Written by Claire Mayer

And so Rafael Nadal isn’t invincible on clay. Roger Federer stopped the Spaniard’s winning streak of 81 matches undefeated in Hamburg Masters, with an incredible 2-6 6-2 6-0 victory.
The world number one however believed initial that his bad luck against Nadal on clay was going to continue. From the moment the match started, he seemed tense, and struggled to win his first game, after 8 minutes and 2 break points saved. That tendency would however be rapidly confirmed, and Nadal broke his opponent’s serve in the 3rd game, before going on to easily take the 1st set 6-2 after 39 minutes. With a 1st serve of 48% and 16 unforced errors, Federer looked to be heading for a heavy beating.

But the Swiss had all the markings of a true champion in the second set, despite the catastrophic beginning. Threatened by 2 break points from the moment the game resumed, Federer managed to pull through. Then he missed an easy smash which would have given him the chance to break Nadal’s serve. We thought he wouldn’t get over it, but he overcome the odds. He held serve and broke Nadal to race ahead 3-1. The second set was even concluded on Nadal’s service in the 8th game (6-2 in under 45 minutes). From there on it was the Swiss who was in charge on the court, leaving Nadal unable to find a solution against his opponent’s new flawless tennis.

The third set was even a formality for Federer, who immediately broke his opponent’s serve only to humiliate Nadal with a 6-0 win in the 3rd set. The Swiss wins his 48th title of his career, his 13th in Masters Series. At one week before Roland Garros, the Swiss maestro may have found the missing ingredient to win the one Grand Slam which has alluded him until now.

“Federer has another chance to get beaten by Nadal.” Even the most optimistic fans of the Swiss maestro had approached the match with an element of defeat. Instead it was Nadal who received a lesson on how to play tennis. Even if it wasn’t the case for a small amount of time, the Swiss magician has once again cast his spell on the tennis world.

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