Rafael Nadal Creates History At Monte Carlo Rolex Masters Open

Rafael Nadal created history by winning Monte Carlo Rolex Masters Open for the seventh consecutive time. He defeated country man David Ferrer 6-4 7-5 in the final. David Ferrer was expected to give Nadal a tough fight after reaching the final without loss of any set.

In his route to the final, David Ferrer had defeated two left handers and was deemed to have had good practice playing with lefties. But in Rafael Nadal he met a lefty who is called the king of clay. David Ferrer had been victorious when they had last met at the Australian Open this year, but that win lacked a bit of merit since Nadal seemed to have contracted an injury which clearly affected his movement on the court. This was therefore the moment when Ferrer could prove that his victory was no flash in the pan. As for Nadal, this was the occasion to show place to the clergy and take sweet revenge for the loss at the Australian Open.

Ferrer conceded five years in age, five ranking places and four inches in height to his famed rival. He tried to make up by overdoing things in the first three games and lost the serve to trail 1-2. More than Nadal, he appeared to be fighting his own demons. First serve was not going in, ground strokes were missing lines or were getting buried in the net and a double fault added to the misery. But he broke back immediately only to falter in the very next service game by playing a drop shot on the break point. Nadal was playing his normal game shorn of any dramatic shots. When Ferrer failed to convert on triple break point opportunity, his cup of misery began to fill up. He steadied himself and stopped playing fancy shots, but by this time, Nadal had found his feet firmly on the ground. Nadal converted the second set point on his own serve to take the first set 6-4.

The second set saw both players playing their natural game at par. Nadal, the better player broke to lead 4-2 and did not press too hard on the opponents serve. He appeared to be confident that holding serve would suffice. But the complacency took its toll and Ferrer broke back to make the score 5-5. But it was just that far Ferrer went. Nadal broke and served out the match at 6-5.

The scene now shifts to Barcelona where the Barcelona Open starts on Monday, the eighteenth.