ROGER FEDERER declared himself “very satisfied” after stunning world number one and clay court king Rafael Nadal in front of his own fans to win the Madrid Masters yesterday and claim his first title of 2009.
Going into the match, Swiss ace Federer had won 57 career titles, including 13 grand slam crowns, but was without a tournament success since winning on home soil in Basel last October.
Since taking his first title in 2001, Federer had never gone the first four months of the year without winning a tournament – until 2009.
However, that barren spell came to an end today as Federer took the attack to Spanish superstar Nadal before recording a 6-4 6-4 victory in one hour and 26 minutes.
“I served well, mixed it up well and took all the right decisions today. In the end it looked quite comfortable out there for me, so it was a perfect win for me. I’m very satisfied,” said Federer, who agonisingly lost in five sets to Nadal in the final of the Australian Open earlier this year.
“I’ve had some bad losses this year in terms of the way I’ve played but I’ve felt this win has been coming for a few weeks so I am very pleased,” added the Swiss.
Federer’s triumph also ended a remarkable run of success on clay for top seed Nadal, who was unable to repeat his heroics from last night’s semi-final against Novak Djokovic.
