<p>Nadal was bidding to become the first man to win all three claycourt Masters events in one year after his victories in Monte Carlo and Rome but slipped to only his fifth loss on his favoured surface in 155 matches since 2005. <br /><br />World number two Federer fended off break points in the second and sixth games of the first set and then grabbed a crucial break in game nine before serving out the set to love. <br />A delicate drop shot that even the athletic Spaniard could not chase down gave him another opportunity in the fifth game of the second set and Nadal netted a backhand to fall 3-2 behind. <br /><br />Federer slipped to 15-40 when serving for the match but fought back to deuce and powered an ace down the middle on his second championship point before raising his arms in triumph. <br /><br />Federer and Nadal have played 20 times going back to the Miami Masters in 2004 and the Swiss had won only one match on clay against the French Open champion in 10 previous attempts, the final of the Hamburg Masters in 2007. <br /><br />They have now faced each other in 16 finals, with Nadal winning 11, including three Roland Garros crowns and titles at Wimbledon and the Australian Open.<br /><br />Safina triumphs<br /><br />World number one Dinara Safina swept to her second claycourt title in as many weeks with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Danish teenager Caroline Wozniacki in women’s final. <br />After her triumph over compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova in last week's Rome final, the powerful Russian top seed sealed another comfortable win and looks in fine form leading up to the French Open at the end of this month. <br /><br />Ninth seed Wozniacki missed a chance to break serve in the second game and Safina found her range in the sunshine in the new Magic Box stadium to open a 5-1 lead before serving out the set. <br /><br />The Dane committed far too many unforced errors and the winners flowed for Safina and she broke again at the start of the second. <br /><br />Wozniacki tried to mix up her game with some looping shots to the baseline and had chances to break in the eighth game but Safina held firm. <br /><br />She missed one championship point on the Dane's serve but made no mistake on her second when serving for the match to clinch an 11th career title. "I was very dominant in the first set and I had chances in the second to make a double break," Safina said at a news conference. <br /><br />"I got a little bit tired by the end of the match. Still, in the crucial moments I was dominant." <br /><br />Wozniacki, 18, won the title at Ponte Vedra Beach and was runner-up in Memphis and Charleston earlier this year and is projected to become the first Danish woman to break into the top 10 when the rankings are updated on Monday. <br /><br />She said she now had her sights on number one. <br />"That's my goal," she told a news conference. <br />"I'll take one step at a time. Now I am top 10 so I have nine steps to go." <br /><br />Prakash-Ram lose <br /><br />Prakash Amritraj and his American partner Rajeev Ram had to contend with the runners-up trophy in the 64,000 euros ATP challenger after a 3-6, 3-6 loss to top-seeded Israelis Jonathan Erlich and Harel Levy in the doubles final in Izmir, Turkey. <br />The title win Saturday fetched Erlich and Levy 3,950 euros and 90 ATP points while Prakash and Ram, pocketed 2,350 euros and 55 ATP points. <br /><br />Prakash’s run in the singles event had got over in the quarterfinal with a 2-6, 4-6 loss to Czech Pavel Snobel.<br /><br />Meanwhile, the title hopes of India’s Harsh Mankad and American Kaes Van’t Hof were dashed in the $50,000 ATP Challenger as they went down to second seeds Victor Estrella and Santiago Gonzalez in the doubles final in Longboat Key, Florida. <br /><br />The third seeded Indo-American pair lost 2-6, 4-6 on the green clay here Saturday. With the win, Estrella and Gonzalez earned $3,100 and 75 ATP points whereas Mankad and Hof earned $1,800 and 45 ATP points.</p>
<p>Nadal was bidding to become the first man to win all three claycourt Masters events in one year after his victories in Monte Carlo and Rome but slipped to only his fifth loss on his favoured surface in 155 matches since 2005. <br /><br />World number two Federer fended off break points in the second and sixth games of the first set and then grabbed a crucial break in game nine before serving out the set to love. <br />A delicate drop shot that even the athletic Spaniard could not chase down gave him another opportunity in the fifth game of the second set and Nadal netted a backhand to fall 3-2 behind. <br /><br />Federer slipped to 15-40 when serving for the match but fought back to deuce and powered an ace down the middle on his second championship point before raising his arms in triumph. <br /><br />Federer and Nadal have played 20 times going back to the Miami Masters in 2004 and the Swiss had won only one match on clay against the French Open champion in 10 previous attempts, the final of the Hamburg Masters in 2007. <br /><br />They have now faced each other in 16 finals, with Nadal winning 11, including three Roland Garros crowns and titles at Wimbledon and the Australian Open.<br /><br />Safina triumphs<br /><br />World number one Dinara Safina swept to her second claycourt title in as many weeks with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Danish teenager Caroline Wozniacki in women’s final. <br />After her triumph over compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova in last week's Rome final, the powerful Russian top seed sealed another comfortable win and looks in fine form leading up to the French Open at the end of this month. <br /><br />Ninth seed Wozniacki missed a chance to break serve in the second game and Safina found her range in the sunshine in the new Magic Box stadium to open a 5-1 lead before serving out the set. <br /><br />The Dane committed far too many unforced errors and the winners flowed for Safina and she broke again at the start of the second. <br /><br />Wozniacki tried to mix up her game with some looping shots to the baseline and had chances to break in the eighth game but Safina held firm. <br /><br />She missed one championship point on the Dane's serve but made no mistake on her second when serving for the match to clinch an 11th career title. "I was very dominant in the first set and I had chances in the second to make a double break," Safina said at a news conference. <br /><br />"I got a little bit tired by the end of the match. Still, in the crucial moments I was dominant." <br /><br />Wozniacki, 18, won the title at Ponte Vedra Beach and was runner-up in Memphis and Charleston earlier this year and is projected to become the first Danish woman to break into the top 10 when the rankings are updated on Monday. <br /><br />She said she now had her sights on number one. <br />"That's my goal," she told a news conference. <br />"I'll take one step at a time. Now I am top 10 so I have nine steps to go." <br /><br />Prakash-Ram lose <br /><br />Prakash Amritraj and his American partner Rajeev Ram had to contend with the runners-up trophy in the 64,000 euros ATP challenger after a 3-6, 3-6 loss to top-seeded Israelis Jonathan Erlich and Harel Levy in the doubles final in Izmir, Turkey. <br />The title win Saturday fetched Erlich and Levy 3,950 euros and 90 ATP points while Prakash and Ram, pocketed 2,350 euros and 55 ATP points. <br /><br />Prakash’s run in the singles event had got over in the quarterfinal with a 2-6, 4-6 loss to Czech Pavel Snobel.<br /><br />Meanwhile, the title hopes of India’s Harsh Mankad and American Kaes Van’t Hof were dashed in the $50,000 ATP Challenger as they went down to second seeds Victor Estrella and Santiago Gonzalez in the doubles final in Longboat Key, Florida. <br /><br />The third seeded Indo-American pair lost 2-6, 4-6 on the green clay here Saturday. With the win, Estrella and Gonzalez earned $3,100 and 75 ATP points whereas Mankad and Hof earned $1,800 and 45 ATP points.</p>
