Federer Ends Reign Of The Clay-King

Roger Federer ended two years and an 81-game winning streak on clay of his ATP adversary on Sunday. Rafael Nadal was denied a potential historic sweep of the ATP Masters Series on clay, when he lost the match a disappointing 2-6, 6-2, 6-0. The Spaniard came out strong in the first set, but was quickly handed a solid two-set showing by the Swiss Federer, who maintained and furthered his position as #1 in the world.

The supportive crowd in Hamburg, Germany, came out to see a filibuster, and they were treated to a match that went the distance. Full of finess, both contenders were hungry for different reasons. Nadal was intent on keeping his seemingly impossible streak alive, while Federer strove to capture his first title of the year. The world's #1 has struggled in 2007, performing lackluster at best since commanding a harrowing record in 2006.

Federer claimed his first win in six career clay court meetings with Nadal, while also making up for Nadal's steal in the Masters Series Monte-Carlo final earlier in the year. Federer has won three of their past four meetings, but still trails his rival with four wins and seven losses altogether.

After the match, Nadal asked Federer for his game-worn shirt with a signature, a gesture commonly seen in European Football (termed 'Soccer' in North America). Although an unorthodox request, both players have a history of attempting to go pro in Football, and so Federer was more than happy to comply with Nadal's request.

Federer is eager to play in the next ATP tournament, which takes place in Paris in the coming weeks. He has fought his clay court demons, and says he wants another crack at Nadal plus a second title in 2007.