Spanish star Rafael Nadal has defeated world number-one Roger Federer of Switzerland for the second straight year in the final of the French Open tennis tournament in Paris.
The 21-year-old Nadal dominated the top-seeded Federer, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Sunday. He becomes the first man to win three straight French Open titles since Sweden's Bjorn Borg did it between 1978 and 1980. Nadal has never lost a match at the French Open and improved his record at Roland Garros to 21-0 .
Nadal saved 16 break points, lost his serve only once, and broke the Swiss player four times out of 10 chances. Federer was uncharacteristically mistake-prone, with 59 unforced errors compared to 27 for Nadal.
Nadal improved his career record against Federer to 8-4, despite the Swiss player's win on clay at the Masters Series event in Hamburg last month. It was a disappointment for Federer, who was trying to win the only Grand Slam title that has eluded him. The latest loss also spoiled Federer's bid to win a fourth consecutive Grand Slam title, something last done in 1969 by Australia's Rod Laver.
On Saturday, world number one women's player Justine Henin of Belgium defeated Ana Ivanovic of Serbia to win her third straight French Open title. She needed just 65 minutes to beat the 19-year-old Ivanovic, 6-1, 6-2.
It was Henin's fourth French Open crown (2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007) and joins American Monica Seles as the only women in the Open era to win the French Open title three years in a row.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
