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May 13, 2007 - Rafael Nadal wins Rome Masters event |
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Rafael Nadal became the first player to win the Rome Masters
three consecutive times by beating Fernando Gonzalez of
Chile 6-2, 6-2 on Sunday.
The victory extended Nadal's winning streak on clay to 77
matches. By reaching the final, the Spaniard had already
broken John McEnroe's record for most victories on one
surface. |
The second-ranked Nadal needed only 1 hour, 24
minutes to overcome his opponent, who was never in
contention against the two-time defending French
Open champion.
"I've had the good fortune of coming here for three
years and winning for three years," Nadal said.
"It's an incredible sensation." |
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It was Nadal's fourth ATP title of the year. He also won in
Indian Wells, Calif., Monte Carlo and Barcelona, and has
21-3 career record in finals.
"Fernando made way more errors than usual and I took
advantage of it," said Nadal, who has not lost on clay since
Igor Andreev beat him in the quarterfinals in Spain in April
2005.
Going into the final, Gonzalez held a 3-1 edge in career
meetings with Nadal, including a win in the Australian Open
quarterfinals in January.
But this time Nadal took control of the match early,
breaking in the first game and never relinquishing his grip.
He won the first set with a volley that sent the
sixth-ranked Gonzalez tumbling in an effort to reach the
ball.
The Spaniard took a 3-0 lead in the second set as the
Australian Open finalist kept missing what is usually his
most effective shot, a powerful forehand.
By the end of the match, Gonzalez had 31 unforced errors —
including 18 with his forehand — to 14 from Nadal, who
combined his solid ground strokes with uncharacteristic
approaches to the net.
"It's hard to play Rafael. He played great tennis today,"
Gonzalez said.
Rome is a key clay-court warmup for the French Open, which
begins May 27. Thomas Muster and Jaroslav Drobny — a Czech
player in the 1950s — also won in Rome three times, but not
in succession. |
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