Federer downs Nadal in Madrid

Roger Federer won his first tournament of the year in Madrid today with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over the King of Clay, Rafa Nadal. After some disappointing results from Federer in previous tournaments, this is a much needed and welcome championship for him. It wasn't a major, but it was close. Defeating Nadal on clay is an extreme rarity, but Federer possesses the skills to do it. He had a tough match against Roddick in the quarterfinals, dropping a tiebreaker in the second set before winning the third. Then he dispatched del Potro in the semis in straight sets before his ultimate victory today. Nadal, on the other hand, had a real struggle in the semis against Djokovic. He lost the first set, eked out a tiebreaker in the second, and was down a break early in the third. I didn't follow the conclusion of the match, but Nadal must have broken back to send it to another tiebreaker, which he won. Still, I suspect that took a lot out of him. The French Open is coming up in another week, and we may see a Federer-Nadal final for the fourth year in a row. If so, that'll be a match I won't want to miss.