Rafael Nadal retains French Open title

Paris: Rafael Nadal won his second consecutive French Open crown when he defeated world number one Roger Federer 1-6 6-1 6-4 7-6 in Sunday's final.

The Spaniard extended his Roland Garros record to 14-0 and his winning streak on clay to 60 matches.

The result left the Swiss one match short of becoming the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four grand slam titles at once.

"The match has been extremely tough," said Nadal. "Roger played much better at the beginning, then I was much better in the second. After this, the match was more balanced.

"It's incredible. I think I prefer this year's title," added Nadal, who had beaten Argentine Mariano Puerta in last year's final.

The Swiss saved two break points in the opening game of the match before surging to a 5-0 lead in breathtaking style as his opponent barely managed to string together any winners.

Appearing to suffer from nerves, Nadal failed to convert any of the five break points he earned during the set.

But as Nadal stepped up a gear in the second, Federer simply faded away and produced an uncharacteristic 16 unforced errors during the 32-minute set.

The Spaniard broke Federer in the second game with one of his trademark backhand crosscourt passing shots.

At 3-0, Nadal called the trainer to treat blisters on his feet but that did not stop him from racing to a 4-1 lead.

Federer dropped his serve again in the sixth game before Nadal served out for the set. Struggling to emerge from a slump, Federer pushed Nadal hard in the fourth game of the third set.

But the Mallorcan survived unscathed after saving four break points. To compound Federer's frustration, he dropped his serve in the following game with a netted forehand to give Nadal a 3-2 advantage.

The 20-year-old Spaniard held serve to wrap up the 55-minute set. Nadal again broke in the first game of the fourth set and held on to the advantage till he stepped behind the baseline to serve for the match.

Federer finally stirred into action and needed only one break point to level at 5-5. But his relief was short-lived as Nadal won the tiebreak 7-4 and the match after three hours and two minutes.

"He played better. He deserves this win because he played better today," said Federer. "I was close this year. It's a pity but I will come back next year."