French Open Tennis | Nadal denies Federer again

PARIS — As Rafael Nadal poured in one precise serve after another down the stretch of a 3-hour, 10-minute final, putting a hammerlock on his third straight French Open title Sunday, all the lavish praise that had been heaped on Roger Federer over the past year seemed to come back to mock him.

Where were those who wondered if Federer could go through the entire year undefeated after he swept through the Australian Open in January and ran his winning streak to 41 matches?

And on Saturday, the day before Nadal won 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to earn his third straight title on the red clay of Roland Garros, there was the reporter that seemed to take Federer aback by asking, "Do you ever wake up and say, 'My God, I'm the best player of all time?' Or do you realize how good you are?"

If there is one thing Federer realizes, it is that he is still the No. 1 player in the world, but until he either exceeds Pete Sampras' 14 Grand Slam titles or wins the French Open, or both, he is not yet the greatest.

There was history to be made at this championship match and, had Federer won, it would have taken the dialogue about his extravagant talent to a higher level. A victory would have made the Swiss superstar the sixth male player to win all four of the Grand Slam tournaments.

Instead, it was Nadal who made history. The 21-year-old Spaniard joined Sweden's Bjorn Borg (1978 to 1981) as the only men to have won at last three straight French Open titles since the event was opened to players of all nations in 1925.

Nadal, 8-4 against Federer, improved to 6-1 against him on clay surfaces. In previous French Open matches, Nadal beat Federer in the 2006 final and a 2005 semifinal.

The statistical nightmare that quantified Federer's loss Sunday made him look anything but the greatest — 1 for 17 on break-point opportunities, including 10 failed attempts to break in the first set. He had 59 unforced errors and another 43 forced errors.

His backhand was shaky in the first set and a half and, though he settled it down, his great forehand disappeared. He had 27 errors off the forehand side and didn't hit a forehand winner in the final set.

Of Nadal, the 25-year-old Federer said, "He's the toughest guy on clay. I knew that I would have to take my chances. There is one way to create chances, but then you have to convert them, too. I couldn't get them done in the first set, especially, and maybe that, in the long run, hurt me.

"But I came back, played OK in the second but had a bad start in the third, which kind of killed it for me. After that, you know, he served better and I couldn't really play the way I wanted from the baseline."

There were, of course, several scintillating shots — from both players. There were breathtaking runs to drop shots and passing shots from 10 feet behind the baseline. There was one exchange late in the final set when they exchanged four volleys at point-blank range.

The points often were long and the games were long — six deuces in the sixth game of the first set, in which Federer failed to convert five break-point opportunities, three on unforced groundstroke errors.

Nadal's serving was a key factor in the last two sets.

"Sure, I feel a lot of pressure," Nadal said. "It was tough moments because you are close to the win and when I start, I lost a little bit the edge."

Serving for the match at 5-4, Nadal neither tried to come in with a heavier serve nor did he appear nervous and, at 40-love, Federer ended the suspense and his potential date with history by flailing a forehand long down the line.

"I am very happy, but I am really sad for Roger," Nadal said. "He is a friend and I know he is a great champion, whether he wins or loses."

Note

• Borg, 51, was in the news for reasons other than past triumphs in Paris. He will have to miss an exhibition event in Liverpool, England, because he was bitten on the right leg by a friend's dog at a barbecue in Stockholm, Sweden, on Saturday and has been told not to put weight on the leg for six weeks. "What are the chances of being bitten by a dog three days before a tournament?" Borg asked.