Nadal Scores 7th Win at Monte Carlo

World no.1 Rafael Nadal ended his 3-match losing streak by winning his 7th Monte Carlo Masters title on Sunday. The all-Spanish final ended with a score of 6-4, 7-5, with Nadal jumping with joy when fourth seed David Ferrer sent the ball into the net, right after Nadal hit the ball with a powerful forehand.

“Always special emotion for this tournament. I won seven in a row,” Nadal said after the win. “Win seven times in a row (for) anyone is almost impossible. I was more tired than usual today.

This is especially significant for the Spanish champion since he has lost three finals matches after his last victory in October when he won the Japan Open. Since then, Nadal has lost twice to Novak Djokovic at Sony Ericsson and BNP Paribas, and once to Roger Federer in November. This is his 7th straight win in the clay-court event, on a streak that he established in 2003.

“This is the Masters tournament where I feel more emotion when I’m playing, because here in 2003 everything starts. I played qualifiers here, won two matches, and was for the very first time in my career top 100,” he said.

Had he won, this would have been Ferrer’s third title for this year and 12th overall title. He atrributed the loss to making several errors during the course of the match which helped Nadal finish with the win.

“Generally speaking I’m very happy. I’m happy with my game also,” he said. “I was a bit sad about certain moments.”

However, he is not losing hope about one day beating Nadal.

“Well, he’s not a machine. He can lose. Maybe if Rafa has an injury, I will have a chance.”