Sun Jun 8 11:07:04 2008

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Rafa rolls past Roger again for another French crown

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Paris, France (Sports Network) - Rafael Nadal continued his amazing dominance on the famed red clay of Roland Garros with a dominant straight-set victory over Roger Federer to claim his fourth consecutive French Open title.

The second-seeded Nadal posted a 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 victory and beat Federer for the third straight time in the French Open final. Federer had been able to at least take one set from Nadal the previous two years, but there was no stopping the super Spaniard this time.

Nadal, who is 28-0 all-time at the French Open, did not drop a set during the fortnight and improved to an astounding 115-2 on clay since 2005. He became just the second man to win four straight French Open titles in the Open Era (1968), joining the legendary Bjorn Borg. A six-time French champion, Borg, who was in attendance at Court Chatrier, won four in a row from 1978-81.

Federer is still a French Open title away from completing a career Grand Slam. He has 12 career major titles, two shy of Pete Sampras' all-time mark, and will try to close in on that record at his favorite venue -- Wimbledon. Play starts June 23 on the grass courts at the All-England Club, where Federer is the five-time defending champ.

Nadal improved to 11-6 lifetime against Federer, including 9-1 on clay and 4-0 at Roland Garros. In addition to the last three French Open finals, Nadal also topped Federer in the 2005 semifinals. Nadal is 4-2 in their Grand Slam matchups, with all four wins coming in Paris and both losses coming at Wimbledon.