Spaniard Rafael Nadal (pictured) captured his third consecutive title at ATP Masters Series Monte-Carlo presented by Rolex on Sunday.
The second-seeded Spaniard defeated ATP World No. 1 Roger Federer of Switzerland 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 36 minutes.
Nadal, who broke the Federer serve once in each set, saved all three break points he faced in the final. He improves to 7-3 lifetime against Federer, winning all five meetings on clay courts.
Link to: 2007 Monte-Carlo Photo Gallery
The 20-year-old Mallorcan receives 500 ATP Rankings points and € 340,000 in prize money. Federer earns 350 points and € 170,000.
Nadal becomes the first player to win three straight Monte-Carlo titles since Ilie Nastase in 1971-73. The only other players to win the title three times in the Open Era are Bjorn Borg (1977, 1979-80) and Thomas Muster (1992, 1995-96).
Nadal won the 2005 title over Guillermo Coria and Federer in four sets last year. He has a 19-1 record at the tournament, since making his debut in 2003.
He did not drop a set during the tournament and lost his serve only three times in five matches.
It was his eighth career ATP Masters Series shield and the second he has won this year, having beaten Novak Djokovic for the Indian Wells title in March. Nadal has a 22-5 match record this season.
Nadal extends his Open Era record-winning streak on clay to 67 matches. During this run he has beaten 47 different opponents from 21 different countries.
His last clay-court loss came on April 8, 2005 in the quarterfinals of Valencia to Igor Andreev.
Nadal is also undefeated (14-0) in clay-court finals.
He has a stellar 19-3 career record in title matches, with two final losses coming to Federer (2005-Miami; 2006-Wimbledon) and one to Dominik Hrbaty (2004-Auckland).
Federer falls to 12-5 lifetime in ATP Masters Series finals. It was his 11th career clay-court final (5-6), with four of his losses coming to Nadal.
It is only the second time since Federer took over as No. 1 in the ATP Rankings that he has gone three tournaments without a title (2006-Monte Carlo, Rome, Roland Garros finals)
He was making his seventh appearance (16-7) at the Monte-Carlo Country Club.
The 25-year-old Swiss has won two titles this year at the Australian Open (d. Gonzalez) and Dubai (d. Youzhny). He has an 18-3 match record this season.
WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID
Nadal: "I have to say it is an honour to be here up against him and to win for the third time.
“If you come to the court against the world No. 1 it's going to be tough. I was with confidence because I was playing my best tennis this week. The match was tough. I [thought at] the beginning he was playing better than me.”
Federer: “Congratulations to Rafa. I am very happy for him. What he has achieved is fantastic. I will try again to beat him in Rome, Hamburg and here in Monte Carlo next year."
“I'm not happy about the performance of my forehand. Rarely it happens to me, because it's my best shot in the game. I think I'm absolutely in the mix with him on clay, which is how I wanted to feel. You know, it's always disappointing to lose, but I feel like I didn't play well and still it was close. That's a good thing.
“I feel like I'm in good shape for the rest of clay court season, and it's going to come down to the French Open to see who wins.”
MONTE CARLO RE-CAP
Day 7: Federer Proves Too Strong for Ferrero
Day 7: Nadal Reaches Third Final in a Row
Day 6: Nadal, Berdych to Meet in Semifinals
Day 6: Federer Records 500th Career Win
Day 5: Federer, Nadal Fire into Quarterfinals
Day 4: Nadal Sends Warning to Rivals
Day 4: Djokovic Keeps Alive Winning Streak
Day 3: Federer, Gasquet Claim Tough Opening Wins
Day 2: Mirnyi Charges to Victory over Baghdatis
Day 1: Safin Sinks Nieminen in First Round
