Rafael Nadal turned on the power to retain his Monte Carlo Masters title with a pulsating 6-2 6-7 6-3 7-6 win over world number one Roger Federer on Sunday.
The 19-year-old Spaniard, who improved his record against Federer to 4-1, again proved too tough for his gifted opponent.
"To beat Roger is always special," Nadal said. "Every match is different. This one was easy at first and then became really tough."
The second-ranked Spaniard extended his winning streak on clay as seven-time Grand Slam champion Federer lost for only the second time this year -- both to Nadal.
The combative teenager has now scored 42 consecutive wins on clay which puts him third on the all-time list behind Guillermo Vilas (53) and Bjorn Borg (46).
By winning the first highlight of the clay court season, Nadal made clear he would be a favorite to retain his crown at the French Open starting on May 28.
Federer, who had never gone past the quarter-finals in Monte Carlo before, confirmed this week that he could shine on the surface.
"This is my first tournament of the season on clay and I'm happy to have reached the final," Federer said. "I am not disappointed nor frustrated but I'm exhausted. It was close and it could have been a different story if I had leveled the match at two sets all. I think it's wrong to say that he's better than me on clay."
Playing close to perfection, Nadal opened up a 4-0 lead in the first set, which he wrapped up in 42 minutes by winning his last service game to love.
The second set was a lot closer, Federer fighting back to 5-5 from a break down.
The Swiss levelled the match after taking the tiebreak 7-2.
Nadal dropped his serve in the opening game of the third set but he broke back immediately and again in the eighth game. The Spaniard served for the set and took it with a superb forehand winner.
Nadal won the first three games of the fourth before Federer recovered to level the set and force another tiebreak.
Although Federer went 3-0 up, Nadal showed his battling instincts to take it 7-5. A forehand on his first match point sealed victory after almost four hours of thrilling tennis.
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