MONACO (AP)—Rafael Nadal thrashed Fernando Verdasco 6-0, 6-1 in Sunday’s all-Spanish final to win the Monte Carlo Masters for the sixth straight year and end his title drought.
The second-seeded Nadal clinched his first title since the Rome Masters in May last year by overpowering the sixth-seeded Verdasco with a stunning display of attacking tennis that sends out a stern warning to his clay-court rivals.
“Last year I didn’t play well but won; this year the level is completely different,” Nadal said. “I have been playing well since the start of the season.”
After losing consecutive Masters semifinals on hard courts at the BNP Paribas Open and the Sony Ericsson Open, Nadal was relieved to win again.
“It was a lot of work. A lot of work,” Nadal said. “For sure, this year is really special for me. One of the most special because I had a little bit of a hard time for the last year.”
Nadal is the only player to win six consecutive titles at the same tournament since tennis turned professional in 1968, and the 23-year-old is level with top-ranked Roger Federer on 16 Masters titles, one behind Andre Agassi’s record.
“I was a little bit nervous—I didn’t win a tournament for a while,” Nadal said.
Nadal felt he was close to his best on his favorite surface.
“Probably one of my best (performances) on clay,” he said. “One of my best levels on clay for sure.”
Nadal sealed the win on his first match point with a forehand pass and fell to the ground, rolling on his back as he savored his victory.
“It was emotional for me today, it was my best week for a long time,” Nadal said. “It’s unbelievable, Monte Carlo is my favorite tournament.”
It was Nadal’s 32nd straight win at Monte Carlo since his third-round loss to Guillermo Coria in 2003, and the relief at clinching his 37th career title was evident as he sobbed into a towel when he sat down.
Although Federer was not playing at Monte Carlo, Nadal’s superb win and early form on clay will make him a serious contender to reclaim his French Open title from the Swiss player at Roland Garros when the tournament starts late next month.
“If he plays like this, no one can beat him,” Verdasco said. “He beat everyone in six years here and I’m just one of them.”
Verdasco simply had no answers as he lost his 10th straight match to Nadal, who covered every part of the court and showed the agility, strength and powerful hitting that were his hallmarks on clay before his sudden dip last year.
“Sorry for today,” Nadal said to a smiling Verdasco as the two players gave their speeches.
“I hope one day Rafa gets tired of winning here,” Verdasco said.
Nadal’s victory moved him level with Britain’s Reggie Doherty, who won the Monte Carlo event six times overall, between 1897-99 and 1902-04.
Just like in 2007 and ’08, Nadal did not drop a set during the tournament, and signaled his intent early by taking Verdasco’s opening service game. In the next game, Nadal’s crosscourt pass stunned Verdasco and left him rooted to the spot.
“If you see the score, it’s a big difference,” Verdasco said. “I think he had an unbelievable day and he played really good. He played really good during the whole week, not only today.”
Trailing 5-0, Verdasco lay down on a towel and had massage treatment to his neck and shoulders for several minutes, and when he resumed playing he rolled his neck to loosen it up more.
“My neck got stuck in the third game of the match,” he said.
Nadal had no pity and took the opening set the following game when a forehand from Verdasco went wide.
Verdasco, who has won four career titles but was seeking his first Masters trophy, started the second set aggressively and got a huge roar when he finally held his serve.
Playing his best tennis of the match in the third game, exasperation got the better of Verdasco when Nadal returned a seemingly impossible shot with a dipping forehand crosscourt winner, and Verdasco raised his arms in mock celebration as he tried in vain to find some inspiration from the crowd.
There were jeers for Verdasco when he hit a lazy shot into the net as he lost his serve to trail 4-1, but some spectacular rallying in the sixth game got the crowd back on his side as he forced Nadal to save five break points.
After winning one long rally, Verdasco dropped to his knees and threw his hands up toward the skies as if to thank the heavens after winning a point, and even Prince Albert of Monaco rose out of his seat to join in the applause.