Taking on stylish Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal showed up with the
flashier outfit and the game to match - for two sets, at least. Twice two
points from defeat, the top-ranked Federer rallied and won the Nasdaq-100
Open by beating the 18-year-old Nadal 2-6, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-1
Sunday for his fifth title of the year.
Federer trailed 4-2 in the third set and 5-3 in the ensuing tiebreaker,
but his shots became more accurate and aggressive as he overtook a tiring
Nadal in the 3-hour, 43-minute marathon.
Wearing white clamdiggers, an orange sleeveless shirt and a white
bandanna, the No. 29-seeded Nadal appeared ready for a day at the beach -
and made the match look like one for a while.
"I thought Roger was a little nervous in the beginning, and I took full
advantage of that," Nadal said.
An upset would have been a streak-buster: Federer has won 22
consecutive matches this year, and 18 consecutive finals since July 2003.
Like Kim Clijsters, who beat Maria Sharapova in the women's final
Saturday, Federer earned his first Key Biscayne title.
"It was extremely close," he said. "I consider myself lucky to get
through."
The performance by Nadal, the youngest men's finalist in tournament
history, was no fluke. The left-hander was a Davis Cup hero in Spain's
victory over the United States last December, and he'll be among the
favorites at this year's French Open - and future major events as well.
Nadal's deep groundstrokes
with heavy topspin often
forced Federer to hit balls chest high behind the baseline, and the result
was a rash of mistakes by the four-time Grand Slam champion. He finished
with 74 unforced errors, but only 18 in the final two sets.
Nadal also passed Federer repeatedly, kept him off balance with
high-kicking 110 mph serves and showed jaw-dropping athleticism as he
yanked winners crosscourt or down the line from either corner.
The capacity crowd loved it, especially when Nadal punctuated his best
shots with a leap and an uppercut.
Federer was less enchanted. The winner of the ATP Tour sportsmanship
award in 2004, he became so frustrated that when he shanked an overhead to
fall behind 5-4 in the third set, he slammed his racket to the concrete.
Nadal was two points from victory in the next game, and again in the
third-set tiebreaker before Federer won four consecutive points, the first
on an 18-stroke rally, to save the set.
From there, Federer settled into his characteristic groove, winning the
last six games. When a weary Nadal dumped his final shot in the net,
Federer threw a roundhouse punch in jubilation.
He overcame a two-set deficit for the third time in his career. The
five-setter was the tournament's first since 1985, the year it began.
Federer improved to 32-1 this year, the best start on the men's tour
since John McEnroe was 39-0 in 1984. He's 48-1 since the start of the U.S.
Open, with his lone loss to Marat Safin in the Australian Open semifinals.
He earned $533,350 for this title and became the first top-seeded man
to win the Key Biscayne championship since Pete Sampras in 1994. Nadal
made $266,675.
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-04-05 09:03
