 23 years and 11 months. Having previously triumphed in a fifth-set tiebreaker against Ivan Ljubicic on indoor hard court in 2005, Rafa lifted the trophy for the second time in Madrid.
Nobody would have thought it would be a year to the day before the tennis world saw another Rafael Nadal vs. Roger Federer face-off. The balance of power though, seemed a little different as they entered the home straight this year. Although Nadal was short of his form this year in Melbourne, but even then he won every tournament he entered. Nadal has now returned to his status as "The King of Clay” after winning titles in Monte Carlo, Rome and now in his home country. He has lost only two sets in his 15 matches till date.
Nadal’s win in Madrid was a dream come true for him. Playing a final against one of the best in business was not less than a challenge. Rafa played his natural game and achieved a historic victory by defeating Roger Federer to win the Madrid Open.
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