World number two Rafael Nadal, the undisputed king of clay, begins the defence of his Rome Masters title in Rome on Monday.
ROME: World number two Rafael Nadal, the undisputed king of clay, begins the defence of his Rome Masters title here on Monday.
The 20-year-old Spaniard, who extended his record clay court winning streak to 72 matches when he won the Barcelona Open last month, is aiming to become the first player to win the Foro Italico tournament - a warm-up for the French Open which starts on May 27 - three times in a row.
Last year Nadal saved two match points before defeating Roger Federer in an epic final which lasted five hours and five minutes.
The match was so exhausting that both players pulled out of the Masters event in Hamburg the following week, prompting the ATP to introduce the best of three sets finals for the Masters Series.
Nadal, who defeated Federer in the Monte Carlo final last month and in last year's French Open final, was also taken to five sets in 2005 in his defeat of Argentina's Guillermo Coria.
If results go according to seedings, Nadal will meet world number one Federer in this year's final. The pair are on opposite sides of the draw, with Federer top seed and Nadal number two.
Federer, who has failed to win a Masters Series event this year, has never won the Rome tournament. As well as being runner-up last year, he lost the 2003 final to Spain's Felix Mantilla.
The Swiss 25-year-old arrived in the Italian capital last weekend and has been put through his paces by coach Tony Roche. He made a brief trip to Mallorca in Spain to play in a one-off 'battle of the surfaces' exhibition match against Nadal where one half of the court was grass and the other half clay.
Nadal, whose last defeat on clay was way back in April, 2005 against Russian Igor Andreev in the Valencia quarter-finals, edged grass giant Federer 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (12/10).
The top eight seeds in Rome - Federer, Nadal, Andy Roddick, Nikolay Davydenko, Novak Djokovic, Fernando Gonzalez, Tommy Robredo, Ivan Ljubicic - have first round byes.
Federer's first match will be against either Britain's Tim Henman or Spain's Nicolas Almagro. Nadal will play the winner of the first round tie between American Robby Ginepri and Italy's Daniele Bracciali.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}