Nadal Thwarts Federer Again for French Open Three-peat

Roger Federer, so close to greatness, continues to be held at arm's length by the bulging biceps of Rafael Nadal, who on Sunday beat the Swiss for the third consecutive year at the French Open to claim his third consecutive Roland Garros title.

A potential crowning as "The Greatest Player Ever" for Federer will have to wait another 12 months, with his resume still void of the only Slam title to elude his grasp.

Nadal's high-kicking, heavy forehands to Federer's backhand again proved the difference in a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win, which saw the Swiss convert on only one of 17 break point chances.


"I couldn't really impose my game like I wanted to and tried to make the game happen with my forehand," Federer said. "He didn't allow me to do that too well today. So, credit to him."

Nadal improved to a career 21-0 at Roland Garros.

"It's an incredible dream to be able to play this well in front of such a great crowd," Nadal said. "I wanted to play on his backhand at first but I had to change my tactic a little. I hit my forehand down the line more and that worked. We kept putting the ball in a 20 centimeter zone but it was a high risk strategy, and we couldn't keep that up for four sets. The turning point wasn't the break points in the first set. But after the break in the fourth set, I knew I'd won."

Bjorn Borg, who won four French Open titles in a row, is Nadal's next goal.

Nadal finished the match with only 28 unforced errors to 60 from Federer, and was presented with the trophy by three-time champion Gustavo Kuerten.