Federer finally beat Nadal on clay
Published:Monday | May 18, 2009 | 8:37 AM
World number two Roger Federer finally ended Rafael Nadal’s superb run on clay to win the Madrid Open yesterday and take his first title of the year.
The Swiss came through 6-4, 6-4 in one hour 26 minutes for only his second win against Nadal in 11 attempts on clay.
Nadal needed four hours to win an epic semi-final against Novak Djokovic on Saturday, and looked flat in the final.
But Federer was clinical throughout until nervously fending off two break points when serving for the match.
Meanwhile, World Number One Dinara Safina completed her preparation for the French Open with a comfortable win over Caroline Wozniacki in the women’s final.
The 23 year old Russian stormed to a 6-2, 6-4 victory over the 18 year old Wozniacki just a week after winning in Rome.