Rafa in seventh heaven after Fed routRafael Nadal has sent a resounding message to his rivals heading into Roland Garros with a stunning 6-1 6-3 victory over great rival Roger Federer.
The victory is Nadal's seventh tournament win in Rome and a record breaking 24th Masters title which will see him move back up to fourth spot in the world rankings. With the crowd on Campo Centrale hoping for a repeat of the epic 2006 final which saw Nadal triumph in a fifth set tie-break, the 69 minute demolition job certainly proved a distinct difference from most of the duo's previous 29 meetings. The Spaniard took hold of the match in the third game, breaking Federer's serve for 2-1 lead and that break would be part of a staggering streak of nine successive games for the man with six titles in 2013. By the time Federer next moved his side of the scoreboard, he was 6-1 3-1 down. Federer's aggressive, high risk strategy did not work throughout the match against his consistent opponent as he racked up a staggering 32 unforced errors to Nadal's eight. Despite breaking Nadal as he served for the title at 5-1 and then holding serve, there was nothing the Swiss maestro could do at the second time of asking with the man from Manacor holding to love for a crushing 6-1 6-3 victory. The event marks Federer's first final appearance of the year whilst his rival Nadal has now won six of the eight events he has played with runner up finishes in his other two events in Vina Del Mar and Monte Carlo. |
Williams serene in Rome victorySerena Williams extended her career best win streak to 24 by winning her first Rome title since 2002 with a dominant 6-1 6-3 win over Victoria Azarenka.
The title is Williams' fourth in a row following wins in Miami, Charleston and Madrid leaving her with the undoubted tag of favourite heading into her least successful Grand Slam at Roland Garros. With early games going to deuce, Williams played the bigger points much better than her Belarusian opponent who had beaten her in their last meeting in Doha. After finding herself a double break down at 3-0, Azarenka did reduce the deficit to a single break only to be taken to the sword once again on her own delivery with Serena winning the opening set 6-1. The Australian Open champion did raise her game in the second set however, holding her own from the baseline and battling her way out of dangerous positions. Her only problem was Williams' continued attack of her second serve with Azarenka only managing to win 27% of points in that battle. A double fault when facing break point at 3-4 proved crucial as Williams served for the match. An opportunity she didn't waste adding to her ace count before sending a stunning backhand up the line to secure her crown. The tournament marks a welcome return to finals action for Azarenka after recent injury troubles but for Williams, this will prove to be a major confidence boost as she aims to banish the demons of a first round loss to Virginie Razzano at Roland Garros 12 months ago. |
Highlights of both the men's and women's finals from the 2013 Internazionali BNL d'Italia