Nalbandian storms to Madrid Masters title with win over Federer
MADRID, Spain -- Top-ranked Roger Federer made 38 unforced errors in losing to David Nalbandian 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the Madrid Masters final Sunday.
The 25th-ranked Argentine moved Federer around the court with a variety of groundstrokes. The title was Nalbandian's first since winning the Estoril Open in May 2006.
Nalbandian, who beat No. 2 Rafael Nadal and No. 3 Novak Djokovic to reach the final, broke Federer three times and became the second player this year to beat the top-three players en route to winning a title. Djokovic also did it, 13 years after Boris Becker had last done it.
"It's very important at this moment, a great way to finish the season and to go into the next one," Nalbandian said. "To beat such great players as I did this week makes it important."
Federer fell to 6-4 in finals this season. He was playing in his first tournament since winning his fourth straight U.S. Open six weeks ago.
"I guess when you beat Djokovic and Nadal back-to-back, you come into the final here very ready," Federer said.
It was Federer's first loss on indoor hard courts since Nalbandian rallied to beat him at the Masters Cup in Shanghai nearly two years ago.
"His serve surprised me some and I couldn't play as offensively as I hoped, and when I had a chance I didn't play it as I liked," Federer said. "Today, I'm not too disappointed because I had a good tournament, I played the first four matches well."
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
