In a grueling five-hour, five-set match, Rafael Nadal defeated the number one seeded Roger Federer for the third time this season.  This match has so many interesting tidbits to digest - not only did Nadal fight off two match points, this match also featured three tie-breaker sets. This was the championship match for the Rome Masters tournament, and the win gave the 19 year old Nadal his 16th title for his career, tying him with Bjorn Borg. Oh, Nadal tied a Men’s record with 53 straight clay court victories as well.  Nadal has won nine straight tournaments on clay court.  The loss by Federer gives him three for the 2006 year, all at the hands of Nadal.  The clay court for non-tennis fanatics makes the ball move a bit slower which gives the faster players more of a chance to succeed against the hard-smashing, ace-serving big guys of tennis.

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