Rafael Nadal, previously ranked 3rd in the world, has now earned the number 2 spot by defeating the number 1 player in the world and winning the Madrid Masters for the second time. Nadal beat Roger Federer on Sunday, 6-4, 7-6 (5) and took home 18th Masters win, breaking Andre Agassi's record of 17 Masters 1000 titles and pulled ahead of Federer by 2 titles. Nadal's last win at Madrid was 2005.
This season, Nadal's record on clay is undefeated at 15-0. The clay court French Open starts next Sunday, May 23rd, and many fans and experts are predicted that he's going to power through the competition and has probably the best chance of winning the tournament of any player today. But Nadal himself points out that he was also given the best chance at Roland Garros last year, and he didn't win. But he is happy with the way he's playing and thinks he's in top form right now.
Knee injuries kept him from dominating the courts last year, and Federer beat him in Madrid in 2009. Nadal said that winning at home was a dream, and that was first on his mind. His ranking was the second thing he thought about. And he admits that it's always difficult to play against Federer and win. But his record against the top player is 14-7, which is impressive, and it's not 10-2 on clay courts.
Aside from breaking Agassi's record, Nadal has also made tennis history by becoming the first player to win in Madrid, Monte Carlo and Rome all in the same season. Not only has he won all three this year, but he only lost 2 sets between them all.
Federer says that he's happy with his clay court game overall and looking forward to Paris next week, but he acknowledged that Nadal was having an incredible season on clay.
Both Federer and Nadal had early serving trouble. They went back and forth between breaking and holding, and even as Nadal managed a double-fault and pushed the score to 15-40, Federer didn't break the serve and ended up losing the set.
A dramatic moment came when Nadal tripped when returning a shot, and later when he held serve for 5-5 by hitting an improbably rally right from the baseline crosscourt with a dropshot. The crowd rose to its feet when he made that shot, sending them into a tiebreaker.
Federer, during the tiebreaker, backhanded the ball into the net giving Nadal 2 match points. Federer saved the first one, but hit the second one wide and Nadal won the tournament.
In the women's final, Aravane Rezai from France defeated Venus Williams 6-2, 7-5. Rezai was unseeded in this tournament and seemed to come from nowhere, pulling back from 2 breaks down to win the 3rd title of her career. It's the 6th time she's made it into a final. Williams was seeded 4th for the event which marks her 70th career final. Because of her performance in the tournament, she's regained number 2 in the rankings, a spot she hasn't held since May of 2003.
Photo Credits: setumi
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