Nadal slips on clay, blame it on Federer

Roger Federer brought an end to Rafael Nadal’s 81-match winning streak on clay on Sunday, beating the Spaniard 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 to win the Hamburg Masters...

Roger Federer brought an end to Rafael Nadal’s 81-match winning streak on clay on Sunday, beating the Spaniard 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 to win the Hamburg Masters and give his French Open preparations the perfect boost.

The world number one, who had never before beaten Nadal on his favourite surface, looked to be in line for his usual humbling in the red dirt as Nadal punished his early mistakes brutally to take the first set with two breaks.

Federer hit back for an early break in the second, though, and stormed through the final set to seal his first title in five tournaments.

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Nadal had won 13 consecutive clay-court titles, including the last two French Opens, during a winning run dating back to April 2005.

“If I had to lose to anyone, Roger is the man,” Nadal said out on court. “I congratulate him and wish him luck for the French Open.”

The 20-year-old Spaniard started well but just seemed to run out of steam after Federer had levelled the match.