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Rafael Nadal became the second man to win four straight French Open titles on Sunday with a 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 win over Roger Federer. — AP
BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Another French Open, another dominating performance by Rafael Nadal.
The Spaniard became the second man to win four straight titles at Roland Garros with a 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 victory over rival Roger Federer in one of the most lopsided finals in tournament history.
Nadal crushed the world’s top-ranked player in the shortest men’s final since 1977. Federer won just four games, as it was his worst loss in 173 Grand Slam matches.
For Nadal, the world’s second-ranked player, it culminated a tournament in which he lost just 41 games in seven matches, as he joined Bjorn Borg (1978-1981) as the only man to win the clay tournament four straight years.
Nadal is 28-0 at Roland Garros, with wins in 83 of 90 sets. His four titles trail only the six claimed by Borg, who watched Sunday’s match from the front row.
“Winning four times in a row is incredible,” said Nadal, the first man to win the tournament without dropping a set since Borg accomplished the feat in 1980.
Meantime, Federer’s futility at Roland Garros continued, as he arrived in Paris trying to become the sixth man to win all four major tournaments in his career. But each time at the French Open, he has lost to Nadal — in the semifinals in 2005, and in the final in each of the past three years.
“Losing in the final is never fun,” said Federer, who is 1-9 against Nadal on clay and 2-4 against him in Grand Slam events. “I’ll try again next year. Rafael was once again the strongest.”
jgallo@baltimoreexaminer.com
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
