Nadal wins Madrid Masters title, beating Federer

MADRID: Roger Federer shrugged off his Madrid Masters final defeat against Rafael Nadal and insisted it''s all to play for at the French Open where he is the defending champion.

The two best players in tennis world were facing each other in Sunday''s final.
which Nadal won 6-2, 7-6 (7/5).

Nadal will move back to number two behind Federer, a 16-time winner at majors, in Monday''s new world rankings, displacing Novak Djokovic.

It''ll be a timely boost for Nadal with Roland Garros getting underway on Sunday and where he was the four-time champion until he suffered a shock fourth round exit last year.

The Spaniard became the first man to claim three major clay titles - Monte Carlo, Rome and Madrid - prior to the start of Roland Garros while victory also gave him an astonishing 18th Masters trophy, one more than Andre Agassi and two ahead of Federer and the all-time best mark.

A year ago, Federer defeated Nadal in the Caja Magica final, then carried the victory momentum to the French Open where he lifted his first title with a defeat of Robin Soderling to complete a career Grand Slam.