Paris – Unflappable and unbeatable against anyone else, Roger Federer looked helpless at times Sunday, his bid for a fourth consecutive Grand Slam title disappearing in the clouds of clay kicked up by Rafael Nadal.
For three hours and with the temperature at 90 degrees, Nadal scampered and skidded his way to reach seemingly unreachable balls. Going long stretches without a mistake, No. 2-ranked Nadal beat No. 1 Federer 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (4) to win his second straight French Open title.
“I won the first set easily, and usually in a situation like that I don’t let things go by. But it’s a final. It’s against Nadal. It’s on clay,” Federer said. “That makes it very difficult – more difficult maybe than other cases.”
His 27-match winning streak at majors ended. Nadal’s 60-match winning streak on red clay lives.
Nadal is 6-1 against Federer over their careers. Federer is 0-4 against the Spaniard in 2006, 44-0 against everyone else.
Nadal also is the first player to beat Federer in a Grand Slam final. The Swiss entered Sunday 7-0 in that category, the best such start to a career since the 1880s.
“I can’t say I’m better than him. Since I was born, I’ve never seen a more complete player. He’s the best,” Nadal said. “Maybe he was nervous, too. Roger was playing today for being on the top of history. This pressure is a lot, no?”
Federer was trying to join Don Budge (1938) and Rod Laver (1962, 1969) as the only men to win Wimbledon, U.S. Open, Australian Open and French Open championships all in a row. He also had a chance to become the sixth man with a career Grand Slam.
But it was Nadal who deposited a forehand volley to end the match. After they shook hands, Federer sank in his seat, residue of the red dirt smearing his white headwrap.
“I tried. I can’t do more than try,” Federer said. “But having this real unique opportunity that we haven’t seen in such a long time in tennis – obviously, it’s a pity.”
On Sunday, Federer made 24 unforced errors with his backhand. He finished with 51 miscues in all, 23 more than the steadier Nadal.
Federer looked great at the start, racing to a 5-0 lead by breaking Nadal in each of his first two service games. Remarkably, Federer wouldn’t break again until Nadal served for the match at 5-4 in the fourth set.
In the third set, Nadal used a 114 mph kick serve for an ace to erase the last of four break points in the fourth game. Then broke to a 3-2 lead.
“He makes it tough,” Federer said, “and I guess, in the end, he deserves to win.”
In the middle two sets, Nadal was downright superb, making only six unforced errors while keeping points going long enough that Federer made 29.
Nadal, who turned 20 during the tournament, is the youngest man to win a second straight French Open since Bjorn Borg was 19 in 1975.
How did he do it?
“A bit of luck, a bit of tennis, a bit of mental attitude.” Nadal said. “Federer made more mistakes than usual.
“All these things together.”
At a glance
Weather: Sunny with a high of 90 degrees.
Attendance: 17,254. Last year, 15,465.
Men’s final: No. 2 Rafael Nadal of Spain beat No. 1 Roger Federer of Switzerland 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (4) to win his second consecutive French Open title.
Women’s doubles final: Lisa Raymond of the United States and Samantha Stosur of Australia beat Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia and Ai Sugiyama of Japan 6-3, 6-2.
Stat of the day: 0-4, 44-0 – Federer’s record against Nadal this year, and Federer’s record against every other opponent in 2006.
Quote of the day: “This victory is more important for me because I was injured in the beginning of the season. I wasn’t sure I could come back to my best level.” – Nadal
